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Springboks no faking cheats

JJ Harmse

I suppose it had to happen. It was just a matter of time. Unfortunately for South Africa - and Bafana Bafana - it took only two games of their participation in soccer's world showpiece to show what the "beautiful" game is all about.

And thanks to Uruguay's Luis Suárez to emphasise that cheating, diving, faking, pretending, posing, acting, cheating (sorry, he did cheat more than once) is what is needed to secure some sort of advantage for your side.

Forget about outplaying your opponents with good ball control, crisp passing and shots at goal. Rather fall down and get a penalty!

I don’t particularly like soccer. I respect the sport and understand some of the skill that ensures certain players are better than others. What Cristiano Ronaldo can do with a soccer ball and the way he uses his vision to create opportunities is amazing, I know.

I also know, from my days as a right-back defender in the Maties hostel leagues that you run and run and run when you chase both the ball and skilful strikers. It is a fast game.

But after seeing two-time World Cup winners, Uruguay, twice in the space of seven days and realising that their game is built around deceiving referees instead of defences, I was so happy to fall back onto some real substance with another two-time World Cup winning team.

Yes, the Springboks.

Now there is a real team to follow. A team that has proved that hard work, team work, overcoming the odds and being the best at what they do can still bring the right result. And earn the respect of their spectators.

Make no mistake, one has to acknowledge what the Soccer World Cup has done for the country. And by Bafana Bafana who are playing well above their world ranking. But when their honest, although limited, effort is being blown out of the water by someone who had no intention of playing fair, I can only shake my head.

In rugby, my friends, those guys will be sorted out. Rugby is all about contact and collisions and character and survival of the fittest.

Maybe at times, there could a feeling that someone like Richie McCaw is overstepping the line at the breakdown and that he is getting away with too much. But even if it is true, McCaw still needed to make a tackle or be close enough to a tackle ball situation to swoop.
 
Someone like McCaw is trying to make a play, not fall down in a heap without being touched like Suárez did last night. He is a cheat and the saddest thing is that he is allowed to get away with it at the showpiece of the sport.

It is like Ben Johnson being allowed to run in the Olympics without being tested. Sorry, but no thank you.

Not that rugby doesn’t have problems. We read and hear enough of players in the wrong and cheating (think Bloodgate) does happen from time to time, but the core values of the game still makes it something to learn from. And the way the Springboks go about their business, makes it even more enjoyable to follow.

I bumped into French coach Marc Lievremont at the France v Uruguay match in Cape Town. No, I did not have a VIP pass, we where both standing in the same area of the impressive Cape Town Stadium as paying customers.
 
He indicated that it was pure coincidence that the two French teams where in the same city at the same time as there is hardly any interaction between the two codes.

Fast forward to last night where the Boks traveled more than 120km from Witbank to Loftus Versfeld to watch Bafana play. They were of course invited by their soccer counterparts, as we saw Bafana at Loftus during a Super 14 match a couple of weeks back.

There might have been some posturing about it, but having being around the Boks for the last week or so, I can honestly say that their support for Bafana is genuine. They went to Loftus to support their counterparts with no strings attached.

That is why it is so disappointing that the match was dominated by one player’s theatrics and the referee’s inability to put him in his place.

Again, rugby is by no means the perfect sport, especially in South Africa. One only needs to read the posts on this site with regards to the inclusion of Chiliboy Ralepelle as starting hooker to understand that not all supporters are happy with all the players.
 
What they do know though, is that no Springbok will go onto any field in any competition trying to cheat or con a referee. I am sorry, but that is just not the way we play our game.

Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.

Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
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