THE saying goes that rugby unites a nation and in the true South African spirit of ubuntu, the match between the Springboks against the Barbarians at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday did just that.
The match turned out to be a dream come true for a homeless man named Luigi, who got to watch the game live.
All of this is thanks to a lifelong rugby fan Johan Kotze from Riebeek West, who got two complimentary tickets to watch the Boks in action. Kotze, though, could not find a plus one. He tried calling around, but everyone was either already going or unavailable.
So, he decided to go alone.
In the words of his daughter Stephanie, "the story doesn’t end there".
When Kotze arrived at the stadium and parked his car, he noticed a homeless man, Luigi, lying under a nearby bridge, wrapped in old blankets and a plastic blue garbage bag trying to stay warm in the bitter Cape Town cold.
Johan told the Daily Voice: "I walked up to him and asked his name, he introduced himself as Luigi and I told him ‘come let’s go watch the game’. It was his first game ever. He was in tears, he told me that he lies under the bridge and all he does every Saturday is hear the voices of the people cheering but has never been there.”
Johan said within minutes, he learned that Luigi was also a super fan of rugby and his knowledge of rugby blew him away. He knew most of the players, the stats, the teams and spoke about the Springboks with the kind of passion only a true fan has. He also shared that his dream was to one day watch a live game.
Kotze added: “I told him, ‘today is your best day, I am taking you to the rugby’ and we had an absolutely amazing day, he knows pretty much all the rugby players. It was a magical moment. I made a promise that for the next 10 years of my life when I do get tickets again, I will go and pick him up. I know exactly where to find him under the bridge.”
Two South Africans from completely different walks of life, sitting side by side, drinking brandy and Coke, cheering, laughing, and sharing in the joy of the game.
After the two were also caught by the TV cameras, Kotze added: “Luigi’s dream came true and he knows so much about rugby, I don’t know where he sees it but I think he goes to a local pub, stands at the back and watches rugby through the window.
"We had such a good time and the Springboks won. When he walked out of the stadium I gave him a R200 and said he should buy him something to eat, maybe McDonalds and he gave me a hug and cried for about ten minutes. It was a very special day.”