Vuvuzela Dawn

Ian Hawkey, Luke Alfred

Description

In 2019, South Africa celebrates 25 years of democracy and the freedom that turned the country from a political pariah to one warmly embraced by the world. Nowhere was the welcome more visible, or more emotional, than in sport. Vuvuzela Dawn tells the stories of that return.

From Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations win to the fabled ‘438’Proteas game, we go behind the scenes of the great moments and record-breaking triumphs from 1994 to the present. From Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk to Benni McCarthy and Kevin Anderson, from twin World Cup rugby victories to the traumas of Kamp Staaldraad and Hansie Cronjé, Vuvuzela Dawn reveals the sporting dramas and passions that defined a quarter century.

Sujets

• Extreme Sports
• Sports
• General officer
• Recreation
• Extreme sport
• General

Informations

• Publié par: Pan Macmillan South Africa
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770106628
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

First published in 2019
by Pan Macmillan South Africa
Private Bag X19 , Northlands
Johannesburg , 2116
www . panmacmillan . co . za
ISBN: 978-1-77010-661-1
e-ISBN: 978-1-77010-662-8
Text © Luke Alfred and Ian Hawkey 2019
Foreword © Lucas Radebe 2019
Photographs © Individual photographers 2019
All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced , stored in or introduced into a retrieval system , or transmitted , in any form , or by any means (electronic , mechanical , photocopying , recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher . Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages .
Editing by Sean Fraser
Proofreading by Wesley Thompson
Indexing by Christopher Merrett
Design and typesetting by Triple M Design , Johannesburg
Cover design by publicide
Front cover photograph: Spectators during the Sevens semi-final match , South Africa vs Fiji , Cape Town , 9 December 2018 ( © Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images )
Back cover photographs: Benni McCarthy playing for Bafana Bafana against Denmark in the 1998 World Cup ( © JOHN HOGG ); Caster Semenya in the 2016 Rio Olympics ( © ANNE LAING ); the South African lightweight fours rowers in the 2012 London Olympics: from left to right: Sizwe Ndlovu , John Smith , Matt Brittain and James Thompson ( © BARRY ALDWORTH ); referee Ed Morrison blows the final whistle in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final; jumping is Joost van der Westhuizen , with Ruben Kruger , captain Francois Pienaar , and Hennie le Roux (© JOHN HOGG ).

Contents
Foreword
Part 1 : Honeymoon
1 The Crafty Croucher of the Carousel
2 High Road Warriors
3 ‘Legs of Thunder’ Plays a Stormer
4 No More Four-by-Fours
5 A Torpedo from Toti
6 The Book of Life
Part 2 : Innovators
7 The Conjurer of Grassy Park
8 The Miniature Meadowlander
9 The Shibobo and the Star Jump
10 ‘The Boy whose Eyes Shone’
Part 3 : Hard Times
11 Bewildered in Birmingham
12 The Gambler , the Bookie and the Unfinished Over
13 Rugby’s Long Nervous Breakdown
Part 4 : Celebrating Afresh
14 Taming the Tiger at Dusk
15 Breaking Boundaries in the Bullring
16 John and Jake’s Perfect Night in Paris
17 A Bull’s Eye in Orlando
18 Shabbadabadoo!
Part 5 : Higher, Faster , Longer
19 ‘Three Boertjies and a Soutie’
20 Luvo Leapfrogs his Demons
21 The Anderson Amendment
22 An Oarsome Foursome
23 KG , AB and the Sandpaper Saga
24 The Gifts of Mother Nature
25 The First Lady of Limpopo
About the Authors
Acknowledgements


