Earlier this week, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus issued a plea to fans at Ellis Park to respect the Haka ahead of their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opener against the All Blacks at the iconic venue.
This was clearly an attempt to avoid a repeat of August 2024.
Back then, the Ellis Park crowd loudly sang Ole Ole while New Zealand performed their sacred Māori war cry. The stadium announcer played music, and a plane flew overhead right as the Haka began. While the music and flyover can be chalked up to human error, bad timing, and an official SA Rugby apology, the crowd’s singing was a different story.
Singing Ole Ole was a deliberate act of disrespect toward a culture deeply woven into the fabric of New Zealand rugby. Bring this up with fellow Springbok fans, and many will double down in defiance before even considering an apology.
As a Springbok fan, it was embarrassing. As a proud South African, it felt like a disgrace. We call ourselves the Rainbow Nation, which should mean showing deep cultural sensitivity—not just to our own diverse communities, but to international visitors as well.
This behaviour smacks of pure entitlement. Winning back-to-back Rugby World Cups seems to have given some fans an excuse to act like boors, using team success to justify poor sportsmanship.
If you asked Springbok captain Siya Kolisi about the incident, he would carefully avoid throwing fans under the bus and I imagine he would saying something like: “We can’t control what the crowd does; we can only control what we do, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
While Kolisi would take the diplomatic route, the world-class humanitarian would never dream of disrespecting an opponent’s culture. He understands what it truly means to be a South African ambassador, championing unity, dignity, and inclusiveness.
The actions at Ellis Park were the exact opposite of those values. Let’s hope that in 2026, fans finally show the Haka the respect it deserves. Respect won’t cost the Springboks a victory, but losing it costs us our integrity.
@Michael_Sherman
IOL Sport
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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