Cricket
Proteas congratulate Boks
2009-09-12 15:47
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Johannesburg - The Proteas on Saturday extended its warmest congratulations to the Springboks on adding the Tri-Nations Trophy to their earlier successes against the British and Irish Lions.
Gallery: Boks celebrate their win
Video: Highlights from the game
"It has been a wonderful season for the Springboks who have won seven out of nine Tests against the best opposition in both the northern and southern hemispheres," commented Proteas' captain Graeme Smith.
"They clinched the Tri-Nations in real style by beating the All Blacks on their home territory and it gave them three wins out of three against New Zealand which is a singular achievement," he added.
"Although it has been a great team effort, I would like to extend particular congratulations to John Smit who has established himself as one of the great leaders in South African sport and as an outstanding sportsman and ambassador for our country.
"It has been a good year for South African sport in numerous different codes and hopefully these successes will inspire us to keep the trend going," he concluded.
National coach Mickey Arthur paid tribute to his rugby counterpart, Peter de Villiers.
"Peter has had to endure a lot of criticism but he has answered it in the best possible fashion by putting every trophy available to the Springboks in the display cabinet at Newlands for at least another year," he commented.
"Winning five out of six matches in arguably the toughest international competition outside of the World Cup is a huge achievement and beating the All Blacks at home will give the Boks a lot of confidence as they prepare to defend the World Cup in New Zealand in two years' time.," he added.