Foreword
In many ways , it seems like only yesterday that our beautiful country celebrated its freedom , during that cherished April in 1994 . But when you look back over the 25 years since , you appreciate how much as a nation we have squeezed into that period , and how exhilarating a journey it has been .
I count myself among the privileged , having been of an age when , in my profession , opportunities that had been unimaginable to so many courageous and gifted compatriots before me were now possible . Things seemed to happen so fast that we hardly had time to reflect . This collection of stories from the first quarter-century of our democracy , thoughtfully assembled , gives us a much-needed set of souvenirs . As South Africans , we have learned to celebrate together , but sometimes we move on quickly , not always reflecting on the moments and the individuals who have had such an impact on our lives , and the growth of the Rainbow Nation .
We are a great sporting nation , and as Madiba would tell me – more than once – sport has a unique power to bring us together . Back in the early 1990s , our country longed for that . After 1994 , some high-profile events on home soil gave us a nation-building impetus of goodwill and unity that would spread well beyond stadiums or a single night’s cheering . I was lucky enough to experience that , first-hand and from the inside , with the Africa Cup of Nations win in 1996 . The celebrations during that tournament , and the genuine togetherness of the support , will stay with me forever . Bafana Bafana had been given a tough act to follow by the rugby team that won the World Cup a year earlier . The Olympians representing South Africa under our new flag for the first time had to carry heightened expectations going to the 1996 Atlanta Games . Several of them set a very high benchmark .
As sportspeople wanting to compete at the highest standard , we were all aware what isolation and not being able to participate in the world’s top tournaments and competitions had meant . The injustices of the past left most South Africans deprived of the sort of facilities and chances they deserved . There is no overnight cure for that legacy . However , through a combination of resourcefulness , determination and invention , we found a way to compete and be relevant . Our sports culture reflects those qualities . Our circumstances meant we have learned to do things a little differently and to develop our own distinctive styles . We are innovators , and among the wonders of our arrival on the international stage was to watch how our pioneering spirit took the world by surprise ; whether be it with a dramatic drop goal , a clever tsamaya , or a daring new approach to bowling or batting . We should appreciate that , and value our way of doing things: it is what sets us apart .
In many pursuits , it felt like we were playing catch-up from the start of the post-isolation years . We became part of global competition at a time of change elsewhere , in an era of increased investment and professionalism across all sorts of sports . Because of decades of sanctions against South Africa and the skewed priorities of the apartheid era , the jump from our own , closed environment into the international arena brought enormous challenges . We could appear na ï ve at times , and sometimes , when matches , races or run-chases are in the balance , it is experience , professional rigour and a winning mentality that steer a champion through .
When I look across our sporting landscape now and compare it to 1994 , I see very clear symbols of advancement . There are state-of-the-art stadiums across our cities , a reminder that the world eagerly wanted to play sport in South Africa . There’s also a need to look beneath . There is still much work to be done in making opportunities available to all , particularly to the youth of the country .
It would be hard to overstate the role sport has in enriching individual lives , opening minds , and fostering the togetherness that should always be a guiding principle for South Africa . We feel it with each new triumph we experience , whether watching live in a stadium , or via television . Or through enjoying the sort of reporting this book provides , with its fresh look at some famous moments and by turning the spotlight on moments of which it will always be important to be reminded .
Undoubtedly , there will be more stories like these in the next quarter- century , most of them featuring a generation of sportspeople who have done almost all their growing up in the years since 1994 . I look at our champions who are now in their 20s , and I feel certain they will light up our lives well into the next decade and beyond .
Lucas Radebe
February 2019


Part 1
Honeymoon



1
The Crafty Croucher of the Carousel
Vuyani Bungu beats Kennedy McKinney to capture the IBF junior featherweight title , August 1994
Vuyani Bungu took his sweet time trying to decide whether boxing was for him . One of six children , he grew up on a street with no name . His house had a number – 3414 – but the street itself remained nameless , so the local football team simply called themselves ‘34 United’ , a reference to the first two numbers of all the houses round about . Bungu played on the left wing – handy , but no John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu . He wasn’t sure he even liked the game.
Boxing in the East London township of Mdantsane was completely unlike football . It was woven into the tapestry of township life , part of the taste of the place . Nkosana ‘Happyboy’ Mgxaji was an early township favourite and both of Bungu’s older brothers , Mbulelo and Temba , boxed , although neither to any great standard . Whether you lived on a street with no name or not , sooner or later you had to raise your fists and confront the sport . Bungu circled around it for years , sometimes falling into its clutches , sometimes pulling away to watch from the comfort of the ropes.
The indecision was as much metaphysical as it was practical . For Bungu , there was a profound taboo in hitting people , causing them pain . Boxing might have hung in the soupy Mdantsane air but listening carefully to Bungu suggests the decision was a hard one . ‘Hitting another person, to me , you know , for no reason , ’ – here Bungu gently taps his temple twice – ‘it doesn’t make sense.’
Bungu was lured into the ring by the presence in the township of the trainer Mzi Mnguni . The older man was doubly blessed . Not only had he ventured to the faraway City of Gold and lived to tell the tale , but he also loved the sport as he would a child . Mnguni had standing . Having returned from nine years on the Rand , he used his savings to open the Eyethu Supermarket close to Bungu’s home in Mdantsane’s Zone 8 . There he sold the basics around which township life revolved . During down time Mnguni dipped into a collection of boxing videos as wide as the Buffalo River mouth . Word was that , if boxing was on your radar , he was worth seeking out.
‘As a young man , Mzi came up to the Rand to