October 22, 2007
By Lesego Madumo
JOBURG is gearing up to welcome home the victorious Springboks when they touch down at OR Tambo International Airport tomorrow morning.
The City is planning a number of events throughout the week to celebrate the Springboks' triumph over England, when they clinched the coveted International Rugby Board's Webb Ellis Cup at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night, 20 October.
The Boks beat England 15 – 6 in an 80-minute game in which blood flowed on players' faces like sweat. It was watched by a packed crowd of 80 340 spectators, among them President Thabo Mbeki. Many millions more watched the match broadcast live at fan parks and on television around the world.
Rugby fans will be able to welcome the team home at OR Tambo airport on Tuesday, 23 October. The players' British Airways flight, BA 055, is expected to land at 6.50am. After arriving and greeting fans gathered in the international arrivals hall, the players will hold a press conference at the airport from 8.30am to 9.30am.
A ticker tape parade through Johannesburg and Soweto has been planned, ending with a big celebration at Monte Casino's Absa Bok City, for Friday. There will be parades in other big cities over four days to welcome home the winners in true rugby style.
Following the victory, Springbok rugby coach Jake White told the French media: "Winning the cup is much bigger than South African rugby … We have created something special here and if we can take the lessons from what this small group of people has achieved, there's no reason why South African rugby and South Africa can't take this as a huge plus and build on it."
Bongi Mokaba, Joburg's events director, said, "The logic behind all these planned events is to ensure that the City assists in making rugby accessible to different communities as part of developing sport."
They would be used as a platform bridge the racial divide, "as rugby is still in some circles considered a white man's sport". She noted that the Boks' success should be used as a means to instil national pride "across all communities and in all sporting codes".
On Tuesday, a bus for City staff and the public will leave for the airport from the Metro Centre at 5am. Johannesburg metro police will help to manage the traffic and escort buses to and from the airport. The SABC will broadcast live from the airport.
Saturday night
Joburgers partied the night away following the Boks' triumph on Saturday. Revellers took to township streets blasting vuvuzelas, revving cars had national flags flying out their windows, fireworks lit up the sky and car hooters added to the noise.
Fan Parks at Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown, Boktown at Montecasino, and Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, where the SABC broadcast the game live on big screens, were packed, and elevated with celebrations all night.
Springbok T-shirts - worn by everyone - turned the areas into seas of green and gold.
The Springboks clashed with England for the fourth time in a Rugby World Cup and both countries were aiming for a second World Cup title.
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