Monday, November 13, 2006

Go Bokke!!

No I mean it. Go. Go home. Go practice. Go do something, just don't do it in Ireland anymore.

I was so looking forward to this last Saturday - we bought tickets to see the South African rugby team play Ireland at Lansdowne Road. Tickets were scarce as hens' teeth but we managed to get some for our friends, who drove up from Cork, and for my cousin Del and his buddy who flew over from London to see the game. It was going to be monstrous - The Boyz were going to do us proud. Hubby even met them in town on Friday and they promised they were up for it; they lost to Ireland the last time they played here and it was time to redeem themselves.

So we left home around lunch time on Saturday and headed into town, had a couple of pints in a pub beforehand and then joined the thousands of South Africans (and a few Irish, of course) streaming into Lansdowne Road stadium.
And what happened?
The Springboks choked. They were abysmal. We stood for two hours in the freezing cold, in the rain, shouting encouragement until we were hoarse... and all for nothing. They didn't just lose, they played really badly and were soundly beaten. The final score was 32 - 15, I think. By the end of the game it didn't really matter.

Do you think they know how much this stupid game means to those of us living 10,000km from home? Do they care that we put all our support behind them, that we pay good money to see them, so that we can spend a few hours together with some sense of national pride... only have it obliterated? And then we have to go back to work on Monday and take the flack from our Irish colleagues who are now convinced they're the next world champions, having beaten the mighty Springboks.
I could shake Jake White so hard his whole family tree rattles!

Jake: take your damn experimental teams somewhere else. Give us a break.
Once was painful.
Twice is too much.
I won't go to the next one.

Before the game, during the anthems, when we still had hope.

***

Disillusioned as we were after the game, it would have been remiss of us to have not gone for a drink afterwards with our countrymen. Men and women of varying shapes and sizes but all sporting the Springbok emblem somewhere on their attire filled the pubs and spilled out onto the streets. It felt good to be surrounded by familiar accents, strange thought it was to hear so much Afrikaans being spoken in Dublin.

And for all my bitching, our Irish hosts are as magnanimous in victory as they are in defeat and it turned into a fun night. We met a group of men who had flown over from Johannesburg on Thursday just to watch the game, and were flying back the next day. At least I hadn't gone to quite those lengths, so I felt a bit better. They kept trying to figure out why we were living here. It's so cold! they said. And here I was thinking it was actually quite a mild night. There's something to be said for acclimatising, hehe.

The funnest part was when my buddy and I went outside for the occasional smoke... now that
was entertainment! Let's see, there were the three drunk Irishmen - brothers - who for some reason kept wanting a group hug. Then there were the two drunk Irishmen and the drunk South African who were together but seemed to be having three different conversations. At one point one of them said something to me and my witty response was, "Are you on drugs, buddy?" The joke fell flat when I saw him taking half a joint from his mate just as I said that.
Hehe.
Oh, I almost forgot we also met The Most Boring Man On The Face Of The Planet. He was an accountant, and he wouldn't stop talking. Eventually we just skedaddled back inside while he was half way through a sentence. He didn't look offended - I kind of got the impression he was used to it.

I'd forgotten how much fun a night out on the sauce can be in Dublin.
I'd also forgotten how horrid a hangover feels.
I think next time the Bokke come here I'll just skip the game and go straight to the pub.

20 comments:

Brigitte said...

Oh it was very sad! I didn't even watch it on tv!! had I known you were going I would have told you to save your money and watch it in a pub or something. Sad, very sad indeed.

Anonymous said...

Murphy's Law - as applied to rugby.

Fence said...

I'll say nothing to rub it in any further then :)

anne said...

Or Guinness's Law...
We fared even worse against the All Blacks. At least the Boks were visiting - we were the home team... The World Cup is going to be one giant tub of fun.

Cinderella said...

LOL, you sound like me after a Philadelphia Eagles loss! I know how you feel, TRUST ME!

Hitting the sauce is so much fun, until you start to regain feeling in your body again..haha

Sounded like fun though =)

Linda said...

ooohh nooo! The pub and people watching afterwards sounds like a blast though!!
I would of loved to see the two drunk Irishmen and the drunk South African who were together but seemed to be having three different conversations.

L said...

The pub sounds like fun, I love watching people get drunk LOL.

Jeff said...

Sounds quite a bit like our NFL over here, Terri. Huge wins, devastating losses, drink it away, play again!

GO COLTS! (Who,I might add, remain the only undefeated team in the league this season)
I'll probably have to eat those words before long. ha ha!

Terri said...

Spookie - But there's always the chance they could win, and then you'd really wanna be at the game, y'know?!

Kyknoord - lol! How right you are :D

Fence - How very noble of you ;)

Anne - Yeah, what happened there? 'Twas a sad weekend for both of us, rugbylarly speaking, eh?

Cinderella - I'm beginning to think the hangovers are there to remind me of my age these days, hehe!

Beads - I suspect you would've laughed as much as I did!

Lori - It's fun as long as you're not totally sober... I drink, just slower 'cos I really hate feeling drunk. Just a bit merry perhaps ;)

Jeff - Ah yes, the eating of one's words. These days I try keep my mouth shut before the game - stay under the radar, so to speak, just in case of situations like this one!

Anonymous said...

The humiliation was enough to make a grown man cry.
Jake has got some serious soul-searching to do. No offence to the Irish, but losing to them in rugby is something that should not happen.

Anonymous said...

I am glad you had fun afterwards!!!! I met a guy yesterday who flew to Spain to watch Rossi race only for Rossi to eat some tarmac in the second lap!! This guy was so p-off because it cost him more than a fortune to go to the race. I suddenly didn't feel so bad about the bokke anymore. The Irish might just still be the next world champs. They almost beat Australia 29-29 if I remember correctly - so I lift my hat to the Irish rugby team.

DelBoy said...

It was great to catch up again! Even if it was only a fleeting visit.

The only good thing was that the Pumas beat England! 7 in a row for the English, but I'm sure the Boks can help them back to their winning ways...

Terri said...

Chitty - I couldn't agree more.

Buddess - I think that was the Wales / Aussie game. The Irish / Oz one is still coming. And the Kiwis. haha. That one I have to watch ;)

Jason - I felt a bit mean, but the thought that kept running through my mind was how is he ever going to find a girlfriend like this???!

Del - Woohoo a comment from my favourite Cuz all the way from Oz?! Or did you miss your flight after all..

Bosbefok said...

I am still reeling...... Jake White should be publicly Flogged on TV in Pretoria !!
It was worse than a travesty - it was TREASON !!
If he fails against a poorly performing England this weekend, then he should be removed (from life!)

Anonymous said...

Imagine what this loss meant to the 1000 okes that gathered at the hanger across from the airport in P.E.to watch on big screens.It was reported that the brandy ran out 30 mins after the game and the local Go-Go lounge did brisk trade.Something to take your mind away from the worst effort from the green and gold since I have been alive.

Terri said...

Bosbefok - Yes it's a pity public floggings are frowned upon these days eh?

Lex - Bad rugby AND they ran out of brandy??! I'm surprised there wasn't a riot ;-)

Reluctant Nomad said...

Even I, not much of a rugby fan, have found all this a bit depressing.

AngelConradie said...

the boks have been SO disappointing lately... and their coach being such a pessimistic git doesn't help- i mean, apologising even before the game- what's with that!?!?

epropnet said...

Now Saturday 21st is here and the Bokke is going to come home with the cup. Show support for the bokke by going to www.gobokke.com and leave them a message

Go Bokke

Randell said...

So, I do not really suppose this is likely to work.
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