The weekend was one for winners as two of South Africa’s national rugby teams managed to secure convincing victories over their opponents.
In the voice of the artist, Mgarimbe, “We are back, baby!”. This past weekend saw both South Africa’s senior rugby team, the Springboks, and the U20 Boks mark their return to the international stage with two successful performances.
On Saturday, all eyes turned towards the Mother City, Cape Town, where the World Champions Springboks faced the British Invitational team, the Barbarians who boasted a wealth of international players from nationals like New Zealand, Ireland, France as well as our very own Reuben van Heerden who fell short of a Bok call-up.
The game was played in ice-cold temperatures and wet conditions, and despite the absence of bruiser Eben Etzebeth and captain Siya Kolisi, long-time stalwart of the team Jesse Kriel was successful in his role as the stand-in leader in the team.
With the score locked at 19-0 at half-time, it was time to close the game in the second half, and by the blowing of the final whistle, Malcolm Marx, Cheslin Kolbe, Vincent Tshituka (2), Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Lood de Jager, and Damian De Allende had all registered their name on the try scorers list, claiming a 54 – 07 victory as well as the Qatar Airways Cup.
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Baby Boks
After their seniors laid the foundation towards a winning momentum, Sunday saw the Junior Springboks take on Australia in the U20 World Rugby Championship at the Pata Stadium in Italy.
It appears that the future of South African rugby is in good hands as the U20 side displayed a dominant performance to claim a 73 – 17 victory.
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They will next take on England on Friday, 4 July, while the Springboks face Italy on Saturday, 5th July.
