When I first moved over from South Africa to the UK, last year, I lived in Surbiton, Surrey. While there, we set up satellite so that we could watch the rugby and it was quite fun to listen to Bobby Skinstad do his thing as a commentator. To think I saw him jog onto the field as a substitute Sharks player yesterday. Of course the SA teams didn’t do that well in the Super 14 in 2006, and never mind the Trinations and as for the Europe tour of the Springboks, the less said the better.
So when we moved to Brighton, I decided to cancel our satellite subscription as we had a change of service providers and I could get out of the agreement. Because besides the rugby I ended up watching the food channels and I just felt spending the money every month on food channel viewing wasn’t really worth it. In fact we haven’t even plugged in the TV since our move in November last year. But that’s another story.
So of course it came as a major surprise that ‘my’ team, the Sharks, and I have the car sticker and Sharks socks to prove it, ended up in the Super 14 semis. What can one do? I tried to Google for info on where the games would be shown. No answers for a local pub. Out of desperation I hiked down to the SA shop. I needed mayonnaise in any case. That is definitely something the Brits don’t know how to make. And yet most of the rest of the food that one gets is divine and a great contributor to the extra rolls around the waistline.
Of course, as it happens, the man at the SA shop is from Durban. So is the girl behind the bar at our local gastro pub which is about 200m away from home. There are three South Africans working at the pub. Go figure. He tells me there is a delay in the broadcast of the games, but they will be shown at the Walkabout which is an Oz bar in Brighton city centre. I make sure that nobody in SA sms’s me the score.
On Saturday we hike down to the bar, and there are four hefty bouncers at the front door. We almost go home again. However, the game beckons and we go in. Smoking is still allowed in pubs. Bit behind in that respect. It will be banned on June 1 and I can’t wait. A year ago I wouldn’t have complained, being a more recent convert to the non-smoking community. The Oz staff is really friendly though and we settle down to watch the game. For once I drink Castle to celebrate the occasion. Never touched the stuff in SA.
We watch the Blues run onto the field and then the Sharks and the roar of the fans in the stadium is deafening. It’s quite a weird feeling, watching the crowds at the Shark Tank. I used to pay R20 and sit in the last or second to last rows high up in the new stands. If you looked down the stairs you got vertigo and what a climb for the beer fill-up. And here I am in Brighton, UK, watching the game on a big screen in an Australian bar that offers Springbok or Kangaroo hamburgers and a real size stuffed crocodile decorates the stairwell to the toilets. Wow.
There is a small group of South African supporters, besides ourselves, and we are fairly vocal when our team scores. There are a few murmurs in support of the Blues, but nothing major. It’s almost as if the Blues have support in order to counter the South African supporters. It is an Oz bar after all. Well whatever, it’s amazing we win, and in the end fairly easily. Regardless of the outcome, the New Zealand rugby playing style is a pleasure to watch.
We went on to watch the Bulls’ game, the commentator says that the crowds watched the Sharks win on the big screens and a roar of support went up. That doesn’t happen often at Loftus. I’ve watched a Currie Cup game there wearing Sharks supporters colours. Believe me it’s a scary experience. So that show of support was quite something. And amazing what distance can do to make the heart grow fonder, I even thought Steve Hofmeyr’s little number was an ‘ah bless’ moment. In the past I always felt he was actually the Bulls’ secret weapon in putting off the opposition.
Now of course the battle lines are drawn again. For the very first time there will be a South African winner of the super 14. Are we smiling? Oh yes. There’s hope yet for the Rugby World Cup. Not that us mere mortals will be able to afford the tickets to go to France to watch the games. So near, but yet so far away. Might just get the TV fixed for that. Although the pub down the road will show the games, good news for us is that England is in the same pool as SA. It’s so much more fun watching with a crowd.
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