Even though the All Blacks didn’t enter the Rugby World Cup 2019 as the number one team in the world, they remained to many favourites. From those watching from the comfort of their couches to those wagering large amounts at the bookmakers. Then the unthinkable happened. The All Blacks were defeated by the English Roses and countless fans of the men in black grasped for air all over the globe. The rose slew the dragon in black. An ominous defeat already looming by England’s team when not at all appearing to be intimidated by the Haka.

The clash started as always with the All Blacks delivering the Haka, but this time around the English team didn’t portray any sense of feeling intimidated. They instead took a stance of their own, by forming the unusual V-shaped formation in Yokohama stadium. This simple act already set the tone for the English victory, which would be concluded 80 minutes later. When some of the English players stepped over the line and had to be moved back to where they belong, the act wasn’t one of ignorance nor accident, but a well-thought-through display of rivalry and dominance.

For a few moments, the theatrics served as an opening scene to numerous nail-biting moments to follow. Even though the All Blacks stick to their statement that the unprecedented action from the Roses which came unexpected and might have caused them to be dethroned, is not the case. One can only wonder what the psychological impact on a team, whose war-cry is received with smirking ignorance, can be.

The Haka & New Zealand Culture

The Haka is often misunderstood. It is much more than a war-cry or the display of power. It is more a display of respect, usually performed at various formal occasions in personal life too. These would include funerals and weddings. The Haka is a core of the New Zealand identity. Schools and towns all over the country are often portraying their unique versions of it. It is considered to be an embodiment and a reflection of their environment, their surroundings and the people and history which is integral in it all. It states that one isn’t alone, but part of a much larger group, a stronger force, a team of champions. It is used to connect the members to form one unit of power before any brutal encounter.

That is precisely the way the world became familiar with it. A dynamic display, calling every member into unity before the brutal encounter ahead of the team, lasting an entire 80 minutes. Although they deny it entirely, one can merely wonder whether the English team disturbed their call to unity, disturbed the unison and as a result disturbed the brutal force with which the All Blacks became known on the field. The Haka has been part of the All Blacks pre-game performance dating as far back as 1888; now they need to search inherently and find that unison once again.

Johan Erasmus is his real name, but in South Africa and the rest of the world, he will always be known as Rassie, the man behind the transformation in the South African Springbok team. Over the past two years, the Springboks have gone through a process of change, a process where they are now freed from the mental shackles in the game. Their current performance thus far in the RWC is a true testimony of the results of when a team with talent and a coach with excellent skills come together, and greatness is born once again.

Early Life

The 47-year-old Erasmus is a child from Despatch in the Eastern Cape. He entered into elite rugby playing for the Free State during the 1994 Currie Cup. For the next couple of years, he kept on developing in his position as loose forward playing for his province. During 1997 he played in the Free State’s debut season in the Super 12 Season and later that same year he received his green and gold jersey, representing South Africa in the tour of the British Lions to South Africa.

Leadership Positions

During 2004 Erasmus returned to the Free State Cheetahs, but this time around as their coach, preparing the team for the Vodacom Cup. Here his skills as coach showed early on as his team made it to the semi-finals, only being defeated by the Blue Bulls. During the next year, the Cheetahs made it all the way, winning the Currie Cup for the first time in nearly 30 years. During 2007 he had a short stint at the Springbok team as a technical advisor before the World Cup and then moved to the Western Cape as director of rugby. He prepared the Stormers for the Super 14 Season in 2008 as their head coach, taking them from 10th to 5th position in the ranks.

In 2016 Erasmus left South Africa to fulfil the position of Director of Rugby in Ireland at Munster for a period of three-years. After the death of their head coach, Erasmus took on the job as both coach and director for the remainder of that season. His success in Ireland won him the award of Pro12 Coach of the season in 2016-17. December of that year, Erasmus returned home and became the first time Director of Rugby for SARU. After the head coach of the Springboks, Alistair Coetzee was fired early in 2018, Erasmus took over as head coach to prepare the Springboks for the World Cup.

Springbok Success

The Springboks are once again back in international rugby as a force to reckon with. Some of the great attributes which the team appreciates about him are his open and honest way of management, earning their trust and the in-depth knowledge which he has of every player on the side. Rassie is making South Africa proud. Although he made it clear that he will only be coaching the team until after the tournament, rugby fans in South Africa are enjoying the moment for as long as that it lasts.

In addition to the stress of representing your country in a foreign country with the hopes of millions of fans resting on your shoulders to bring back the coveted Williams Webb trophy, Eben Etzebeth also had to deal with so much more. While being away in Japan, it seemed in the local media as if the SAHRC had no reservations with gambling with the rugby hero’s career. Instead of giving every member of our national team the support which they deserve, threats are being made against him to have him send back from Japan to defend himself once again for the same allegations which he has denied already. During a time which is known to increase national unity, the SAHRC is giving this glorious moment a bitter taste.

