Durban is planning a massive party for the thousands of local and international visitors who will descend on the city for the international test match between the Springboks and Ireland at the Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium on Saturday.
More than 20 000 supporters have travelled from Europe to support Ireland, with the 46 000 tickets at the stadium selling out months ago.
The equation is simple for the Springboks – win Saturday and secure back-to-back test victories over Ireland to keep them quiet until at least the next meeting between the two rugby nations.
But a loss in Durban will keep the door open for the Irish and their fans to keep claiming that they are the “best” in the world, even though they are currently the second-ranked side behind the world champions.
After the display Loftus Versfeld put on a week ago during the Boks’ 27-20 victory in the first test in Pretoria, Durban’s Kings Park has a lot to live up to during the decider (5pm kick-off).
Just as Loftus was a sold-out affair, so will Kings Park be on Saturday. That should set the two sides up for a thrilling game of rugby between the world champions and the second-ranked international side.
Ireland will of course be out for revenge after coming up short in Pretoria, while they can also slip into first place on the world rankings with a win by 16 points or more over the hosts.
The way the South Africans played at Loftus, though, a win by a large margin will be hard to come by, and head coach Rassie Erasmus will want to see more of the same from his side, where they dominated with their forwards and used their hot-stepping backline players to run the Irish to pieces.
The Kings Park crowd will want to see more of that, and if the back-to-back World Cup winners can produce it, they should see off the Irish and confirm their status as the world’s best team.
It will secure the bragging rights, and at the same time it will build plenty of momentum for the rest of the year and maintain the unbeaten record of the home side in 2024 after three tests against European opponents.
For supporters who could not get a match-day ticket, Oceans Mall in uMhlanga in collaboration with Durban Tourism will transform its Supercar parking area into a vibrant rugby fan park from 1pm.
According to the organisers: “There will be fantastic prizes for the best-dressed fans, competitions for patrons and a host of other fun activities throughout the day.”
The mall’s marketing team said restaurants, including Tiger’s Milk, Black Lounge, Hussar Grill and RocoMamas, are participating with specials and promotions.
“We aim to create a lively and festive atmosphere for everyone. Fans will be able to enjoy the match on our big screen at the Piazza, making it a community celebration,” said the marketing team, adding that food and drinks must be purchased from the mall stores.
General manager of sports bar and grill Hooters uMhlanga, Bongani Msomi, said quite a lot of preparation has been done ahead of the game and extra stock has been ordered.
Msomi said they are running a competition where patrons stand to win tickets for two to go to Twickenham in the UK for the SA vs England match.
In addition, patrons who wear Springbok jerseys on match day will get a free beer.
“We added another tap for Guinness, which is made in Dublin, because the Irish like to drink Guinness. We have also ordered extra buckets for ice,” he said.
Roberto Rosa, general manager of The Oyster Box Hotel, said it was fully booked and “bursting at the seams” this weekend.
“This is great news because we were also fully booked last weekend for the Durban July, so we have had a very good month with good support,” he said.
He said the front office staff would be dressed in Springbok jerseys, and there were Bok flags at reception and on top of the hotel.
“All our guests checking in will have a special Springbok drink and our gifting in our rooms will be Springbok oriented, green and gold, so as proud Springbok supporters we will be there 100% for the Boks this weekend,” he said.
Durban metro police spokesperson, Colonel Boysie Zungu, said they were ready for Saturday’s match and officers would ensure that there were no disruptions.
SA Weather Service forecaster Thandiwe Gumede said the weather in Durban on Saturday would be sunny, with no rain expected.
The Mercury