British and Irish tour was learning curve: Ralepelle

JOHANNESBURG – Chiliboy Ralepelle, who became the first black captain of South Africa’s rugby side when he led them against the World XV in a non-test fixture on Sunday, said the Springboks’ tour to Ireland and England was a chilly learning experience.

The Springboks returned to Johannesburg on Tuesday after a tour in which they lost their opening matches to Ireland and England, but then beat the English in a re-match at Twickenham and triumphed 32-7 over a World XV in Leicester on Sunday. The South Africans left several first-choice players at home and a particularly young, experimental side played the last match, in which Ralepelle made history by leading the Springboks in the first half.”The tour was all about getting everyone ready for test rugby,” Ralepelle told reporters in Johannesburg.”It was a great learning curve and we now have a good platform for the World Cup next year.”Personally, I learnt so much because I went on tour with a ‘books open to learn whatever knowledge I could’ attitude.”Whether it was actually playing, or on the training field, or watching the other guys.And then to captain the team was an honour.It was a big privilege that I will forever cherish.CHILLY WEATHER “I also had to get used to the chilly UK weather and I had to adapt a lot,” Ralepelle said.The 20-year-old hooker said he was confident South Africa were firmly in the running to add the 2007 World Cup title in France to their 1995 home triumph under Francois Pienaar and inspired by Nelson Mandela.”Winning the World Cup remains our main goal and focus and there were so many positives to come out of the tour.The young guys went out and did what the coach asked out in the middle, by keeping the structure.We achieved a hell of a lot on tour,” Ralepelle said.Springbok coach Jake White flew directly from London to Sydney to attend a Sanzar meeting, with doubts still hovering over his future despite a motion of no confidence in him being defeated 9-5 in a meeting of South Africa’s provincial union presidents last week.Springbok manager Zola Yeye confirmed yesterday that the Springboks would host two tests against England in late May 2007, followed by a test against Samoa in June, the Tri-nations tournament and two pre-World Cup friendlies in August against Portugal and Scotland.Nampa-ReutersThe South Africans left several first-choice players at home and a particularly young, experimental side played the last match, in which Ralepelle made history by leading the Springboks in the first half.”The tour was all about getting everyone ready for test rugby,” Ralepelle told reporters in Johannesburg.”It was a great learning curve and we now have a good platform for the World Cup next year.”Personally, I learnt so much because I went on tour with a ‘books open to learn whatever knowledge I could’ attitude.”Whether it was actually playing, or on the training field, or watching the other guys.And then to captain the team was an honour.It was a big privilege that I will forever cherish.CHILLY WEATHER “I also had to get used to the chilly UK weather and I had to adapt a lot,” Ralepelle said.The 20-year-old hooker said he was confident South Africa were firmly in the running to add the 2007 World Cup title in France to their 1995 home triumph under Francois Pienaar and inspired by Nelson Mandela.”Winning the World Cup remains our main goal and focus and there were so many positives to come out of the tour.The young guys went out and did what the coach asked out in the middle, by keeping the structure.We achieved a hell of a lot on tour,” Ralepelle said.Springbok coach Jake White flew directly from London to Sydney to attend a Sanzar meeting, with doubts still hovering over his future despite a motion of no confidence in him being defeated 9-5 in a meeting of South Africa’s provincial union presidents last week.Springbok manager Zola Yeye confirmed yesterday that the Springboks would host two tests against England in late May 2007, followed by a test against Samoa in June, the Tri-nations tournament and two pre-World Cup friendlies in August against Portugal and Scotland.Nampa-Reuters