The Incident

According to the complainants who have now earned themselves the name of the Langebaan four, they were walking home after a night out when they passed a local hangout in Langebaan the moment when Etzebeth and his friends were departing. They stated that Etzebeth and his friends made some racial comments before getting into their cars. The group then threw a brick at Etzebeth’s white Mustang. After which the group stopped and got out of their vehicles again. They then claim that they saw Etzebeth had a firearm and fled the scene. After they have fled, according to them, the Etzebeth party assaulted another man as well as a third party who came to intervene.

Their Demands

The group demands an apology from Etzebeth as well as that he must undergo anger management training and also racial sensitivity training and low and behold, R1 million. Etzebeth has numerously stated that this is not what happened that evening and that many eyewitnesses can testify towards his version of the events. He also had a meeting with the SAHRC before leaving for Japan, and he was assured by them during the meeting that there will be cooperation from both parties involved to resolve the matter. Since his departure, however, none of these commitments realized and he was much rather made into the villain by the SAHRC in the media without a court case.

Etzebeth Breaking the Silence

This week the rugby superstar has broken the silence and filed papers at the High Court in Pretoria to stop the SAHRC to proceed with the case. He stated that he believes that the SAHRC is behaving completely unprofessional and are acting in a way trying to hide an agenda. He furthermore said that they are folding under political pressure and that they aren’t brave enough to come to a fair conclusion because they might fear that would be unpopular. Yet a large community of all races in South Africa has thrown their weight behind the Bok and is backing him in the process. According to the chairperson of the SAHRC, Bongani Majola, they are still processing the court papers and will comment later on.

This week it was made public that the captain of the Springbok Sevens team needs to retire from international rugby due to a back injury. The veteran had a long and successful career playing for the Blitzbokke, and it is miserable that he has to retire at only 32-years-old due to the injury.

Snyman’s career came to an end at a time in his career where he is ranked as the most successful captain which the Sevens team from South Africa ever had. He is the man who helped them achieve greater heights and made them a valuable candidate to many sports betters. He debuted for the Blitzboks in Dubai during the season of 2008-09. When they won their first World Series, Snyman was part of the squad who made this history in South African sevens rugby.

This was one of three times when we were also running out onto the field for his country during the Sevens Rugby World Cups. The other two being Moscow in 2013 and San Francisco in 2018. This earned him the record of being the only Blitzbok playing in three World Cups. During the 2016 Olympic Games, Snyman was also part of the team that managed a bronze medal. During his long career, the veteran played 276 matches for South Africa during 63 tournaments. He managed 69 tries and 14 conversions. Combined with a penalty, he brought in a total of 376 points for the team. During 28 matches stretching between 2016 and 2019, he captained the team as well. It was indeed also under his leadership that the team managed a back-to-back World Sevens Series title. That was between 2017 and 2018.

The Void

Neil Powell, coach to the Springboks Sevens team, stated that the untimely departure of Snyman is leaving a significant gap that needs to be filled within the organization. Due to his tremendous legacy, the void will not be easy to overcome and replacing him would be a difficult task. Powell wasn’t only a coach to Snyman, but also a former teammate. He expressed only admiration and appreciation for the way that Snyman always presented himself on and off the field. The contribution which he made was tremendous, and he always pushed to enhance the team culture, Powell stated.

Snyman stated that in such a physical sport like rugby it is not uncommon that injuries cut careers short and even though he is saddened by the fact that he is forced into retirement at such a peak of his career, he remains grateful that he could play for more than a decade. Snyman also mentioned that every single part of his career helped to shape him into who he is today. He also made special mention of three coaches who played influential roles in his life. Pine Pienaar, Paul True and Niel Powell all contributed significantly to his career. He also thanked his loyal supporters and stated that in the end, it is for them that they play.

With the Rugby World Cup Tournament roughly half-way through the pool games, the All Black are stating their uncertainty about which team will be their opponents in the quarterfinals on the 19th October. This isn’t only a pickle for the New Zealand national team, but also for sports betters who have a keen interest in the results and odds.

Thus far in their pool games, New Zealand has managed to defeat South Africa 23-13 and Canada 63-0. They still have to compete against Namibia and Italy. Neither of these two teams being of any concern for the All Blacks. Being fast on their way to the top of their pool, they are now keen to determine which side they will compete against during the quarterfinals, but after an upset in pool A, it is becoming harder to make any forecasts on what the final results will be. The winner of Pool B will be facing the runner-up from Pool A.

