I know a lot of people here hate sports ball, but for a troubled country such as South Africa, it is a great unifier.
Congratulations Springboks! 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦
And hopefully the Proteas will manage to not be chokers this time around, and copy the success in the cricket world cup.
I like watching rugby, yet on DirecTV, in America, the powers to be seem not to be wanting to broadcast any matches. Oh well, the Springboks are a very good team, heck all contenders can easily take the championship. The Haka is something special to view, though. Makes me proud of the kiwis.
I remember as a small girl getting up in the early hours to watch the ABs play SA and the pride of being a Kiwi especially as we were a force to be reckoned with. Our population was only 3 million then but the world went woke and sport suffered along with everything else. :(
Johna Lomu was awesome! He departed way too soon and I think that might have had an effect on the ABs. I've always been impressed with the ABs. A small population yet they seem to field a team of hardnosed, tough players who can run like a gazelle. Great players through the years on the ABs teams.
Yes indeed great players. Of course back in the day these men held down full time jobs, farmers mostly, who worked, trained and drank hard. Turning professional - ripped the Kiwi spirit out and it's been down hill since. I can't watch anymore and the ABs taking the knee to BLM was it.
I did not know they were farmers. Wow, that says a lot about the fortitude of those players. Tehy wanted to play for the love of the sport....plus they could drink an Irishman under the table. haha. It is so refreshing to hear the "behind the scenes" of pro sports. Thanks for tickling my eyes with these types of stories. I appreciate your chiming in to educate a dude a world away.
And of course there was the final in SA between SA and ABs 1995 where the only way they could win was to poison us. Yes it's true.
Whatever it takes to make yourself feel better 28 years later. Fantastic defense won it back then, and the same won it today.
Joel Stransky, you beauty!
Just a bit of history sorry.
I'm sorry, that wasn't a very mature response from me.
It's just that if you weren't in South Africa in 1995 you'll never understand what that meant to the country at that time. For a few months we had a united country, all the (probably manufactured) racial tension was forgotten in a wonderful way.
I can fully understand you feeling that way and it's cruel how sports is being used as a distraction - "Bread and Circuses" a term coined by Nero before he burnt Rome. Take care fren cause it's going to get much worse.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/rugby-world-cup-2023/2023/10/rugby-world-cup-new-zealand-fans-ride-rollercoaster-of-early-morning-emotions-as-webb-ellis-trophy-slips-away.html
I thought most of the RWC matches had results as genuine as NFL games.