Cape Town - History beckons the Springboks in Cape Town this afternoon in the second Rugby Championship Test against the mighty All Blacks.
They can make it four wins in a row against their arch-rivals, dating back to last year’s 35-7 Twickenham roast, the one-point 2023 Rugby World Cup final victory of 12-11, and last weekend’s 31-27 comeback triumph at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
It could be the first time since rugby turned professional that the Boks record four consecutive wins over the Kiwis, and another piece of silverware, the Freedom Cup, could also return home for the first time since 2009 if it’s a successful day at DHL Stadium (5pm start).
Should the world champions pull off the win in the Mother City, it will also take them to the brink of claiming the Rugby Championship. The last time they won the tournament was in 2019, a truncated version with only one round. So, plenty rides on today’s game and its outcome.
The Springboks will not only be up against the All Blacks and their Haka, that will hopefully not be “overshadowed by music and disruptions” like last Saturday.
But also an expected healthy contingent of New Zealand supporters, aptly named Cape Crusaders for their support of the Kiwis’ most successful Super Rugby side, who, just like the national side, has enjoyed plenty of success in Cape Town during the Super Rugby era.
The All Blacks had hundreds of fans welcome them in the Mother City on Sunday after they arrived at the airport, while their hotel in Newlands and training sessions sparked a lot of interest.
So, the black jerseys are expected to pack the DHL Stadium and the Springboks can brace themselves for some choice words and jeering from opposing fans.
But there will be no intimidation for the Boks as they focus solely on winning that Freedom Cup and having the trophy back in South Africa after a long drought.
While more tickets were released on Thursday morning after the Test was dubbed as “sold-out” on the day sales opened, supporters quickly jumped to buy the remainder of the re-released tickets for the clash.
Only tickets in prime seats between R2 500 and R3 500 were available for purchase, but the magnitude of the Test saw them being snapped up within a day of being made available and the sold-out sign on Ticketmaster went up again by late yesterday afternoon.
It shows the level of interest by rugby fans to be part of a little bit of history in the long-standing rivalry between the two sides.
Siya Kolisi, Bok captain, said after a long wait (since 2017), it’s good to play New Zealand in the Mother City again. The Boks haven’t beaten the Kiwis in Cape Town since 2005 at Newlands and are eager to change that little statistic this afternoon.
Kolisi and the Boks are eager to turn a few Kiwi supporters into Bok fans.
“Hopefully, one or two people can turn after the game and support us again,” the skipper laughingly said.
“But we have no bad feelings after things have been explained to us by people who lived through it (the reason they support the Kiwis). We do understand and there are no hard feelings. As long as when we play someone else, they support us.
“I am expecting a big occasion. We obviously want as many Springbok supporters, but we respect everybody’s views who’s coming to watch. We’ve seen people that flew in from New Zealand and coach Rassie explained it, we have to respect everybody. There are reasons behind everything. We just want to go there and play as best as we can, for everybody. Because people pay to come and see us.”
Unlike last weekend’s clash, where there were successful negotiations to bring the match live to a broader South African audience on television, today’s duel in the Cape will not be broadcast on SABC 2.
A sunny September’s day is predicted for the Mother City and as a curtain-raiser to the main game, the Springbok Women will face a Barbarians side with kickoff set for 1.30pm.
Kolisi said having the Bok Women play ahead of them on the same field is a step in the right direction for women’s rugby. It’s a historic first appearance for the South African Women at DHL Stadium.
“I would really want to encourage people to go and watch them,” Kolisi added about the women’s match.
“We are so excited about that and to hear how happy they were to play (ahead of us). They represent all of us (South Africa) when they play, just like we do. And they need the same kind of backing. I am sure it will be a good game.”
Weekend Argus