2023-10-29 14:22:46
The latest news was that the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, was considering establishing a public holiday on Monday in the event of his country’s victory in the Rugby World Cup final. The thing has not been confirmed, but it shows that the matter was taken more than seriously on the borders of the African continent. Just as in Oceania where, despite the inappropriate time (8 a.m.), an entire country of 5 million inhabitants coveted a new coronation supposed to reaffirm the preeminence of a monument of sport, still as legendary in the export, which competes in situ by rugby league or netball.
“Something even bigger than just a World Cup final,” said Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick, alluding to the fact that only one of the two teams would reach the top of world rugby in the end of the meeting this Saturday, October 28, consequently destined to enter the legend. If only through the back door, the grumps will complain, still not recovered from the elimination of France in the quarter-final (and who will push the aberration, if not the stupidity, to the point of whistling the referee, Wayne Barnes , undoubtedly still judged responsible… through a colleague), or the aesthetes who dreamed under the drizzle of a rain of tests, on the sodden green grass of a Stade de France which hosted its second global rugby final. The first, in 2007, was won by South Africa, without scoring a single try. The second, ditto, the team having won 12-11.
Except that the accounts do not stop there, since, also after 1995 and 2019, here is now South Africa, the only nation on earth with four world titles when the All Blacks, still considered in the collective unconscious as a supreme myth , see their counter stagnate at three. With 60% possession, double the number of balls played, crossings, rucks or mauls won, almost triple the number of broken tackles and crossings, Ian Foster’s players won the stats match, but not the Webb Cup -Ellis. This is how it is and, whatever we think of South Africa, often criticized, we must, beyond the part of luck that it was able to provoke, grant it a will of steel to have won its last three matches, all life and death, with a single point difference – a scenario that we should not see again in the centuries to come.
“We all come from different backgrounds”
The last minutes of the match, winger Cheslin Kolbe spent them on the bench, after a yellow card received for a voluntary forward. His head buried in his jersey, he didn’t want to look. Then, once the verdict was known, the player, very religious, prostrated himself on the pitch, went to embrace several defeated opponents and, finally, joined in the jubilation of his partners. Until this spring, Kolbe was at RC Toulon, where, injured for a long time, he did not perform at all as expected – and has just left for Japan. Six months later, on his 30th birthday, here he was crowned, after having been one of the great architects of the victorious journey. Ditto for opener Handré Pollard, who arrived in Montpellier after the 2019 title, where, injured for a long time (definitely), he left in three seasons one of the most elusive memories – before taking charge of England. However, called into the group at the last minute, his foot never shook and it was again he who scored the four penalties equivalent to the twelve points in the final… with a very philosophical conception of skill: “That gave me seems pretty normal on the field, it’s rugby. You just have to trust yourself and if you miss it, it doesn’t matter.”
Siya Kolisi, for his part, is not finished with France, who has just signed for Racing 92. After his second trophy lifted in Saint-Denis, the Boks captain arrived at a press conference singing, as he does when he enters the field (his way of concentrating). But moments later, the tone was solemn: “People who are not from South Africa do not understand what this means for our country. It goes beyond sport. Our country is experiencing great difficulties, but this team shows what we are capable of doing, as long as we agree to work together, everything is possible, whatever the field: on the ground, in the offices […] We can inspire lots of people, we all come from different backgrounds. Personally I had my reasons for playing rugby [il est issu d’un milieu pauvrissime et s’est forgé à l’école de la rue dans un township, ndlr]we each had our own, but our country is what unites us.”
“An extraordinary gift”
“Rich” on a continental scale, South Africa nevertheless continues to struggle in turmoil. Particularly unequal, the territory, still far from having exterminated all the demons of racism, suffers from electricity shortages, corruption and insecurity. Infrastructure is failing, to the point that in February, the President – threatened with impeachment at the end of 2022 – declared the state of “national catastrophe”. Nothing has changed, naturally, but the world title offers the country an ecumenical breath of hope. “The victorious Springboks bask in glory,” headlined the general daily News 24 on its website. “Stronger together is a conviction come true,” proclaimed Cyril Ramaphosa, who got off the plane on Saturday morning in Paris, for the final. “Tonight, Siya Kolisi and the 2023 champions gave us an extraordinary gift, a source of inspiration for the whole country,” added the statesman. In a few years, the charismatic Boks captain, now adored like never before, will end his career on the field. To imagine that he would one day become Minister of Sports would not be incongruous. Or even more, who knows?
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