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Springbok star Cheslin Kolbe has gone viral over post-match act of humility but not all fans are pleased
By Sam Smith
Springboks star and World Cup hero Cheslin Kolbe has gone viral after Toulouse's Champions Cup win over Munster, but not for his usual hot-stepping deeds.
Toulouse had earlier come back from a 16-9 deficit to defeat Munster 40-33 at Thomond Park in a crowdless fixture.
Kolbe was involved in the lead-up to a smart try to Antoine Dupont with thirteen minutes remaining, which gave the visitors the lead for the final time. After a Romain Ntamack penalty, Dupont sealed the game with his second try with just three minutes to go.
As the players began to disperse the field after the final whistle, the Springboks winger was seen picking up rubbish and empty plastic bottles left by the teams from around the ground. A video shared by BT Sport on Twitter had over 200,000 views and attracted hundreds of comments.
Kolbe's humble act earned enormous praise online, with the star showered with admiration for taking the time to keep the pitch clean. Fans called him a 'legend', 'still humble' and a 'great player' with a 'great attitude'.
One Irish fan even applauded the efforts of the IRFU to get more South Africans with character like Kolbe playing in Ireland for Pro14 clubs.
Legend ??— Kai Horstmann (@KaiHorstmann) April 3, 2021
A man who never forgot his roots, and is world class showing everyone he is still humble. A lesson to all ????— Kev Robbo (@robbo4614) April 3, 2021
Great player, great attitude. Humility above all else.— Three Hares (@TinnersRabbits) April 3, 2021
Legend. And proud to call him South African— Deeolan Govender (@DeeolanGovender) April 3, 2021
They could do with him down Cardiff Bay right now.— Mick Parry (@MichaelParry3) April 3, 2021
He is humble like the Japanese. A great player and a great human.— Mickey (@mikewildthing) April 3, 2021
Other fans were less applauding of the Springboks star, focused on letting everyone know of their disapproval of the other players leaving their rubbish around the pitch in the first place.
One fan wrote 'put it in the bin and let the cameras see you putting it in the bin' to show the youngsters what needed to be done in the first instance. Another wrote 'all that single-use plastic' is a disgrace, and that you never see it in football.
Although great that Cheslin cares enough, is humble enough actually what it’s about is that pro players should not set a bad example by throwing their rubbish on the pitch in first place. Put it in the bin and let the cameras see you putting it in the bin - show the youngsters..— Andrew Banks (@andrewbankswood) April 3, 2021
That’s the very least he could do. All that single-use plastic, it’s a disgrace and he’s a disgrace for contributing to it. You literally NEVER see this in football— Mr Bobby (@MrNameNo) April 3, 2021
Another South African fan used the opportunity to bring up England and wearing medals again, saying this is the difference between champions and second place. It seems wearing silver medals and picking up rubbish have little in common, however, and the comment was lambasted by other fans.
That’s the difference between champions and England. It’s about mindset. England players after the WC removing their medals, the chips their props have in their shoulders, and a coach that thinks it’s acceptable. You have to be a human champion before you can rise to greatness.— Rich Sinclair (@RichRSin) April 3, 2021
What has Cheslin Kolbe picking up empty bottle caps got to do with England rugby..
? warrior— RA (@biogasmouse) April 3, 2021
Why live in England with that big chip on your shoulder ? It’s ridiculous how you clutch at straws to find anything to have a dig at England over something that happened 18 months ago ????— Adam Warwick (@AdamWarwick86) April 3, 2021
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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