The Springboks Glorious World Cup Rugby Victory Transcends Sport

Impressive resolve. Mental strength. And, dogged resilience.

All these descriptions have been made of South African Springboks World Cup Rugby 12-11 victory over the favoured New Zealand All Blacks—which included three straight knockout round wins by a single point, yes, the quarters, semis and the actual final. The hard-fought, glorious victory, made the Springboks the first to win the title four times, and also the first team to win successive editions of the tournament away from home.

The sporting accolades come to a nation that knows the meaning of suffering. Its inherent problems include an ongoing recovery from the long, dark shadow of Apartheid, violent crime and significant unemployment, reports about corruption and mismanagement in government, insufficient infrastructure, and poor government service delivery to impoverished communities.

Heroic South African captain, Siya Kolisi, doesn’t mince words in the after-math of their victory: "The people of South Africa will tell you that there's not a lot going right in our country. South Africa is a beautiful country with a lot of problems. We care for each other, we care for our country."

One sign of progress on the human level, is that the number of black players on the Springboks’ squad had risen from just one in 1995, the legendary Chester Williams, to almost half of South Africa's players in the 2023 final. Indeed, avenues have been set up to encourage and allow players from an impoverished background to establish themselves through unconventional routes.

Indeed, this representation shift is monumental but the domestic issues won’t be "forgotten or wished away" by the "fleeting moment" of sporting victory. People like Kolisi feel the country needs more hope and glory, and not just in the area of sporting achievement.

Moreover, a South African native and massive rugby fan, Mr. A, gives some context as an enthusiast: “South African Rugby has an interesting past. Many people associate the sport with the white Afrikaner minority that enjoyed the privileges of Apartheid while the football (soccer) loving black community was subjugated to the horrors of the regime. But, what is often forgotten, is that rugby has a rich and long history among non-white communities especially in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

“Post isolation, Nelson Mandela became the first black president of the country and South Africa won the right to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup. As depicted in the thrilling sporting movie Invictus, Mr. Mandela (“Madiba” as we knew him) embraced the Springbok jersey in order to build bridges of reconciliation with the minority white population that felt so threatened when Apartheid ended. Madiba often spoke off the power of sport— it’s something that still echoes today and if you listen to Springboks’ captain Siya Kolisi, it’s a message that still rings true. The moment that Madiba entered the field, wearing the number 6 jersey of the white Springbok captain, lives vividly in my memory. It was probably the first time I was truly moved by sport with 60000 supporters, mostly white Afrikaners cheering a black President—I can still hear the chants of “Nelson, Nelson”—at Ellis Park. South Africa went on to upset the odds and defeat the mighty All Blacks for our first World Cup Crown. \My love affair with the game, and South Africa’s with the Webb Ellis Cup, for world rugby domination, had thus begun.

“Over the years, politics have interfered with South African sports. Quotas were introduced to provide opportunities in sport for non-white citizens. Needless to say, this has caused controversies over the years with players being overlooked for selection due to prescribed numbers required in National Teams. Others have left to play for other countries etc etc. And, on the other side of the coin, the term quota has devalued non-white players, limiting their achievements to a numbers game. But in the past decade, rugby has got it more or less correct. They have invested in grass roots rugby, identified promising talent early and provided education and opportunity at elite schools and generally made their presence felt in poor communities.”

So, things are looking up. Because there’s one other thing about South Africa as represented by Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and his irrepressible scrum half Faf de Klerk—an indefatigable spirit.