CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s World Cup winning rugby team face a marathon week of celebrations when they return from Japan with ticker-tape parades scheduled countrywide to mark their success, SA Rugby said on Sunday.
The first members of the squad are due back in South Africa on Tuesday following their 32-12 win over England in Saturday’s final in Yokohama.
They will be thrust almost immediately into a gruelling round of public appearances as the country celebrates winning the World Cup and SA Rugby seeks to capitalise on the team’s popularity.
Captain Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus are part of the first group of Springboks to arrive back in Johannesburg and are expected to receive a huge welcome at OR Tambo International Airport.
Other team members are only expected home on Wednesday but the entire squad will embark on a five-day tour to parade the Webb Ellis Cup in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto on Thursday, Durban on Friday, East London on Saturday, Port Elizabeth on Sunday and Cape Town next Monday.