Before the Springboks take to the field against the All Blacks on Saturday evening, the eyes of the Western Province faithful are sure to be focused on the Danie Craven Stadium when the DHL Stormers tackle the Scarlet in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC).
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After a narrow victory over the Lions in Week 1, the Stormers return for their first home game on Saturday afternoon and would like nothing more than to set an example for the Boks to follow in the IRB World Cup Final.
A title defence for South Africa is likely to be met with unbridled celebration, while history will definitely be made at the Stade de France.
The newly crowned world champions will become the first nation to take home the trophy on four occasions.
While the final whistle in Saint-Denis will be a defining moment for the international game and South Africa, nearly 13 000km away, the Stormers will be competing in a setting fitting for such a momentous day for the game.
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The name Danie Craven is synonymous with the history of the Springboks and South African rugby in general.
Craven was a national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic and author.
His appointment as Springboks coach from 1949 to 1956 marked ‘one of the most successful spells in South African rugby history,’ with the national team winning 74% of their matches.
While Craven is best known as one of rugby’s greatest dive-passing scrum halves, he also played for the Springboks as a centre, fly-half, number 8, and full-back on occasion.
He was the president of the South African Rugby Board (1956-93) and chairman of the International Rugby Board (1962, 1973, 1979).
Doc Craven also met with ANC leaders in Harare in an audacious bid to return to global competition in 1988.
An unprecedented agreement was reached to form a single rugby association that would compete in foreign tournaments with integrated teams. Many right-wing white South Africans denounced Craven’s meeting with the ANC as treasonous, and then-President PW Botha condemned the move.
Although the agreement did not end the sporting isolation immediately, it did pave the way for the formation of the unified body, the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU), in 1992.
Amid his illustrious and often controversial career, the Danie Craven Stadium was built in his hometown, Stellenbosch, in 1979 and still carries his name today.
Taking place in the historically significant city, in a stadium named after a South African rugby icon and featuring a local team with rugby routes dating back over 150 years, the game between the DHL
Stormers and the Scarlet is likely to have a hint of nostalgia for many a rugby fan and promises to be the perfect appetiser to a World Cup Final that is set to be the stuff of legends.
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Picture: @THESTORMERS / X