The Pools

In Pool A Japan, Russia, Samoa, Scotland and Ireland are competing against each other, and it took a dramatic turn when the hosting country, Japan defeated Ireland. This is leaving a somewhat murky image regarding which team will meet up with the All Blacks. Also, Samoa shot to the position has been drastically diminished when the Scottish team hammered them during their match in Kobe, which ended in a 34-0 score defeating the South Sea team. Currently, the standings in Pool A according to points are as following: Japan with nine points, Ireland is at six, Scotland has five and so does Samoa while Russia is still at zero.

The predictability in the Rugby World Cup pools is rooted in the fact that there is a gap between the tier one nations and tier two nations in every pool. Pool A didn’t have that gap and is currently delivering on the most considerable excitement within the history of the tournament. Now New Zealand is in a position here their opponents in the quarterfinals will most probably remain a mystery until the final pool games have been played. This will be when Scotland and Japan take each other on in Yokohama on 13th October.

After the brilliant performance which Japan gave defeating the Irish in a 19-12 score, reminded the rugby world once again about the same kind of victory which the Brave Blossoms had over the Springboks in 2015. Yet this time their win over Ireland placed them in the position where they only need one more win to enter the quarterfinals for the first time. For this to happen, they will have to overcome the force from Samoa. Pool A is genuinely delivering on quite some challenging prediction and is not only creating tons of uncertainty for the mighty All Blacks but also sports punters globally.

Japan is abuzz with Rugby World World Cup fever. The tournament is serving as a brilliant platform for both fresh talents as well as those more experienced to show off what they are capable of. The rivalry is alive, and fans have one eye on the game and the other one the unpredictable odds. 48 Matches are being played in just over 40 days, leaving a multitude of sports betting opportunities on the table. Picking the teams in the finals is currently an attractive market with England vs New Zealand standing on 15/2 and South Africa vs New Zealand at 11/4. Within all of this excitement, we do need to take note of some individual performances and accolades.

The Players

Jonathan Sexton – Sexton is a brilliantly talented player with global recognition for his mental strength. Consistency in play is his trademark on the field. No wonder then that during 2018 he was named the World Player of the year. Therefore many consider him to be the critical player within the Irish World Cup Campaign.

Beauden Barrett – Some of the best players in the global arena has come from the All Black squad. Barrett is without a doubt the most valuable player in the All Black’s quest to take home the Webb Ellis trophy. His versatility on the field allows him to be a strong force regardless of the number on his back.

Leone Nakarawa – Fiji rugby has been going from strength to strength over the past couple of years, moving up in the World Rankings. This is due to some great skill and talent within their squad, which helped them to gold in Rio during the Olympics. This success is what is giving them hope to excel in Japan. One of the pillars of strength within the squad is the man better known as the Octopus on the field. Nakarawa is bringing a brilliant blend of skill and physical strength, and the game he is playing is putting him in the ranks of the best in the world.

Jordan Petaia – At the mere age of 19 years old, Petaia is one of the youngsters on the field during the Cup. The Australian squad represents an infused blend of experience and youth on their team. Regardless of age, Petaia has shown himself to be a player who is not only versatile but also remarkably consistent with his delivery. His recent performance at the Queensland Reds makes him a valuable asset to deliver a noticeable impact for the Wallabies.

Siya Kolisi – Kolisi went to Japan as one of the most vital players with the Springbok team. His previous experience in the World Cup arena is essential on the field in Japan right now. Kolisi isn’t only an integral part of the Springbok squad, but also to the development of rugby as a sport in South Africa.

Over the decades South Africa has delivered on great sporting legends. Heroes we love and support, people who provide high odds in the sports betting industry and whose private lives we often find intriguing. People who we follow because we are fascinated with their skills, their talent, their personality, what they represent and also with how much they are worth. So, who is on the list of the richest of the rich in the local sports industry?

Steven Pienaar

The 37-year-old was born in Johannesburg. During his career, he captained our national team and also played overseas. The soccer legend was active on the field for Borussia, Everton, Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland, before returning to SA where he played for the Bidvest Wits. During his career in English Premier League Club, he played more than 150 times for Everton. A net worth of R523 million places him as fifth richest South African athlete.

Bryan Habana

During his successful career, Habana became the top try scorer of the Springboks with 67 tries to his name. He was also named as the IRB Rugby Player of the year and was in the World Cup Winning team during 2007. During his local playing career, he was playing for the Lions, Bulls and Stormers. Then he left South Africa for a 5-year contract to play in Toulon. The French Top 14 club made him a lucrative offer which strengthened his net worth of R614 million.

Retief Goosen

Two US Open titles, as well as a total of 41 tour victories, made “The Goose” famous in the international arena of golf. For 252 weeks Goosen was under the top ten of global golfers. Endorsements by Grey Goose and Rolex added to his riches. The Goose delivers on a net worth of R654 million.

