Bulls vs Cheetahs

Rugby is a passionate sport in South Africa. It is a very rough and tumble full contact sport! There are 15 players per side with two 40 minutes periods. To understand the game you need to learn new phraseology like: scrum, ruck, trys, hooker, touch, and lineout. You can search these out on the internet. To go to a match is not just a game but an event.





Yesterday I was invited by some good friends of ours to join them in a match of the Vodacom Bulls (Pretoria) vs the Cheetahs (Bloemfontein).

Mid-afternoon we headed out to find a suitable place to park our vehicle and have the mandatory Boerwors braii (farmers sausage BBQ). Winter temperatures now are about 12C mid-day although it becomes wonderfully warm in the sun. We joined hundreds, and likely thousands, of others enjoying a beautiful sunny afternoon outside.  By around 6pm we headed out to the Loftus Versfeld stadium - about 1/2 kilometre away. Along with the crowds we found our way through the ticket gates and to our seats.

A lineout jump

Rugby has traditionally been a 'white man's game in South Africa while Soccer was the 'black man's' game - in the former era of Apartheid.  When Nelson Mandela took the presidential mantle in 1994 he saw the opportunity to use the passion of sport to build unity and common purpose throughout the land. That story is chronicled in John Carlin's book 'Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that made a Nation' and highlighted in the movie 'Invictus' (well worth seeing). The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup also saw a major shift in this regard.

A scrum

 Most observers in this match however were still white Afrikaans speaking folk - and passionate about the game. From time to time a fight would break out between fans - and everyone would seem to forget about the game and stand up to watch the altercation.

In this particular game the Bulls won 32 to 21. Our group was split between who was cheering for who - but it was all amicably handled and we drove home having enjoyed a great day!

And then there are always fans that don't know when enough is enough... eh?