I haven’t said much about the rugby. It was difficult to verbalise the disappointment. I’m feverishly enthusiastic about South African sport and to hear we lost was difficult. It’s a case of ‘Where were you when Japan beat South Africa at the 2015 World Cup?” I will always remember where I was. We had got complimentary tickets (thanks Linda!) to Broadway Classics Philharmonia Choir conducted by Richard Cock at the City Hall.
We had followed the match before leaving for the concert and had believed the Springboks would win, so didn’t give it much thought. I checked my cell phone and to my dismay saw the final score. I decided to not ruin Mike’s evening and only tell him afterwards. But little did I know that rugby was also on the mind of the conductor.
Richard Cock began to introduce “You’ll never walk alone” and as he mentioned Liverpool, it bought to mind the rugby….”Who won the rugby?” he suddenly interjected. There were a number of uneasy mumblings and a few uncomfortable sniggers. “WHAT!?” he cried, ‘JAPAN WON? SOUTH AFRICA LOST TO JAPAN!”
The music soothed away our misery and we so enjoyed the performance, but shortly after arriving home, David appeared to commiserate and read through the outpouring on social media. How dismal. What a shock. Definitely, this is something we will have to adjust to.
The memes immediately did the rounds…
Then I picked up this tweet in a SA People.com report…
I immediately went into the story, but I couldn’t get in…service was temporarily unavailable – website had reached maximum concurrent connections!
Today, I went back to the report and read with delight how Olly Barratt witnessed South Africans leaving the stadium congratulating the Japanese fans, shaking their hands and applauding their team’s performance. But as his tweet reporting continued, the sportsmanship of the South Africans went to a new level. As the tweet said, as the train pulled into Brighton, the SAfricans gave the Japanese supporters a guard of honour and cheered them off.
RESPECT.
It is earned.
Respect to the Japanese for a game brilliantly played.
Respect to the South African fans who, within their deep disappointment, acknowledged better play.
Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.
The other thing that comes to mind is the utter humiliation the Springbok squad must have felt. Imagine the locker room after the match.
Humiliation does not feel good.
But what goes around comes around. The Japanese rugby team have had their fair share of defeats. There is success ahead and there is defeat ahead, for both teams.
You need to suck it up. And when victory is your lot, you need to remain humble within it.
I hope the Springboks get through.
Well Japan. You did good!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂
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