Hundreds of ecstatic rugby supporters are set to throng the arrivals hall at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday morning when the Springboks bring the Webb Ellis trophy home.
The newly crowned world champions will be arriving from France on Tuesday at about 6.50am, said Juanita Roodman, of SA Rugby’s communications department.
The Springboks claimed a 15-6 victory against England in the Rugby World Cup final in Paris on Saturday evening..
Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) ”will be rolling out the green carpet” in preparation for the Springboks’ arrival at the airport, Acsa spokesperson Tasniem Patel said.
Acsa will be working with the South African Police Service and the Ekurhuleni metropolitan police to ensure a memorable welcome.
Supporters planning to welcome the Boks have been advised to use the Super South parking facility near Emperors Palace, from where a free airport shuttle runs every 15 minutes.
Though the international arrivals hall will be restricted to authorised personnel only, the international pick-up-and-go parking facility (directly across the international terminal building) will be the official supporters’ area, where the Boks will greet their fans between 7am and 8am.
Acsa has also asked passengers using the airport on Tuesday morning to arrive earlier than usual for their flights in case of delays in finding parking.
President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday urged his countrymen to give the Springboks a tumultuous welcome when they return from France. ”They have done the country very proud … I think all of us need to … salute [the team],” he said. ”When they come back, we must all of us join them in the celebrations that are planned.”
On their arrival, the Boks will face the media at a press conference scheduled for 8am on Tuesday morning. ”They will have a conference before heading for home,” Roodman said.
Later in the week, the team will show off the Webb Ellis cup on a six-city, four-day tour of the country, starting on Friday when they will be the guests of honour at a reception hosted at the Union Buildings by Mbeki. An open-top bus tour will then depart for Johannesburg to visit Sandton and Soweto, where a 24-hour rugby marathon was held last week.
”We held the marathon as a fund-raising initiative, but it became more than that because the South African team made it to the final, and when we planned the marathon for the October 20 we had hoped that they would make it to the final,” said Dali Ndebele, chairperson of the Soweto Rugby Club.
Ndebele said that he hoped that the club could be part of the victory parade on Friday. ”We are the only rugby establishment in Soweto and we support the national team all the way, so we would like to be there when they celebrate.”
The bus tour will end at Boktown, the dedicated rugby entertainment area at the Montecasino complex in Fourways.
The Springboks will also visit Bloemfontein, Durban and Port Elizabeth before finishing their tour in Cape Town on October 29.
And despite the planned celebrations, issues of transformation in sport still loom. The racial composition of the Bok team has always been a matter of intense debate, and Sports and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile said the World Cup victory should usher in a new era in sport.
”This victory should herald a new era in which we all embrace change and tackle the challenges still being faced by our rugby and sport in general,” Stofile said in a statement.
”Our victory during the 1995 World Cup offered us a window to see what South Africa can be. We did not build on that. May we not commit the same error after this second chance,” he added.