26-10 up after 63 minutes, Ireland were on course for an historic series win in South Africa. Then, the wheels came off.
Ireland shipped 22 points in the final quarter to
lose the Second Test 32-26 and leave the Castle Lager Series tied at 1-1. Opportunity knocked and legless Ireland could not answer.
One man who enjoyed the comeback immensely was South African Minister of Sport Mbalula Fikile.
As soon as the final whistle sounded, this was tweeted this from the official Sports Ministry account:
https://twitter.com/MbalulaFikile/status/744208324183363584
As soon as he got the notification that sent, he high-tailed it down to the pitch in his Springboks scarf.
He enjoyed the Boks' win almost as much as the lad in the background:
https://twitter.com/MbalulaFikile/status/744209681124593664
Fikile is the man who imposed a boycott on the South African Rugby Union from bidding for international competitions as they had not met quota levels for the integration of black players across all levels of the game.
He then told reporters that he was hopeful that South Africa could
still be successful in a 2023 Rugby World Cup bid.
Must have been the scarf that softened his stance.
