How Rugby United a Fractured Nation

 by James Mullen

Mandela with the Webb Ellis Cup, 1995

Recently, the Rugby World Cup Final brought immense joy - not only to me but also to my family and countless fellow South Africans. For such a divided country, it's interesting to see how such a diverse group of people were united under the prideful saying ‘hie kom die bokke’. For centuries, this beautiful country has been devastated by profound division, perhaps stemming from its competitive colonial past. The arrival of the Boers and later the British in Southern Africa marked the beginning of conflicts over both resources and land that persisted for many generation: this was further intensified with the discovery of gold in Joburg and diamonds in Kimberly, creating more economic divide and an increase in racial tensions between many Whites and many Blacks. Then came the Apartheid, creating unprecedented, institutionalised segregation, legally enforcing the separation of peoples on the lines of racial groups. All this building division in the past has led to a major separation today. 

Ramaphosa with the Webb Ellis Cup, 2023

There aren’t many moments when the people of South Africa come together to celebrate. There are too many issues and it's just too easy to blame them on each other; it is such a beautiful country devastated by corruption, selfishness and not coming together to solve these issues. This was made evident in the presidency of ANC leader Jacob Zuma. His 9 year long presidency (2009-2018) was marred by numerous corruption allegations, including but not exclusive to his multiple million-pound upgrades, during his time in office, at his private residence in the town of Nkandla in Kwazulu-Natal, which was funded entirely by public money.

Additionally, there were often accusations of undue influence by wealthy businessmen on important government decisions, contributing to a perception of corruption even at the highest levels of government. And while this occurred, this large quantity of syphoned money was desperately needed across many public sectors, especially in public infrastructure and healthcare: roads are often unsafe due to rampant pot holes and/or flooding, and thousands of those who are unable to afford medical aid (health insurance) are driven to public hospitals, which are far too insufficient compared to their private healthcare counterparts. With so many issues, it's always been so easy to put the blame upon each other, causing tension and conflict as often seen throughout South African history. 

But, all this is put aside when it comes to sports. Who cares about all of the loadshedding - cutting out electricity to certain parts of the country at certain times - when the Springboks won the world cup final? From a 1st world, English perspective, it gets too easy to overlook these issues sometimes: ‘South Africa must be stable enough if they have a successful sporting system that produces players like Handre Pollard’. But that is after all only one side of the story. The grass is always less green on the other side. Issues like loadshedding and corruption are often overlooked. But, the South African people came together in an act of unity when it came to sports. People watched the rugby games together at malls on large screens during load shedding, truly embodying the Springbok ethos of ‘stronger together’. After all, rugby is a team sport where every player has their role in order to make up an even stronger unit. 

To obtain a victory at such a physically demanding level, coming together and playing the South African way was necessary - making the most of what we had available. When the country came together to celebrate, just as Mandela had done 28 years prior, Cyril Ramaphosa rejoiced with all the players involved, uplifting the Webb Ellis Cup high. For a brief moment, South Africa was united through rugby. Maybe there will be hope for the uncertain future of this gorgeous nation, just as there had been when Mandela had helped to repeal the Apartheid.