Springbok burgers and the victory of the sharks

When I first moved from South Africa to the UK last year, I was living in Surbiton, Surrey. While we were there we set up a satellite so we could watch the rugby and it was great fun listening to Bobby Skinstad do his thing as commentator. And to think that yesterday I saw him jogging on the field as a substitute player for the Sharks. Of course, the SA teams didn’t do so well in the Super 14 in 2006, and never mind the Trinations and as for the Springboks’ European tour, the less said the better.

So when we moved to Brighton I decided to cancel our satellite subscription because we had a change of service providers and I could get out of the deal. Because apart from rugby, I ended up watching the food channels and I felt that spending the money every month on watching food channels was not worth it. In fact, we haven’t even plugged in the TV since we moved in November of last year. But that is another story.

So, of course, it was a huge surprise that ‘my’ team, the Sharks, and I have the Sharks car decal and socks to prove it, ended up in the Super 14 semi-finals. What can be done? I tried googling for information on where the games would be displayed. There are no responses for a local pub. Desperate, I went down to the SA store. I needed mayonnaise in any case. That’s definitely something the British don’t know how to do. And yet, most of the rest of the food one gets is divine and a huge contributor to extra rolls around the waist.

Of course, the man in the SA store just so happens to be from Durban. So is the girl behind the bar at our local gastropub, which is about 200 meters from her house. There are three South Africans working in the pub. Go figure. He tells me that there is a delay in the transmission of the games, but that they will be shown at the Walkabout, which is an Oz bar in Brighton city centre. I make sure no one in SA texts me the score.

On Saturday we walk to the bar and there are four burly doormen at the front door. We’re almost going home again. However, the game calls and we enter. Smoking is still allowed in pubs. A little behind in that regard. It will be banned on June 1st and I can’t wait. A year ago I wouldn’t have complained, being a more recent convert to the non-smoking community. However, the Oz staff is very friendly and we settled in to watch the game. For once I drink Castle to celebrate the occasion. I never touched the stuff in SA.

We see the Blues run onto the field and then the Sharks and the roar of the fans in the stadium is deafening. It’s a pretty weird feeling, seeing the crowd on Shark Tank. I used to pay R20 and sit in the last or second to last row at the top of the new bleachers. If you looked down the stairs it gave you vertigo and go up for the beer refill. And here I am in Brighton, UK, watching the game on a big screen in an Australian bar that offers Springbok or Kangaroo burgers and a life-size stuffed crocodile decorates the stairway leading to the toilets. wow.

There is a small group of South African supporters, apart from us, and we are quite vocal when our team scores. There are some pro-Blues murmurs, but nothing major. It’s almost as if the Blues have support to counter the South African supporters. It is an Oz bar after all. Well, whatever, it’s amazing that we won, and in the end quite easily. Regardless of the outcome, it is a pleasure to watch New Zealand’s rugby style of play.

We continued to watch the Bulls game, the announcer says the crowd watched the Sharks win on the big screens and a roar of support went up. That doesn’t happen often in Loftus. I saw a Currie Cup game there in Sharks supporter colors. Trust me, it’s a terrifying experience. So that show of support was a big deal. And it’s amazing what distance can do to make the heart grow bigger, I even thought Steve Hofmeyr’s little number was an ‘ah, bless you’ moment. In the past I’ve always felt like he was actually the Bulls’ secret weapon to discourage the opposition.

Now, of course, the battle lines are drawn again. For the first time there will be a South African winner of the super 14. Are we smiling? Oh yeah. There is still hope for the Rugby World Cup. It’s not that mere mortals can afford tickets to go to France to watch the games. So near and yet so far. I could fix the TV for that. Although the pub next door will show the games, good news for us is that England are in the same group as SA. It’s much more fun to watch with a crowd.