The Springboks bring Webb Ellis home

Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of Cape Town today to welcome the Springboks home after winning international rugby's great prize, the William Webb Ellis cup. Kerry-Anne and I took a few hours off work to experience the festive atmosphere and catch a few snaps of these South African heroes.

Well done and welcome home boys!

Thanks to Cafe Zorina on 172 Loop Street; they kindly allowed us onto their balcony to take these photos and plied us with drinks and some of the best authentic samoosas I've had.

Click here to see more of today's photos.

The celebration does go on

Celebrations will go on for weeks to come. Today motorists were still blowing their hooters in the streets of Cape Town and fans once again donned their green and gold rugby jerseys. There wasn't too much fanfair among my many colleagues, just an air of knowing (in a "we knew all along" kind of way) that our boys are the 2007 Rugby World Champions.

Two things struck me during this World Cup. Since their victory we've seen many interviews of John Smit, Bryan Habana, Percy Montgomery, etc. and what's interesting is how they - and the rest of the team - all seem like such genuinely nice guys.

The other thing that struck me was how 22 guys and two coaches have managed to unite a very diverse nation in a common goal, a common victory. It was thought-provoking to see black and white fans, who would ordinarily have been divided to a great degree, now hugging each other in the streets.

As I write this the Springbok team is flying (not only figuratively) thousands of feet above the earth, returning to South Africa and preparing to be met by thousands of screaming supporters at OR Tambo Airport tomorrow morning. Welcome back boys!

Tonight... we conquer!

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.

For anyone who may have missed the news, the Springboks became the 2007 Rugby World Cup champions last night, joining Australia as one of the only two teams to have won the trophy twice. The streets of Cape Town were filled with people celebrating into the early hours of the morning - motorists hooted, flags were flown, vuvuzelas were blasted, and pedestrians ran up and down high-fiving people as they drove past. It was an awesome ending to a month and a half of excitement, a week of nervous build-up, and two days of unbelievable Springbok fever. We're a happy nation today, despite the collective hangover. :)

Thanks to everyone who posted good luck messages here over the past week or two! For those of you outside of South Africa, today's post title is a reference to this advert.

Green Day

I remember that when I was at high school we used to hold "Brag Day" the day before any really big interschool sporting event. We would all dress up and get together in the school hall to sing rousing songs and build spirit ahead of the upcoming sports day. Well, today has been Brag Day for the whole of South Africa, as we prepare to take on England in tomorrow's Rugby World Cup Final.

Everywhere I went today I saw people dressed in green, as well as plenty of Springbok and South African flags flying outside houses and businesses. There's an enormous air of expectation, and quite honestly I don't think a whole lot of work got done around Cape Town today.

Many companies allowed their staff to come to work in casual clothes, and encouraged them to dress in green and gold. These photos were taken by Hannes Thiart, outside the head-office of Paul's employer Santam, which is a large insurance company located in Bellville.

Roll on tomorrow, we're ready!

Roosters back on the bench

The French rugby team (Les Bleus) lost to the English team last night in the first semi-final of the Rugby World Cup at Stade de France. Kerry-Anne and I watched in dismay as Jonny Wilkinson managed to kick the ball over the posts twice in the last 5 minutes of the game, putting England ahead.

The rooster is one of France's national symbols. We found these roosters, fittingly, sitting on the bench and looking highly annoyed.

Commiserations to our French blogger friends Eric, Alice, Nathalie and Gaëlle - we do feel for you!

Visit Grenoble Daily Photo to see Gaëlle's rooster - looking slightly happier than perhaps it should. ;)

We're off to watch the Springboks play Argentina in the second semi-final in a few hours' time - any good vibes and positive thoughts you want to send their way would be most welcome.

Tense moments

Last night's quarter-final rugby game was filled with moments of extreme, nerve-wracking tension for Springbok fans, and this was one of them (evidenced by the four people with hands clutched dramatically to their temples).

We watched the game at the Springbok Pub in Newlands, which is hosting Cape Town's official Absa Boktown. The atmosphere was brilliant, with all kinds of prizes (for singing the national anthem with gusto, for dancing on the tables, even for the group buying the most beer); and appropriately celebratory music was played at the end of the game. We'll be there for the semi-final and the final too, so if you're in Cape Town and are looking for a good place to watch the games, join us. (Be sure to call the pub and book a table though - the venue can hold a fair number of people, but I have a feeling it's going to fill up fast.)