Katlego Sekhu

The South African rugby team (Springboks) will touch down at the OR Tambo International Airport this morning after retaining the Webb Ellis Cup in Paris.
Siya Kolisi’s men beat their biggest rivals, New Zealand, in a close contest at the Stade de France.
In honour of the Boks’ victory, Gautrain has opened all stations for supporters wearing SA or Bokke gear, allowing supporters to travel to the airport for free between 10:00 and 15:00.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi paid an emotional tribute to head coach Jacques Nienaber, who led the team to a second successive Rugby World Cup title and will be joining Irish giants Leinster in the coming weeks.
The 51-year-old Nienaber was part of the Bok management at the Rugby World Cup in 2011, worked as a member of SA Rugby’s Mobi Unit after that, and joined the national coaching team again in 2018, before taking over as head coach in 2020 after the RWC triumph in Japan in 2019.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey; I can’t believe what we’ve achieved today. The coaching staff have been ridiculous. I have worked with Jacques since I was 17 years old. I couldn’t tackle. When him and Rassie [Erasmus] used to come to training [at DHL Western Province] it was full contact. You had to show that you could do this.
“Since then, it’s just been amazing how he used to motivate us in games. We grew up around him – me and Frans [Malherbe], Steven [Kitshoff] and Pieter-Steph [du Toit].
“As I said last week, he cared about us as people. He would ask, ‘are you going to let your daughter down, your son down?’ It became far deeper than just a rugby game.
“Jacques, honestly, it’s been a huge honour for me and a huge privilege. To you and your wife and the kids, I appreciate you.“We love you as a team, not as a coach, but as a person. You’ve taken it to another level. The way you speak to us – it’s not ‘make a big hit, make a tackle’, you talk to me as a person, as a father, a husband, as a son, it goes such a long way so thank you. We honour you as a team. All the best. They will be lucky too have you wherever you go.”



