Rassie’s influence brings healing to our broken nation

South Africa's Siya Kolisi celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the Rugby Championship. | REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

South Africa's Siya Kolisi celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the Rugby Championship. | REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Published Oct 2, 2024

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Everybody speaks of Nelson Mandela’s greatness and his legacy, and so we should, but nothing of what he fought for, is alive and well today. This is sad! The ANC should hang its head in shame.

In strong contrast to the damaging effects of Zuma and Ramaphosa’s ANC thieves, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has signs of greatness written all over it!

Never before has a South African rugby coach invested so truthfully in his players! Never before have we seen such genuineness, such humility, and such passion for a sports team who represents our nation so well! Rassie and Kolisi’s men have shown South Africa what unity really looks like, and despite the ANC racist regime who keeps using the apartheid card as a weapon to further its false narratives, our beloved Springboks keep inspiring us, uniting us, giving us hope and making us happy and proud! What has Ramaphosa done to make us proud to be South African? Name one thing? The ANC should hang its head in shame!

Looking at the game against Argentina on Saturday, what a spectacle this was! Aphelele Fassi’s straight running reminded me of a sharp knife carving through a piece of steak! Pieter Steph du Toit, the worthy man of the match, played as if he was some kind of terminator whose mission was to tackle, steal the ball, run hard at opposition and be everywhere on the field, contributing massively to the team’s golden performance!

The hot stepping wing Cheslin Kolbe, who is only 1.73m tall and weighs not much more than 78kg, again wowed us with his ankle-breaking side steps as he eluded several would-be Argentina defenders. Lastly, Ox Nche again proved that his power and beef in the scrums proves to be a serious weapon in the Boks arsenal and platform of attack. Eben Etzebeth, our most capped Springbok player ever, also had a good game.

Watching a little girl with cancer celebrate the moment where the Boks lifted the Rugby Championship Trophy for 2024, and seeing Gayton McKenzie dive in front of our rugby boys to be part of the celebratory photographs, sparked hope in all of us. This sports team will be remembered for its incredible professionalism, its never-say-die attitude, its ability to bring all races together and forget our differences, and the stark contrast between a government who fails us every day, versus a sports team which hardly ever drops the ball! No pun intended!

I pray that our government, whatever form it may take in the future, will continue to learn from the Boks and have the humility to admit it has failed its people time and again, on so many fronts, for 30 years now!

It’s time for Ramaphosa, the GNU, Steenhuisen and all other parties to realise, we need healing in South Africa, such as the likes of Kolisi and Rassie’s Springboks successes, and the tremendous impact it has had on our emotional well-being as a nation of sports lovers.

All future rugby matches should be broadcast on SABC and the Springboks should become a political party, with Rassie as its leader! (Laugh out loud!) Go Bokke!

L OOSTHUIZEN

Durban

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

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