Japan 2019: South Africa are Rugby World Cup Champions!
Congratulations to South Africa on winning the Rugby World Cup in Japan and making history in the process.
Twenty-four years after Francois Pienaar first raised the trophy in the famous ‘Mandela final’ history was made when Siya Kolisi became the first black South African captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. This is an other momentous step forward for the Rainbow Nation through the power of sport.
In a moving post-match interview Kolisi said:
"We have so many problems in our country, a team like this - we come from different backgrounds, different races - came together with one goal. I really hope we have done that for South Africa, to show that we can pull together if we want to achieve something. Since I have been alive I have never seen South Africa like this. With all the challenges we have, our coach said to us that we are not playing for ourselves any more, we are playing for the people back home - that is what we wanted to do today. We appreciate all the support - people in the taverns, in the shebeens, farms, homeless people and people in the rural areas. Thank you so much, we appreciate the support. We love you South Africa and we can achieve anything if we work together as one.”
We hope that this inspirational victory, and all that it represents, will add even greater importance to the Bambisanani's work in promoting and developing rugby in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Gallery of Bambisanani Partnership Rugby Photos
““Sport has the power to unite people in a way that little else can. Sport can create hope where there was once only despair. It breaks down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all kinds of discrimination. Sport speaks to people in a language they can understand.””
