Three members of the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup squad will accompany the Webb Ellis Cup on the third stop of the RWC Trophy Blitz, which heads to Kimberley on Friday.
Malcolm Marx, Duane Vermeulen and Deon Fourie will take the coveted gold cup to the capital and largest city in the Northern Cape province on Friday, where a hive of rugby activity awaits.
The players will take the Webb Ellis Cup to the Diamond Pavilion Shopping Centre at 13h00 on Friday afternoon, where fans will have an opportunity to snap pictures, before they head to Suzuki Stadium for the top-of-the-table SA Cup clash between Suzuki Griquas and the Airlink Pumas.
“Kimberley will be a hive of sporting activity this weekend, with lots of school teams in action as well as the big SA Cup clash between Griquas and the Pumas,” said Mr Mark Alexander.
“These two teams met at the same venue in the Currie Cup final of 2022, and we saw back then what a huge following rugby has in the Northern Cape. Griquas is also one of our oldest provinces, so it’s great to have the opportunity to thank the people from that part of the country for their support of the Springboks.
“The first two stops on the Trophy Blitz, in Gqeberha and George, have underlined how passionate South Africans are about the Boks and rugby in general, and we are excited to head north on this third stop of the tour.”
The SA Cup match at Suzuki Stadium kicks off at 14h30 and the players will appear on the field, holding the Webb Ellis Cup aloft, at half-time.
Delicious
England is the only team in the northern hemisphere to have won the Rugby World Cup – Given the game’s origins in England, statistically southern hemisphere teams are wayyyyyyy better at rugby. In total there have been 9 Rugby World Cups. New Zealand have won 3, South Africa have won 3, Australia have won it twice, and England are the only team in the northern hemisphere to have won it. Maybe the Rugby World Cup 2023 hosted in France will be another win for a European team though!
Sleepwalker
None Knows What Happened to Hansie Cronje: People who have been following South African sports for a long time must know that Hansie Cronje was behind match-fixing in 2000. Soon after the dark secret got revealed, he died in a plane crash in 2002. Many experts say it was a planned murder by the criminals behind the scandal. But due to lack of evidence, none can prove the actual cause of death, and it still lingers in the history of South African sports as one of the biggest mysteries.