Maybe he just had something in his eye.
Of all the things you associate Bakkies Botha with on a rugby pitch – punching, kicking, being a general colossus and nuisance – shedding a few tears isn’t one of them. But the teak tough South African couldn’t keep the waterworks at bay at the final whistle of yesterday’s friendly between the Springboks and a world XV in Cape Town.
Botha was playing his final game of rugby against the international side who he won a World Cup and two Tri-Nations with, and at the final whistle he shared a warm embrace with his former club and international boss, Heyneke Meyer.
While the tears of Botha might have been a bit surprising, Springbok coach Meyer is notorious for letting his emotions get the better of him. If South Africa make it to the tail-end of the World Cup, he would do well to keep a cardiac specialist nearby.
