TSWELOPELE MAKOE
ON Saturday, October 28, the Springboks brought home their fourth Rugby World Cup trophy. As defending world champions, they are now on record as being the only team to have won the Rugby World Cup on four occasions, and the second team to have won it consecutively.
Following back-to-back triumphs by our national rugby team, they were able to solidify a team 12-11 point win in the final match against the relentless All Blacks.
In fact, the Springboks secured a one-point win in all of their final three matches leading up to the World Cup win.
Although they had secured World Cup wins in the past, these recent matches were truly a feat of determination by the team, and a symbol of their determination as reigning world champions.
The symbolism of this win was glaring as the nation welcomed them back at OR Tambo this past Tuesday. Braving cold and wet weather, thousands turned out at the international airport to share an immense outpouring of love for the Springboks.
This was not only a win for the sporting fraternity, but a win for the nation at large. This event was especially sentimental to South Africans as Siya Kolisi is the first black Springbok captain, and the only captain to have won two consecutive world cups.
This is an exceptional achievement that will go down in the history books. In his speech during the Pretoria leg of the trophy tour, Kolisi dedicated the trophy to "the people of South Africa''.
Captain Kolisi also took the opportunity to underscore our strength in diversity, saying: “We are very diverse, just like you are outside… and we just wanted to show that diversity is our strength”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa underscored the fact that the number of black players in the squad had nearly doubled since the initial 1995 inclusive game. This is certainly a momentous occasion, not only in the physical world, but also in symbolism of what our nation is today.
The Springboks, a multiracial and multicultural team, contended with international advisories, in a notably racist country like France, where biased referees and scorned oppositions used all sorts of provocations to knock them off the pedestal.
They failed to do so, and the world's reigning champions bested the world’s most formidable national teams.
In South Africa, a plethora of challenges have been grappled with throughout the year, in particular rolling blackouts, economic strife, and a stratospheric unemployment rate.
Throughout the final leg of the World Cup, all of these challenges were noticeably mitigated. The blackouts quickly re-emerged less than a day after the Springboks trophy win, which was a sobering reality.
This left many outraged at the fact that load-shedding had been suspended for the World Cup, but not for the thousands of students who would be writing final examinations.
Truly, we were now back to the daily confrontations with the obstacles that are embedded in the everyday lives of South Africans.
This match was particularly momentous as it reflected the final match of the first rugby World Cup in 1995, where the Springboks battled their fierce adversaries, the All-Blacks.
Former president Nelson Mandela threw all of his weight behind the Springboks at the time, rallying support right across the nation.
Prior to a democratic South Africa, during the abhorrent apartheid regime, Springbok selectors chose white players only. As far back as 1969, anti-apartheid supporters protested all 24 games played by the team in Britain and Ireland.
For over 90 years, the Springboks were an all-white team, and as a result of the detestable apartheid system, the Springboks were banned from competing in the international arena from 1964 to 1994.
Although the “Rainbow Nation” that Madiba so fervently fought for has been normalised, it was a herculean task to bolster support in 1995, when the team was still viewed by many as a symbol of apartheid and systemic exclusion.
Regardless of this, the Springboks took the nation and the world by storm when they won their first World Cup in a newly-free South Africa. This same outpouring of love and support was mimicked in these 2023 games, where thousands of supporters went to France to support the team once again.
In fact, many South Africans made last-minute bookings in order to be present for the Springboks final win. The trophy tour is certainly giving the many citizens without access and resources a chance to share in this internationally-acclaimed triumph.
During the Springboks arrival at OR Tambo, South African Rugby president Mark Alexander underscored that the team would not receive prize money for the World Cup, but would be awarded bonuses.
However, several international websites have asserted that the champions are due a hefty R93 million collectively. Although the politics of the sporting industry are often complex and riddled with corruption, it is pertinent that the World Cup champions are remunerated accordingly.
The onus is on each and every player to ensure that they are compensated fairly for their immense accomplishment and to vanquish anything that impedes their well-deserved victory payment.
The sports arena has been highlighted many times for corruption, financial mismanagement and bias when it comes to adequately compensating players.
This has been especially highlighted by women’s sports teams and athletes, who face a plethora of institutional and financial challenges in their professional spaces.
It would be a blatant disservice to the team to be side-lined and financially insecure following such an immeasurable accomplishment. The Springboks are part and parcel of the people of this nation, and they should be defended as intensely as they have defended us on the pitch.
Development Impact Fund chief executive Lorenzo Davids has also reiterated the immense significance of the Springboks triumph, urging South Africans to not mitigate this win by allowing inadequate politicians to use the rugby match as a distraction from the immense plethora of failures that continue to take place under their governance.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Davids asserted that despite our glorious win and champion status, South Africa’s government has failed, and has not built a successful nation. Politicians ”piggybacking” on the Springboks’ achievement is a major “disservice to a South African – especially this close to elections”.
Although this is a somewhat deflating position to take during a generally jovial time in our nation, it is extremely true. The attention has been lifted from our crumbling systems and our corruption-riddled public service.
It is pertinent therefore that we do not confuse the World Cup triumph as a triumph of our current system. Our current context is extremely arduous and debilitating to scores of citizens. Empowerment is becoming increasingly difficult.
The cost of living continues to soar, and displacement is only barely addressed in our national context. Our basic education systems are crumbling, and privatisation is at an all-time high.
The systems of our country are currently catering to the elite few that have resources and access to the best of everything. The grandiose middle-class sector of South Africa is actively fighting to keep their heads above water.
Scores of graduates are working menial jobs just to stay alive in our current, quite expensive context. The majority of South Africans are heavily unsupported, and their struggles are largely undermined by those in power.
A democratic system means that the people have the power to shape their systems, leaders and institutions. The people in this country have more power than they realise, and it is pertinent that their inherent autonomous strength is highlighted as we embark on preparations for the coming elections.
President Ramaphosa has reasserted the team’s potential in showing the many qualities that would be necessary to tackle South Africa's status as one of the most unequal countries in the world.
He contended that “the patriotism we display in sports stadiums should be reflected in our approach to overcoming our challenges”. This is absolutely true, particularly for those in leadership, who tend to exhibit individualistic values and priorities.
Yes, sport is an excellent tool to promote unity, but leaders have the responsibility of promoting unity beyond linguistic, cultural and ethnic borders. We need to be particularly discerning in how we harness the energy that has been instilled by the Springboks triumph.
Yes, the Springboks have certainly “united the South African people”, but we need to ensure that we are promoting socio-economic and institutional participation in the same way that we have promoted support for the Springboks.
We need to work collectively, in every arena, to ensure that we are actualising real change, and that we are formulating the future that we want to see. It is sheer resilience, determination and self-confidence that has brought the Springboks to their heroic achievement, and they are certainly examples of the success that is possible when we work collectively and assertively.
As the Springboks slogan precisely reiterates, we are indeed, “Stronger Together”.
* Tswelopele Makoe is a gender activist. She is also an Andrew W Mellon scholar, pursuing an MA Ethics at UWC, and affiliated with the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice. The views expressed are her own.