A special bunch?

My life according to rugby has not been such a happy one. Winning more than sixty percent of our games, most coming against northern hemisphere opposition, was something i have never been satisfied with. To have in our trophy cabinet the riches we have now and i speak not only about rugby here, but two of the most cherished sports in English history.

(For record sake: South Africa are number one in Test Cricket, One day cricket, Rugby Union and Rugby sevens as well as being the the country with the Super 14 champions; the hardest provincial completion ever created.)

The Springboks beat the All Blacks 3 times in a row, that is worth more than any world cup ever. Having taken a beating for more than ten years by the old enemy, we showed that we are truly a great rugby nation. Maybe not always the best and maybe not always with the most complete style of rugby, but at the moment not many countries in the history of any sport, let alone two (cricket and rugby) have had the kind of success we have had over the last few years.

To add to the euphoria is the fact that non white South Africans have been involved, integrally, in the success of a country that has the option of embracing everyone as one people and becoming a nation with boundless possibilities. It doesn't mater the colour of your skin anymore, it doesn't even matter if you win, but if you show guts and heart and a patriotism that transcends all else you produce the results we have seen of late.

If we could all take a leaf out of any ones book it would be the much maligned coach of the springboks, Peter De Villers, who has achieved in his short career more than any other coach in Bok history, not withstanding the fact that he comes from a background that doesn't make it easy to succeed in a profession engrossed by the former "oppressor". No matter what any journalist says or anyone thinks, one tiny man has lead 22, no 60 million men and women to a glory in something so small as a sport with an oddly shaped ball that makes a difference to so many people.

There is no better time to be a South African supporter and by supporting we are part of the success. May it long live on.

I employ you all to keep watching rugby and to always, always, always enjoy.

This is sgr, slightly drunk and extremely emotional, but hey...wouldn't you be if you saw that tackle by Jaque Fourie or that penalty by Frans Steyn?

SGR