It's time for all of us to wake up.

 

I didn’t realize how embarrassing it is that Bafana Bafana didn’t qualify for this year’s African Cup of Nations until the tournament kicked off. Laughing at the fiasco with our boys dancing after thinking they had qualified coupled with hiding behind the cool kids, read as Cameroon and Nigeria, also not qualifying; kinda numbed me to it all.

"Ayeye! Siyaya eGabon"... Errr not!

But reality had to set in and when my senses came back to me, the penny dropped. South Africans like to claim that their national side is a giant in African football. The sad truth is that it is not. The last time Bafana Bafana made it out of the group stage of the tournament was in 2002 when team was eliminated in the quarter finals and has now failed to qualify for 2 consecutive AFCON tournaments and in their last outing at the tournament in 2008 they did not manage to score a single goal; all of which doesn’t merit them the recognition of being named in the same breath as Egypt, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and others.

Those who govern the game in SA should hang their heads in shame. No disrespect to Botswana, but they have part timers kicking the ball around for their national team and they qualified quite comfortably. I am certain that South Africa has more money invested in football than Mali, Guinea, Zambia and most other nations that participated in African football’s premier event. With that in mind, Bafana Bafana fans should fully expect their team to qualify and excel at every AFCON tournament. No South African should be content with the excuse that preparation for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers takes precedence. There is no better preparation than qualifying for a major tournament and testing yourself against the game’s supreme teams on the continent in competitive fixtures.

Nobody ever wants to see this again.

That our boys were selected to play warm-up games against 3 of the nations that qualified is insulting quite frankly. It confirms that our boys aren’t good enough. While it is true, it is still offensive, like being told you’re okay enough to kiss and fondle in the dark but not good enough to take out on a date in public.

The mindset of South African fans needs to change. Qualifying for tournament every now and then is not okay. Drawing games is not good enough and never has been. Sterling performances and victories from our national team should be expected in every game they play. A-grade performances should be the norm. Allowing anything less than excellence is mediocrity, the height of which has you doing the Bokke jive all around the Mbombela Stadium after failing to qualify for the AFCON.

The best of Chiliboy is yet to come

by Mawande.

If there is only one athlete that I want to have a tremendous year on the playing field it has to be Chiliboy Ralepelle.  If the world doesn’t end in 2012, what most probably will expire is any inkling of distinction that old Chiliboy’s career may have had if he doesn’t fulfill his potential on the field of play.

Chiliboy became the youngest man ever to captain the Springboks in 2006 when he led the side against a World XV team and early in his career was touted as a future Springbok captain, but to date we haven’t seen enough to support the early hype around him. Since his Bok debut in 2006, he has earned 20 more national team caps, 18 of which have been off the bench, granted, the incumbent in the hooker position was Springbok captain John Smit.

Chiliboy is due a big season.

It does warrant saying though that Chiliboy has never been given an extended run in any of teams he has played in. I feel that most of the coaches he has played for have also stunted his growth as a player somewhat. Springbok coaches picked him to sit on the bench a lot having already sat on the bench a lot at the Bulls, whilst Bismarck du Plessis was logging hours of game time at the Sharks. But with Derrick Kuun having retired from rugby and Gary Botha moving to France, one would suppose that Chiliboy would make the Bulls No. 2 jersey his own this season and scrap it out with du Plessis for John Smit’s old jersey.

I don’t think for a second that any of us have seen the best of Chiliboy but I firmly believe that 2012 is the year that he will set the rugby world on fire. Being the first choice hooker at the Bulls will do him a world of good and if he can stay fit for the entire season, I wouldn’t bet against him being one of the stand out players for both the Bulls and the Springboks.