Programme Director
The Minister of Sport & Recreation, Honourable Mr Fikile Mbalula
The Deputy Minister, Honourable Mr G Oosthuizen
The President of SASCOC, Mr G Sam
The Deputy President of SA Rugby Mr Marc Alexanda
Board Members and Executive Committee of Members of SA Rugby Union
Players of our national team
The coach and the captain
Sport men and women
Media organisations present here
Distinguished guests
Comrades and friends
Fellow South Africans
I would like to take this opportunity to greet all our people, the people of the South!
It is, indeed, humbling to address our national team, amaBhokobhoko on this important occasion as they prepare to depart our shores to go and defend our pride in New Zealand. There is a strong sense of pride that one feels when talking about them because as a team with a collective purpose, they have already made us proud and conquered the IRB World Cup Title, not once but twice!
As Wanderley Luxemburgo has put it: “A player who conjugates a verb in the first person singular cannot be part of the squad; he has to conjugate the verb in the first plural.We!We want to conquer!We are going to conquer!Using the word “I” when you are in a group makes things complicated.”
Ladies and gentlemen, On behalf of our entire nation and its forty eight million citizens, we would like to proudly take this opportunity to wish the South African Rugby National Team good luck in their World Cup tournament in New Zealand in October this year.
As a nation we are delighted and proud that our national team is again going to take part in the World Cup 2011 tournament in New Zealand. The Springboks are always adding value to this journey of global participation in sport by competing in almost all World Cups and Rugby Championships since the reacceptance of South Africa into the international rugby stage. This determination and dedication by our boys should serve as an inspiration to all our national teams to emulate this example.
As a country we believe that the positive spirit our people displayed during the 1995 and 2007 Rugby World Cups and the ultimate 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Netball World Championships and the Cricket World Cup in 2011 must continue and that the all-round support that was generated for Bafana-Bafana and other national teams must now be inculcated into massive and overwhelming support for the Springboks in their heroic war for the Trophy in the upcoming event.
What ever happened yesterday, what ever is happening today; and what ever will happen tomorrow; stick with the following:
“Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow”.
We say to you as a people, go out there and represent your beloved country in the foreign land and we know that you will bring the trophy back home and make us proud again!
We trust and hope that you will enjoy a wonderful time in New Zealand and enjoy their world-renowned hospitality, and that you will have sufficient time to enjoy the many splendid attractions in that part of the globe.
Good luck!
Source: Sport and Recreation South Africa
