Erasmus has created more than a team. He has laid the subliminal groundwork for a sense of “oneness” – a shared identity built around common aspirations, goodwill and achievement. Something politicians fail to grasp.
Without intending to, the Springbok rugby squad has become South Africa’s single most powerful and successful ‘political’ force.
The reason is the team’s extraordinary ability to unite the nation.
Nothing else lifts the spirits of our diverse population into such a surge of positivity, pride and cohesion as watching the men in green and gold weave their magic on the international stage.
Given the Boks’ dominance in recent years, this is hardly a new phenomenon. But Saturday night’s conclusion of the “Greatest Rivalry” series against the All Blacks, – in the United States, of all places – added a remarkable new dimension to the argument.
Played in a country where rugby remains a marginal sport – albeit one that will host next year’s World Cup – the match was regarded by some pundits as little more than an exhibition showpiece.
They were wrong.
More than 68 000 spectators packed Baltimore’s stadium, turning it into a sea of green as South Africans of every background descended on the city to fly the flag, uniting as one proud South African nation – albeit most lived in America. The scale of it was mind-boggling.
It was also symbolic. The crowd set a new record for the largest attendance at an international rugby match anywhere in North or South America – a striking demonstration of the power of one team to transcend the divisions that so often define us.
And while the players deserve the credit for what happens on the field, much of the Boks’ success can be traced to coach Rassie Erasmus and his remarkable motivational instincts.
His philosophy is by now familiar: the players are constantly reminded that they do not play merely for themselves. They play for every South African, regardless of race, background, wealth or social standing.
It is a simple concept, but a profoundly powerful one.
By instilling that sense of responsibility, Erasmus has created more than a team. He has laid the subliminal groundwork for a sense of “oneness” — a shared identity built around common aspirations, goodwill and achievement.
For a country as diverse and complicated as South Africa, this is no small achievement.
The Boks cannot solve our political, economic or social problems. But, perhaps uniquely, they make us forget our differences for a while – and remind us of what we have in common.
With local government elections almost upon us, one can only wonder what South Africa might look like if our politicians adopted something of that same positive mindset, rather than sowing division for their own political ends.
It is disheartening that the country’s long and largely successful post-apartheid healing process often takes a back seat when political parties go into election mode.
Of course, there are difficult issues that must be confronted. Politics is politics. But there is a vast difference between robust political contestation and the deliberate cultivation of antagonism – sometimes spilling over into violence – to advance partisan objectives.
South Africa could do without this nonsense.
Particularly galling is the cheap politicking that often accompanies deeply emotive community protests.
This week’s unfolding tragedy in Kempton Park and surrounding areas, involving what appears to be the serial killing of women, is a case in point.
Understandably, communities gripped by fear and anger take to the streets and gather at crime scenes to demand answers. Their anguish is real.
What rankles is the inevitable arrival of opportunistic political parties, eager to turn that grief into political capital.
Party colours appear — scarves, T-shirts and flags — and, with victims’ bodies lying in the background, party faithful can be seen toyi-toying with broad smiles as if at a jamboree, while party spokespersons jostle for the cameras, adopting suitably mournful expressions and proclaiming solidarity.
C’mon, people.
Surely there is a line that should never be crossed — a point at which political opportunism must give way to simple human decency.
When communities are at their lowest ebb, let them grieve, rage, and demand justice.
But don’t turn their pain into a political stage. Be sincere at least.
Wishful thinking?
Of course.
