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Springbok winger’s generous act puts him up there with Sonny Bill Williams
It was a birthday like no other, as Cheslin Kolbe turned 30 on the day of the 2023 Rugby World Cup final. And what a day, and night, it was.
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In fact, the tournament win and birthday celebrations have continued, as South Africa retaining the Webb Ellis Cup will have been the best gift anybody could ever ask for.
Kolbe’s night wasn’t all plain sailing though, as a tight and tense match ended with him off the field after having been yellow carded for what was deemed a deliberate knock-on as New Zealand launched another desperate attack in a bid to get ahead for the first time in the match and possibly snatch a win with less than ten minutes left.
Kolbe had to cover his eyes on the sideline, as his birthday was not going to plan.
Jordie Barrett missed the subsequent penalty kick and it all turned out okay for Kolbe, as South Africa won 12-11 and he, and the rest of the team and the nation, began the celebrations that have not stopped since.
In fact, he’s still wearing his strapping from the match, four days later, in what appears to be some kind of superstition, or perhaps just a nod to his family, whose names he had written down on his wrist bandages for the match.
The Springboks are now back in South Africa and while the trophy tour begins tomorrow, today they visited broadcaster Supersport’s head office, with plenty of staff and onlookers there to see the team and the trophy up close.
In what looks like being an incredibly selfless act, Kolbe walked on stage after a young performer stated that the double world cup winner is actually his favourite player.
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What happened next, nobody could have predicted.
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It’s reminiscent of what happened after the Rugby World Cup final in 2015, when a young fan took to the field to try to get closer to All Blacks star and world cup winner, Sonny Bill Williams. The fan was tackled by security, but Williams then embraced the boy and shocked everyone when he ended up giving him his winner’s medal.
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It was a moment that went truly viral at the time and goes down in history as an iconic memory of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and perhaps due to such good karma, Williams was later given another medal after the touching act.
It’s unclear yet if Kolbe got his medal back today or if he too might get given another, but after a four day bender and experiencing the love of South Africa, he was clearly in a generous mood.
*edit: Malcolm Marx also gave the boy his medal, but it appears as though both were returned shortly afterwards.
He also made another fan very happy at the airport yesterday.
Guys how heartwarming is this? 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹😭😭😭😭♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ @CheslinKolbe #Springboks pic.twitter.com/MJ36kwOQ12
— x4 RWC Champions 🏆🇿🇦🇿🇦 (@Nomondensele) November 1, 2023
And while Kolbe is still strapped from the final, fullback Damian Willemse has been wearing his (dirty) match kit everywhere he goes.
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The trophy tour kicks off in Pretoria tomorrow, followed by Johannesburg and Soweto, then moves on to other key centres around the country.
Comments on RugbyPass
Starts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
2 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
2 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
87 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to comments