One year on from the Springboks’ World Cup triumph in Yokohama, the stirring memories of that famous day will be reprised in the final episode of “Chasing the Sun”, to be broadcast on M-Net at 6pm on Sunday.
The popular documentary starts with the extraordinary build-up that saw the Springboks largely written off while England had “one hand on the trophy”, as one analyst put it. It concludes with a massive celebration across the length and breadth of South Africa.
“I’m not sure about destiny, but we’ll give destiny a helluva go,” coach Rassie Erasmus tells his squad on the eve of the final.
“You are really fighting, Siya, for the next lightie in Zwide to not suffer like you suffered. Lukyanyo, you’re really trying to tackle for the boy who didn’t get the opportunities that you got eventually, like Mapimpi.”
The episode is chock-full of small moments that contributed to the most heroic of performances. The late Kaunda Ntunja, a SuperSport rugby commentator at the time, is featured at length, adding a poignant touch to a series that has won wide acclaim for its authenticity.
Ntunja has special praise for Makazole Mapimpi, the hero of the final, for his emergence from the most desperate of circumstances to World Cup champion. Blended with Erasmus’ telling of a private shared moment with the great wing, tears are perhaps an inevitable by-product for viewers as even Erasmus himself weeps at the memory.
The episode ultimately hangs off the Springboks’ magnificent performance where they destroy England in the forwards and then cut loose, against expectations, to put the old enemy to the sword.
Monday’s anniversary will be celebrated on SuperSport with an all-day Rugby World Cup line-up:
6-8.30am: Rugby World Cup final (SS Rugby).
8.30-10am: Rugby World Cup programming (SS Rugby).
10am-1pm: Rugby World Cup final relived (SS Rugby; SS Grandstand).
1-6pm: Chasing the Sun, episodes 1-5 (SS Rugby; SS Grandstand).
6-8pm: Rugby World Cup one year on (SS Rugby; SS Grandstand).
8-10.30pm: Rugby World Cup final (SS Rugby; SS Grandstand).
10.30pm-12.30am: Rugby World Cup one year on (SS Rugby; SS Grandstand).