South Africa’s national men’s rugby team secured a record fourth Rugby World Cup title at the weekend. This Springbok team in particular has showcased their tenacity in knockout games, and ability to find a way to win.
The country’s national men’s cricket team on the other hand hasn’t been able to emulate the World Cup successes of their rugby brothers, having a tendency to implode on the big stage when the pressure’s on.
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In fact, the Proteas have never reached a final of an ICC Cricket World Cup in both the 50- and 20-over formats, and have consistently been knocked out at the quarter-final or semi-final stages.
This current Proteas team however has been steaming through the group stage at the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India, with a superior run rate and sense of confidence that could potentially see them qualify for their first-ever Cricket World Cup final.
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With two games in hand, they’re second on the log and are on course to make the play-offs. Temba Bavuma’s men need just one more victory from two games to achieve that (against New Zealand and/ or hosts India.)
Should they bring home the Cup, South Africa would become just the second country ever to hold both Rugby and Cricket World Cups.
Australia’s golden era of sport
In 1999, Australia won the Cricket and Rugby World Cups in the same year, bagging the elusive double.
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The men’s cricket team won the final on 20 June at Lord’s in England, beating Pakistan by 8 wickets and featuring Aussie greats such as Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting (c), Glen McGrath and Shane Warne.
Later that year, the Wallabies beat France 35-12 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time. Captain John Eales led a legendary side that featured the likes of George Gregan, Stephan Larkham, Tim Horan and Matt Burke.
Kolisi says back the SA cricket team
World Cup-winning Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has urged the nation to rally behind the Proteas during the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.
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Kolisi said the Proteas have backed their RWC campaign, and the country should again show unity and give support.
“The proteas are in India, and they are making us proud. They are fighting as hard as they can, and they’ve been sending us messages of support. They really deserve our support and they’ve been showing us that they deserve it. They’re going to do something that’s never been done before, so we have to support them like we’ve never done before.” Read more here.
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