Thousands of South Africans brave the cold, rain to welcome Springboks.

By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

OR Tambo International Airport was already a hive of activity by 9am this morning with throngs of rugby supporters, who braved cold, wet weather and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the triumphant Springboks from the World Cup in France.

The Springboks touched down just after 10:30am with captain Siya Kolisi, departing coach Jacques Nienaber, director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and senior players briefed the media.

Supporters cheered in unison as captain Siya Kolisi emerged into the public area, waved at the crowd while holding the Webb Ellis Cup, and took selfies with jubilant supporters.

“Thank you to the people of South Africa. We have had a long and tough 20 weeks, but it was worth it,” said Kolisi, a loose forward and the first black Test captain of the Springboks.

“This triumph has been six years in the planning. Winning the World Cup in 2019 was an unexpected bonus as the ultimate goal was always to be champions in 2023.”

“As a team we had to learn [to work together]. We knew our cultures were different and that comes with differences amongst ourselves. We had a coaching staff who knew how to align us as a group; who knew how to put us together so we can focus towards a common goal, which was the Springboks and the people of South Africa.

“Our coaches taught us about taking care of each other and reminded us about our painful past, which some people have not healed from. We speak about it honestly amongst our team and talk about transformation. It is important to talk about healing from our past. We need to know the way forward; how do get better as South Africa,” he said.

Kolisi said transformation is about people changing internally; understanding each other’s cultures and taking care of each other.

“I know this win is going to inspire the country but it will not change people’s circumstances. For us as players, it will give us a platform that can open opportunities through the work that we do with our foundations,” he said. 

Many waved signs reading “Bokke (Springboks), a bunch of winners”, as loud music played in the background creating a party atmosphere. A band played the national anthem.

South Africa were crowned champions of the world after a nail-biting 12-11 win over their greatest rivals New Zealand in the final at the Stade de France on Saturday night.

The latest success brought joy to a country battling unemployment, electricity, water and crime crises.

Rugby is one of the three most popular sports in South Africa, but the only one to regularly deliver trophies.

The football team has not triumphed since winning the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations while the cricket side has yet to win a world title in any format.

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa said the victory paid homage to President Nelson Mandela who had the vision that sport has the ability to unite.

“Your performance both on and off the field has represented you well as ambassadors of the country of our dreams, united as defined in the preamble of our Constitution,” he said.

A trophy tour will begin on Thursday with the Springboks taking their prize around the country to show off to their people.

The tour will start in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto – concluding at FNB Stadium – on Thursday, 2 November. It will then continue in Cape Town (Friday, 3 November) and Durban (Saturday, 4 November) before concluding in the Eastern Cape (East London) on Sunday, 5 November.

Fans showed off their pride by singing and dancing as they patiently waited for their team to burst through the doors and when they did the roof was absolutely blown off.

The World Cup campaign was gruelling for the Springboks who in the end had to beat all the five other teams in the top six to claim the title.

Watch Live in the video below:

Video Courtesy of ENCA.

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