South African rugby fans danced, shouted, and partied Saturday night (Oct. 28) until the early hours of Sunday (Oct. 29) after the Springboks world Cup triumph.
Springboks fans celebrate World Cup victory at home
Rugby fans jubilate as their team win their fourth Rugby World Cup at the Pirates Rugby Club in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023.
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Jerome Delay/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.
From Cape Town, to Johannesburg and Bloemfontein , the wave of jubilation swept across the country.
"It's a special time to be alive. We all unite around the South African rugby," said rugby fan Anton Geldenhuys in Pretoria. Fly half Handre Pollard scored all the points for a Springboks side which repeated its 1995 success over New Zealand and denied the All Blacks their own chance to win a fourth title in their record fifth final. "This game has shown me that, it's never too late to fight for your dreams and hey, back-to-back champions, 2019, 2023, this one is for history I must say," law student Mthamba said.
62 million fans
"Honestly, people who are not from South Africa don't understand what this means for our country," South Africa captain Siya Kolisi said after the match.
"It's not just about the game on the field. Our country goes through such a lot. We are the hope they have," he added.
“The farming communities opening up to allow people to watch, paying an entrance fee of whatever they wanted to donate. People have bought green T-shirts for everyone, Rugby SA quoted coach Jacques Nienaber saying.
"We felt every single bit of energy they gave us and in the last three games, all one-point victories, that drove us and we needed it,” he added.
The world champions will reportedly arrive back in South Africa from France on Tuesday.
They will surely return home to a hero's welcome after their historic 4th World Cup win.
The next Rugby Wolrd Cup will be held in Australia in 2027.