The All Blacks were champions in 1987. Four years later; Gary Whetton’s men were an ageing side knocked out in the semis. The Wallabies – who retained a large proportion of their victorious 1991 team – couldn’t get past the quarters in 1995. In 1999, the Boks lost to Australia in the semis by the skin of their teeth, while against all expectations, defending champions Australia and England reached the finals in 2003 and 2007 respectively – only to fall at the hurdle. Now, seven wins stand between the Springboks and the chance to break the pattern described above – by becoming the first team to win back-to-back World Cups. And this adds to the pressure that being the defending champions brings.

I am so very tempted to commit plagiary and claim that I am an avid rugby supporter who knows these facts by heart, but unfortunately it’s the property of our good friends at Sport Illustrated. If you want to read about facts and figures, you can read the entire article in this month’s issue. Although I am not familiar with all there is to know about the technical side of the so-called "boy" sports, I am a sport loving girl who loves watching and playing (some) sports. Many years ago, rugby used to be a sport I followed and supported passionately, but as the years passed, I tend to lean more towards cricket and tennis. My grandma used to say that too much of anything is a bad thing. I agree. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, there is always a rugby match being played somewhere. Vodacom Cup, Varsity Cup, Currie Cup, Super Rugby Series, Tri-Nations, the annual Grey vs. Affies clash, and the list goes on...and the result is...absolute boredom. This isn’t my only predicament. Aside from the fact that the sport scene is flooded with an endless rugby season, resulting in a magnitude of games being played, this sport also come with a very interesting character called the Rugby Fan. I will refrain from going into detail on this specific topic, and I will trust that those of you sharing my sentiment will have a thorough understanding of the message I’m trying to convey here.

With all this said, I can’t deny the fact that rugby is as part of our South African upbringing as Pampers nappies are. It is a sport that unites people from all walks of life, it succeeds in exciting people, even in times of financial difficulty; when the East Rand is more pleasing to watch than the South African Rand, and it is a sport that infuses people with passion and patriotism. The Rugby World Cup 2011 kicks off in a mere two days and the rugby playing nations of the world are psyched and waiting in anticipation for this spectacular display of mental and physical toughness, paired with a passion and hunger to defeat, to win and to lift the trophy. I find myself reliving the feeling I had during South Africa’s World Cup battle in 1995. It was a feeling of immense joy, a feeling of gratitude for being part of such a life altering experience but most of all; it was a feeling of pride. To be proud of something is one of the most profound feelings one can ever experience. It is genuinely priceless. O.K, and then there was also that feeling you get when the playground bully gets beat up by the new kid on the block. We surely did whip some Kiwi butt on that memorable day.

Is it possible that I am in the process of rekindling my love affair with rugby? But this is not the important question here. The question of relevance in this case is: Am I/are you united behind the Boks? Without an ounce of doubt, I answer a massive YES to that! I will be wearing the green and gold with pride, and I will be behind our Boks cheering, ranting and raving in true rugby fan spirit! I am a girl who likes to run in wolf packs of more than one and therefore will be soaking up true SA rugby spirit at Pretoria's official fan zone: Boktown @ Trademarx Loftus. I’ll be the girl in the green shirt and I hope to see you all there!

Behind our Boys all the way...make history and lift that cup one again this year! Go Bokke!

Game on,
Amber