Jacques Kallis

Kallis is the only player of cricket that managed to deliver 10 000, yes ten thousand runs and to take 250 wickets in both one-day and test format. Not only did he play for South Africa, but also played and managed within the Indian Premier League. The Indian Premier League is a very lucrative option to be involved in, and that added to his riches of R980 million, placing Kallis as the second richest athlete in South Africa.

Ernie Els

With two Opens and two US Opens behind his name, it is no surprise that “The Big Easy” is at number one in SA. Els is also the victor of 79 tours and was the former number 1 in the World. He is still very active in the World of golfing and is continually adding to his brilliant net worth of R1.3 billion. The wealthiest sports star in South Africa.

The dawn of the Rugby World Cup is breaking. The sports betting industry is looming with prospects and opportunities for the next couple of weeks. Serious Springbok supporters are immersing themselves in the sweet victory of 1995, hoping for a repeat of history. Then a shock wave is shaking the South African rugby world. In a matter of weeks, they had to say goodbye to two great heroes of a time when SA just immersed back onto the world map of sports.

A Career Creating Hope

During a time when rugby was predominantly a white sport in South Africa, Chester Williams was the man who gave many coloured players hope of a future in the national team. He was the man who stood next to Nelson Mandela when the William Webb Ellis Cup became a signal of more than South Africa’s re-entering the international sports scene but doing so as a united and forceful team. He was part of new founded hope for South Africa. A legend with a great heart, loved by many.

His Early Career

Williams was born on August 1970 in the Boland town of Paarl. When he was 23 years old, he debuted for South African Springboks against Argentina in Buenos Aires. This game was played on November 1993 and was won by the Springboks with a magnificent 52-23 score. Since then he became much loved by the rugby world as the Springbok’s star wing.

He played for the Springboks from 1993 until 2000. During the 1995 World Cup, he managed to score four tries for South Africa, helping the team win the Cup for the tournament, which was hosted on local soil soon after being allowed back into the international arena. Williams also played domestically for the Western Province and appeared on the field for them 63 times between 1991 to 1998. During 1999 he was playing for the Golden Lions and was part of their Currie Cup-winning team.

Invictus and Other Challenges

Williams played a vital role in the production of this film based on the 1995 Rugby World Cup victory for South Africa. Not only was his character one of the roles portrayed in the movie directed by Clint Eastwood, but he was also involved as one of the rugby coaches employed to assist the characters. Here he had the opportunity to work with some great Hollywood names like Matt Damon.

During both the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Williams was honoured to be selected to help carry the Olympic torch. During 2010 he completed the Cape Epic mountain bike race, an epic event which attracts international interest to the rugged mountainous terrain of the South African Winelands.

Williams was so much more than a sports icon. He was a family man and a people’s person. Loved by many and he will be missed by even more. Indeed, a tremendous loss to the country after the star passed away at the age of only 49 due to a heart attack. Chester will be missed.

It is an international phenomenon which has reached and infiltrated the shores of South Africa too, sports betting, an ever-increasing interest, delivering well for many South Africans. With more and more competition reaching local soil, it has become a somewhat competitive industry. Here we explore five prominent names, promising you success and wealth. Which are theses faces on the block of South Africa’s sports betting scene and what do they deliver?

Betway South Africa

Betway is showing some serious muscle power against its competitors with brilliant features and a super friendly user interface. No surprise then that they are the fastest-growing website for sports punters in South Africa. Ease of use is probably not the main reason why punters prefer Betway, but much rather their cash-out option which allows punters to withdraw their funds if they are feeling any doubt about a bet that was placed. Plenty of bonuses and promotions add to the lure that Betway offers to many curious of getting started on this journey.

Parimatch is another sports betting website serving South Africa with plenty of bonuses and promotions. Their deals concerning odds are immaculate, but their most-liked feature is, without a doubt, their live bet option. With live betting, punters can place their bets even after the game has started. This not only delivers on high odds but also reduces the risk of losing your money.

Here the extreme emphasis is placed on valuing customers and prioritizing their needs with delivering on convenience. One such form of satisfaction delivered by 1xBet is an application which can be downloaded, and punters can place their bets right away without having to browse to the site. This is a feature seldom found in sports betting sites and the main reason why they are too, flexing their muscles in the local industry.

22BET

22BET is very much part of the local betting scene from early days onwards. Since 2007, making them not only a familiar face within this industry but also harnessing the trust of clients as a trustworthy supplier of this service. They are very familiar with the industry, and they have managed to keep clients engaged in their facilities with various new editions over time. They deliver on user-friendly solutions, and another feather in their hat is that they too offer live betting to their clients.