When 83 000 rugby fanatics fall silent.... En joying the game.

The rugby test against the Irish on Saturday was attended, if I remember correctly, by 83 000 people. What a massive number of people. They gather in an impressive stadium and sing loudly and enthusiastically. The sound overwhelms and touches one deeply.

But it is also a crowd that knows its rugby and notices the smallest detail. When Petersen seemed to have tackled his opponent with a high tackle, the crowd is deeply upset and the boo’s rain over the poor man. This is not how one plays the game, young man....

But then there were the penalties. Each time, whether the Irish or the Boks were kicking, a deadly silence broke out on the field. One “hears,” says the commentator, the silence.

Beautiful.

But also remarkbale – to hear 83 000 people fall into silence so that one can hear a needle drop. And that for a kick.

And, the commentator added, he wished that the people back home in South Africa can also remain so silent with penalities. It is, therefore, unusual – this silence of the Irish crowd.

I also noted the silence. And I reflected about the culture which creates such an attitude of sportmanship. Here, I think, rugby really reigns supreme. It is enjoyed with a sportmanship, but it is also appreciated for its beauty and for its power. The kickers – of both the home team and the visitors – are given a fair chance to entertain, to show what they can do, to bring out the best of their ability.

It is a mature attitude. Sport gives so much more joy when one can experience the best and when the players can perform optimally. The silence allows and gives them space to show the crowds what they can do.

The only thing that impresses more than the silence is the culture behind that silence.

This culture of enjoying, of appreciating sport extends to other aspects of the game. After everything is over the Irish line up to shake the hands of the Boks.

Beautiful.

Is there somewhere some link with the fact that the Irish are traditionally so strongly Catholic? I have to think about this.

Hearing the silence, I realize why sport - even in its minutest of detail - reveals why it has such a great influence on people.

That silence. Of 83 000 people – and that for a kick.