Twenty years after Nelson Mandela famously used rugby union to unite a nation, Bryan Habana says that he wants to do the same after the horrific murder of a young South African coach.
Zukisa Kela, who had revived the sport in the school where he taught, was attacked by a gang on Saturday in Rhodes Park in Johannesburg. He was tied up and thrown into a lake, where he drowned along with a friend. A woman was raped by the gang while another woman escaped to raise the alarm.
Habana was moved by the tragedy as he addressed the media before Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. “To his family and friends, his school, we are thinking of you in our prayers,” the wing said. “Hopefully, we can continue doing our country proud, we can bring the country together, unite the country. We hope to instil some pride back in this jersey. Zukisa’s last words [to his headmaster] were ‘Viva ama Bokoboko’ [long live the Springboks]. That pride and passion he showed in his last moment was pretty special.”
The murders have highlighted the enduring social problems in South Africa. In 1995 the Springboks beat New Zealand in the final to usher in what most hoped would be a new era of sporting equality. Mandela hoped that rugby and football would no longer be divided on racial lines.