Two national teams face crucial matches this weekend, whipping the country into frenzied expectations to continue with their good runs.
Bafana Bafana play their African Cup of Nations (Afcon) soccer qualifier against Uganda at Orlando Stadium on Friday evening and a day later the Springboks resume their hostilities with arch-rivals All Blacks in a Rugby Championship clash at Cape Town Stadium.
Springboks go to the match buoyed by their come-from-behind 31-27 win against their nemesis last weekend, while Bafana’s good run at the Afcon in the Ivory Coast in January, where they finished third, lifted the pressure on coach Hugo Broos.
Both teams have been embraced by the fickle South African sports fans, with the Springboks’ World Cup triumph making it sacrilege to question anything about them.
While Broos is slowly winning the support of the soccer lovers, his outbursts in prematch interviews are still a sore point which rub some people the wrong way.
The Belgian’s unconventional methods keep attracting questions about his team selections, which have left some confused.
His decision to leave out red-hot Orlando Pirates striker Shegofatso Mabasa nearly overshadowed his preparations for the Uganda match as he fielded a slew of questions on his preference to go with newly-signed Mamelodi Sundowns’ Iqraam Rayners and Lyle Foster of English Championship side Burnley.
He argued that Rayners did well in the 3-3 friendly draw against Algeria and in World Cup qualifying matches against Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Defending the selection of Foster, whose team was relegated from the English Premiership, Broos said the player was playing well in England.
While the veteran coach is forced to explain his selections, his Springboks counterpart Rassie Erasmus has no such pressures as he reshuffles his squad with ease, seemingly immune to criticism.
A few eyebrows were raised when Erasmus made 10 changes for the second clash against Australia but the victory silenced those who had already drawn out their knives for him.
After changing his plans of announcing his team on Tuesday to Thursday morning for Saturday’s clash, Erasmus was defended by a section of the media, some of whom argued that the injury doubts were the reasons for the delay.
Part of him enjoying support from almost all SA fans stems from his articulate and cunning ways of managing the team to produce results against all odds.
While some moaned when the Springboks were trailing 27-17 against All Blacks with the clock ticking, the roaring fightback made everyone jump on the euphoric bandwagon and forget everything.
Broos can take a leaf out of his Springboks counterpart’s book about how to win detractors over.
Good luck to the teams.
DispatchLIVE
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