Rugby lessons for soccer

It is barely 230 days before the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup kicks off in South Africa – and the country has fired its coach. And, at the time of writing, there was still no new incumbent in place. Will changing the coach make that much of a difference, or are the whoes of the national soccer team to be found elsewhere? If compared with what is happening in rugby, the answer apparently has to be in the affirmative – looking much further than just the coach.

"The Beast" Tendai Mtawarira may have had an inconspicuous last hoorah in his Absa Rugby Currie Cup campaign, for he was outmuscled in the scrum by the unheralded WP Nel in the semifinal at the Absa Stadium on Saturday.

The Free State Cheetahs won the game against the more fancied Sharks by 23-21, as John Smit, Mtawarira and Bismarck du Plessis – all seasoned Springboks – flirted with reverse gear consistently against Nel, Richardt Strauss and Wian du Preez.

Yet, despite this anticlimax for "The Beast" in the Currie Cup campaign, this beloved 24-year-old player is one of the main reasons why South Africans should be saluting this competition.

You have the same chorus of support when Lionel Mapoe of the Cheetahs, or the left wing wizard Fabian Juries, start running. Both are strong contenders for the Springbok team. Gio Aplon’s dazzling runs for Western Province have similarly made him a hero of thousands.

When the Bok team for the northern hemisphere tour is announced after the final of the Currie Cup at Loftus Versfeld on 31 October, at least 10 black players could be on that team.

Expect Jongi Nokwe, Aplon, Mapoe, Juries, JP Pietersen, Bryan Habana, Juan de Jongh, Mtawarira, Gurthro Steenkamp, Chiliboy Ralepelle and Ashley Johnson to be on the flight to Heathrow Airport early in November.

During this last weekend’s semifinals, there were four squads totalling 88 players involved in two games that rivalled international test matches in terms of intensity. An experience that helps prepare each one of them for a possible international career, with all that it entails.
To this one can add the intensity of the final league matches of the previous two weeks in which the Lions and Griquas were involved, plus the injured players – and the pool increases to more than 150 players.

It should also be kept in mind that parrallel to the Currie Cup, a high intensity Under-19 and Under-20 league takes place. Add to this the intenational Super 14 competition and the Craven Week for schools and a national club competition, and it becomes clear that rugby does not only cultivate excellence in individual players, but also teaches them to function well within team context under pressure.

This depth and the golden trophy called the Currie Cup has given South African rugby that intensity, passion and immense competition which is unsurpassed in world rugby. That is why the Springboks have little difficulty to perform at international level.

Then there is tradition. The Currie Cup is steeped in it. Recently, the 84-year-old Tjol Lategan, a famous Springbok centre who was part of the Bok team that thrashed the All Blacks 4-0 in 1949, reminisced about his first Currie Cup campaign.

He debuted for Western Province in 1947, against Border. His first touch of the ball was a vital knock with the try line beckoning. His critics booed him.

One match later, he played for Province in the final of the Currie Cup against Transvaal at Newlands. One of his opponents was the famous Hennie Muller, the "Windhond", arguably the greatest Springbok eighth man God ever put breath into.

Province won that final, and Lategan, a superb attacking force in that final, became a cult hero.
It is now 62 years later, and we are still taking Currie Cup rugby. The traditional heavy weights of the game have not changed much.

Province has won 32 cups, the Blue Bulls have finished on the winning podium 22 times, Transvaal – or the Lions – nine times, and the Sharks on five occasions.

Yet the winds of change have blown through South African rugby. That’s why we have to return to "The Beast".

One of the amazing trends in South African rugby is the loud support "The Beast" gets when he attacks the advantage line with his strong, probing runs. When he starts running, you hear a thousand calls of "Be-e-e-e-ast" from all over the stadium – whether that is Absa Park or Loftus, everybody loves him.

In South African rugby, the views that the Currie Cup system is the last beacon of white Afrikanerdom is changing for ever. Sure, thousands upon thousands of white South Africans are still embracing rugby as their traditional sport of choice, but they are not alone.

More and more black South Africans are embracing rugby as sport. And many fans have changed their stereotypical focus on only white, or only black. The colour of skin has become less evident. The colour of the performances has endeared players to the fans.

There may be very few vuvuzelas at Currie Cup games, but there are Mtawariras, Mapoes, Aplons and Johnsons who are crushing cultural stereotypes and changing the hearts and minds of supporters.

In the heart of Pretoria, full-colour pinups of Habana and Mtawarira would be found in the homes of people embracing traditional Afrikaner values. And in Bloemfontein, many teenagers would be adoring Mapoe, Nokwe and Johnson.