Unfinished Business, Geist of the Italian Tour and Springboks’ Test Reckoning
The air before kickoff in Mbombela was thick with that strange South African electricity, part anticipation, part ancestral memory. A Springbok Test match always carries weight, but when Italy stepped onto South African soil this July, there was an added…
Rassie’s Girls Turn 21, A Quiet Celebration of Love and Legacy
There’s a tenderness to certain moments that even years of stadium noise and media scrutiny can’t harden. For Rassie Erasmus, Springbok coach and rugby icon, that moment came not on the field, but somewhere quieter, warmer, and far more personal….
Portrait of the Die-Hard Fans of Lower South Stand
There’s a section at Kings Park Stadium that doesn’t feature in the matchday brochure. No plush seats. No sponsored lounges. No polite applause. Just chipped concrete, weathered banners, and a chaos so loyal it borders on sacred. The Lower South…
The Pressure of Playing for Your Own Town
There’s something about playing for your hometown that makes the jersey cling tighter. Not physically, though sweat does that too, but emotionally. Psychologically. The threads feel stitched with more than cotton: there’s memory in there, legacy, expectation. Because when the…
The Real Cost of Rugby in KZN
Rugby in KwaZulu-Natal isn’t free. Not just in the ticket sense. It costs something deeper, time, money, energy, sacrifice. And while the professional game counts its costs in televised rights and injury reports, the real price is being paid in…
The Barber Chair Confessional
There’s a place in every South African suburb where lineups are studied, not printed. Where speculation isn’t a sports desk but a swivel chair. A place where the clippers buzz like backline speed and the truth is always a little…
Georgia’s Grit, Putting Pressure on the Springboks in Mbombela
There’s a strange electricity in Mbombela Stadium, even when the result feels inevitable. Georgia stepped onto South African soil not as wide-eyed visitors but as a proud, defiant force that managed to rattle the Springboks in ways few expected. When…
The Legacy of Des van Jaarsveldt, the Rhodesian Springbok
Des van Jaarsveldt passed away on July 21, 2025, at the age of 96. In the world of rugby, where history is often written in sweat, scars, and stadium cheers, his name carries a special kind of weight, a name…
Johan Ackermann Returns to Lead the Bulls
There’s a particular kind of pause that settles over rugby supporters when a big announcement comes through, especially when it’s about leadership. For the Vodacom Bulls, that moment arrived this week with the official confirmation that Johan Ackermann has been…
New Blood, Same Anthem: Uncapped Front Row Joins Kolisi’s Return for Springboks vs Georgia
There’s something uniquely South African about waiting for the Springbok team sheet to drop. Across living rooms, WhatsApp groups, and coffee shop corners from Bloem to Durban, people lean in. Some watch the press conference. Some wait for the news…