Wowed by Wembley

Wowed by Wembley

17 Nov 2009

Every sports fan should have a bucket list of stadia they wish to visit, and Wembley should be right at the top.

Wembley won’t sell out tonight and it’s been confirmed that the top tier of this marvellous venue is closed. By Monday, over 40 000 tickets had been sold for this fixture so we may see somewhere in the region of 50 000 people by kickoff. Nevertheless, to be within its walls is quite a humbling experience.

London was hit by thunderstorms and significantly strong winds over the weekend and experienced some rain on Monday. The good news for South Africa is it’s a crisp, cloudless night in north London, and although it’s bitterly cold, they won’t have to worry about the weather.

Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter told this website on Monday this match is a marketing exercise. It’s bound to be more serious than that, but a quick look at the match programme suggests he wasn’t kidding. There’s a large section devoted to the golden age of the Springboks, while the Saracens’ Saffa contingent is quoted heavily. Bok van Blerk is also set to entertain the crowd with hits like “De La Rey” and “Ons Vir Jou Suid Afrika”.

There’s plenty of South Africans on hand to enjoy this little slice on home, but at present the iconic flags are outnumbered by those bearing the Saracens insignia. There will be plenty of support for the dirt-trackers tonight, but one feels they won’t shout down the Saracens faithful.

Francois Pienaar, a former World Cup-winning Bok captain and Saracens player, is the host for the evening, and had a chat with a few of the first string Boks before kickoff. Captain John Smit spoke about the great year South Africa has enjoyed while his vice-captain Victor Matfield pledged an improved performance in their remaining two Tests.

‘Our bodies are holding up, but we haven’t been happy with our showing last Friday [against France],’ he said. ‘We have two games to rectify that.’

By Jon Cardinelli, at Wembley


20 Comments

  • 1.allamapstieks: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:13 pm

    Confused dragon, Wembly is in South West London!

  • 2.allamapstieks: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:14 pm

    Perhaps Jon Groenie – Cardinelli – die draakie?

  • 3.WP Till I Die: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:17 pm

    #1 allamapstieks:

    Actually, Cardinelli for once has his bearings right. Wembley is in Wembley Park, part of Brent borough (HA9), and it lies in NW London…

  • 4.WP Till I Die: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:18 pm

    And JC, it is an amazing stadium. At £800 million construction cost, you’d expect it to be, though…

  • 5.Robzim: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:19 pm

    Bok van Blerk???

    It is highly debatable whether he is any better than Ras Dumisani.

    It is a pity that Arno Carstens is no longer in London. It would have been nice if he could do a gig at Wembley before the match seeing that he is an ex Springbok (albeit a Nude Girl).

    And he is good.

  • 6.charo: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:20 pm

    #1 allamapstieks:

    not thinking of wimbledon?

  • 7.WP Till I Die: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:21 pm

    #4 WP Till I Die:

    One Wembley Stadium = 12,000 brand-new BMW 750iLs for our public servants… :lol:

  • 8.WP Till I Die: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:21 pm

    #5 Robzim:

    I actually quite like some of Bok van Blerk’s music – not all of it, but some of it is pretty decent.

  • 9.Robzim: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:26 pm

    #8 WP Till I Die:

    The de la Rey song does have a catchy tune I admit, but personally I do not like his stuff. A matter of taste, I guess.

    Is he not a bit of a one hit wonder in a SA context?

  • 10.WakaNathan: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:29 pm

    #1 allamapstieks:

    North West

  • 11.WP Till I Die: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:30 pm

    #9 Robzim:

    Look, a Robert Zimmerman he’s definitely not :lol:

  • 12.PissAnt: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:32 pm

    #1 allamapstieks: #3 WP Till I Die:

    Could you folks get the directions right please or do I have to go onto google earth? ;)

  • 13.WakaNathan: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:34 pm

    Yeah great stadium.

    Not a great place to watch rugby tho, no elevation.

  • 14.WP Till I Die: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:36 pm

    #12 PissAnt:

    Hehe, I think allamapstieks was confusing Wembley with Wimbledon, easy mistake to make!

  • 15.Wezwp: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:38 pm

    this game will be even more tougher than the Leicester game.

  • 16.Cheetahj: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:39 pm

    bok van blerk has a few good songs. ‘Die Kaplyn’ maybe the best and ‘Tyd om te trek’ best music video and very good song about africa.

  • 17.WP Till I Die: Reply to this comment
    17 Nov 2009, 21:42 pm

    #16 Cheetahj:

    Sy “dis tyd om te trek” is ‘n ongelooflike mooi liedjie, ek moet toegee ja.

  • 18.UKBokSupporter: Reply to this comment
    18 Nov 2009, 01:51 am

    #1 allamapstieks:

    Jou parra, gou om te kritiseer en toe is jy verkeerd! Jy dink dalk aan Twickenham of Wimbledon, beide in suid wes London, maar Wembley is noord wes, ek kom nou net van daar af.

    Fantastiese stadium, definitief een van my gunstelinge saam met die Millenium stadium in Cardiff.

    Net jammer die Bokke het WEER verloor. Maar was nog steeds ‘n lekker aand. Iemand het £250,000 gewen deur die pale raak te skop gedurende halftyd, dit was definitief die hoogtepunt van die aand!

  • 19.bokfan1: Reply to this comment
    18 Nov 2009, 13:20 pm

    #18 UKBokSupporter: Ja ek stem saam, was n lekker aand! Die laagpunt van die aand (behalwe vir die eindtelling) was die f#kken onoosel wat die ou SA vlag gewaai het terwyl van Blerk “Ons vir jou SA” gesing het!

    Wat n poephol, maak die res van ons skaam om van die sele land as hom te kom

  • 20.JA-JA: Reply to this comment
    18 Nov 2009, 17:57 pm

    #19 bokfan1: Ek was daar maar het nie die donner gesien met die ou vlag nie. Hoop iemand het hom goed uit gek@k.

Keo.co.za has always promoted uncensored views, but has never tolerated racist or crass outbursts. Come on guys and girls. If you can't moderate yourselves or each other then I am going to be forced to regulate the posts and enforce a registration process for comments. The choice is yours.

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