South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and some of his cabinet ministers officially welcomed the triumphant Springboks at the Union Buildings on Thursday morning.
The Springboks successfully defended their Webb Ellis trophy when they defeated the All Blacks of New Zealand 12-11 in a nail-biting final at the Stade de France in Paris last Saturday.
As the team arrived, they were greeted by throngs of supporters who waited for them from the early hours of the morning. As the hit song Nkalakatha blazed, the Union Building turned into a bash as the young and old danced and cheered for their heroes.
It has been a rather spectacular week for SA sports and President Ramaphosa and Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa are soaking it up. Some of the ministers who attended and celebrated with the players include Lindiwe Zulu, Joe Phaahla, Khumbudzo Ntshabeni, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Sindisiwe Chikunga. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe was present too.
Said Ramaphosa: “The Springboks performance has captured the imagination of all people in the world and in the continent. We received a message of congratulations from many heads of state. The victory was for the continent. This has energised our people in no way you can imagine. With al the challenges that the country is having, this cannot wash away the problems away – it has brought something to smile about. It’s about celebrating the glory of the Springboks – that was not easy to achieve but well deserved. The win was huge, monumental and very historical.”
Please keep on supporting Boks
The SA skipper Siya Kolisi celebrated with the crowd and thanked them for the support: “We appreciate it and we want to thank you for everything. You are the reason why the team was successful, we could not have done it without you. Please keep on supporting our teams,” he said to a raucous scream from the green and gold clad supporters.
“Today as a team, you are immortal and made us very proud,” Ramaphosa continued. “This is the time for our national heroes, let us celebrate them – unfortunately they can’t do these trophy parades in every village and city – the country is so big and not possible for the players to visit each and every place.”
