Sport

Sport in South Africa

Sport is extremely popular in South Africa. Whether it is at school, provincial or even national level, people in South Africa are passionate about sport. The main sports are soccer, cricket and rugby, while hockey and netball also feature in the news from time to time. South Africa has also produced several international golfers, such as Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and there are in excess of 400 golf courses in the country.

Despite the popularity of sport, during the apartheid era South Africa was barred from international competition, which is why there was no participation in international fixtures during the 1970s and 1980s.

South African players with the Webb Ellis trophy

Rugby

Rugby is played at every level in South Africa, from traditional high school derbies to provincial tournaments and international fixtures. The South African national team, also known as the “Springboks” or “Boks” (Afrikaans: Bokke), has won the Rugby World Cup on two occasions, in 1995 and again in 2007. The 1995 tournament was hosted by South Africa, and the crowning moment of the event was the presentation of the trophy by then president Nelson Mandela to the captain of the South African team, Francois Pienaar. When he made the presentation, Mandela was wearing Pienaar’s number 6 jersey.

The Tri-Nations (SANZAR) series is contested by South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and pits the cream of southern hemisphere rugby against each other. Besides test matches, the main inter-regional tournament is the Super 14, which involves teams from South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The tournament demands a very high level of play from participating teams, and is probably one of the hardest provincial leagues in the world. Locally, the South African inter-provincial league is known as the “Currie Cup”, and is contested on an annual basis.

South Africa has several famous rugby stadiums, listed below.

• Ellis Park, Johannesburg
• Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
• Kingspark, Durban
• Springbokpark, Bloemfontein
• Telkom Park, Port Elizabeth
• Newlands, Cape Town
• Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

Cricket

South Africa has a long history of participation in international cricket, stretching back more than 100 years. The game is still popular in the country, and the national team competes in Tests, One Day Internationals, and T20 fixtures. The team has had mixed fortunes in the World Cup event, reaching the semi-finals in 1999, where a tragic run-out with the scores tied, involving Lance Klusener and number 11 batsman Allan Donald, ended South Africa’s run in the tournament.

As stated previously, the team was barred from international matches between 1970 and 1992. This is why, when referring to South African cricket, people sometimes mention the phrase “re-admission”, which simply refers to South Africa being allowed to play internationally again. Perhaps the highlight of South African cricket, since re-admission, was the historic series-deciding match against Australia played in 2006, when South Africa successfully chased a target of 435 in 50 overs. This match is still referred to as the “438 game”, indicating South Africa’s eventual score in their innings.

The most important cricket grounds in South Africa have been listed below.

• Centurion, Pretoria
• Wanderers, Johannesburg
• Kingspark, Durban
• Springbokpark, Bloemfontein
• St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
• Newlands, Cape Town

An Orlando Pirates supporter – colourfully dressed supporters can usually be seen at games involving the bigger clubs

Soccer in South Africa

Soccer is a popular sport in South Africa. Although the national team is not one of the highest-ranking sides in international competition, the sport still has many followers locally.

The local league, or Premier Soccer League (PSL) is contested by 16 teams, or clubs. Some of the top clubs in South Africa are Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Santos (not to be confused with the club of the same name in Brazil), Ajax Cape Town (which does, as the name suggests, have links to Ajax Amsterdam), Moroka Swallows (the Dube Birds) and Bloemfontein Celtic. There are also various knock-out tournaments which run during the season.

Soccer in South Africa received a major boost with the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Several new stadia were constructed for the tournament, and the South African national team also featured in the event, recording a 2-1 victory over France. The tournament was eventually won by Spain. It was also during this tournament that the “vuvuzela” or plastic horn rose to prominence, although it was not to everyone’s liking. The horns have been a feature of local South African soccer spectators for a long time, so do not be surprised to hear them if you decide to attend a PSL match.

The other important international tournament is the African Cup of Nations, which is held every two years, and involves teams from the African continent. The current holder of the Cup is Egypt.

Other sports

Other sports played in South Africa include hockey and netball, although these sports do not have the same level of following that the three main sports do. Athletics is also prominent, but obviously depends more on individual achievement than team support to gain prominence. Caster Semenya was recently crowned world 800m women’s champion, and long-jumper Khotso Mokoena won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games.

South Africa has a history of producing world-class golfers. Names such as Gary Player, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen should be well known to followers of international golf.

By following sport in South Africa, you are sure to have a ready topic of conversation at all times, and you may find that it is easy to make friends who share the same interests.

A man blowing a vuvuzela – this is common at South African sporting events