#FAF DE KLERK

[im-adrienne]

Insomnia watching South Africa vs Australia rugby.

First thought was “Where the fuck is Faf de Hair?!?”

[necrosiseyes]

This guy, (Faf de Klerk, the one getting thrown) but as Thorfinn from Vinland Saga…

I feel like this should be an au ✨rugby player thorfinn✨

[superbeans89]

No one:

Faf de Klerk:

[legowolas]

LET'S HEAR IT FOR OUR FAVOURITE NINE AND KEN TEN COMBO ‼️ 🇿🇦 🏆🏆 💚💛

[ID 1: A "This Barbie is..." poster, featuring Faf de Klerk, a South African rugby player with shoulder-length blond hair. He is wearing nothing but a speedo with the South African flag on it, and his 2023 Rugby World Cup winner's medal. He is holding the Webb Ellis Trophy, and smiling at the camera. The sparkly background behind him is green, and the text above his head reads "This Barbie is a 2x Rugby World Cup champion". End ID].

[ID 2: Another "This Barbie is..." poster, this one featuring Handré Pollard, another South African rugby player. He is wearing a white T-shirt with text on it that reads "WORLD CHAMPIONS", and has four stars below the text, which are labelled "1995", 2007", "2019", and "2023". He has a large cut on his cheek, which has stitches. He is also wearing his 2023 Rugby World Cup winner's medal and holding the Webb Ellis Trophy, and he kisses the trophy as he looks into the camera. The sparkly background behind him is also green, and the text above his head reads "This Ken is the #1 points scorer in Rugby World Cup finals". End ID].

[jackiekeswick]

I have no connection to South Africa. I'm just a Faf de Klerk fangirl. And a bit gutted right now.

[lonelytamagotchi]

Watching that clip of Faf de Klerk get thrown down only to flawlessly take that momentum and spring back up via a handstand caused my ovaries to explode

🥵🥵

Totally inspired me to get into calisthenics

I wanna be a hot bitch catching myself with reverse handstands

[defensefilms]

South African Rugby Champions Go Back-To-Back

I'll admit off the bat, that I am the most casual rugby fan in the world, and by many fans standards, I am the worst type of fan because I am a Springboks supporter.

Don't let that take away from what this South African team just accomplished though, and to help you understand the context under which this team is representing the country, is a task that can't be accomplished in one blog post.

South Africa is a country with an economy that is dying and the gap in wealth inequality is getting bigger and bigger, with an infastructure that is falling apart, and a government unable to manage the administrative, financial headaches of governance.

Basically, these Springboks are the only good thing happening in South Africa.

Packed in to the pre-meal, and way before any of these current players was ever a Springbok, is the history of South Africa itself and what the Springboks represented for the ruling Apartheid government pre-1994, and the liberation of Black South Africans since.

This is not a piece to sway people in to believing in the Springboks as a story of racial intergration and tranformation.

Rather something to help you understand the kind of hurdles every player on the team deals with, and the amount of personal discipline it takes to always put the team and winning first.

In the years to come, books will be written about how these guys had to pull together even in the most trying of times, and Siya Kholisi as the captain of a team that has accomplished the greatest feat in the sport's history.

To help you understand what this team has accomplished, South Africa came in to the 2023 Rugby World Cup as defending champions after winning the 2019 World Cup, only lost 1 game the entire tournament, and won our last 3 games all by 1 point margins.

This is not a Rugby team. This is sporting greatness and excellence. They'll go down as legends of the sport. All of them, every member of both the 2019 and 2023 squads.

Every one of these players had big moments in big games and situations where we absolutely needed it.

Handre Pollard's cool headedness was evident throughout the tournament, with his kick to win the semi-final against England being his most immense.

Eben Etzebeth setting the tone with physicality, always promptly followed by Mbongeni Mbonambi, Franco Mostert and Duane Vermeulen, Ox Nche, Deon Fourie and Kwagga Smith, and this group changed the game in that semi-final.

Pieter-Steph Du Toit's man of the match performance in the final was arguably the best any Springbok has ever played in a final. Cheslin Kolbe's charge down and block against France. Manie Libbok's sublime no-look kick against Scotland.

Everyone had big moments or big performances at key times.

I have grown attached to this team in a way I have never been attached to a Rugby team.

South Africa's 1995 World Cup victory represented the intention to change with the inclusion of the legendary Chester Williams. In 2007 it was a story of how that change had bred a new generation of winners represented by Byran Habana. The 2019 World Cup in Japan represented a transformation complete with the champions being captained by a Black player for the first time.

This however is not a chapter of the story that needs a transformation narrative.

As a group these players have transcended that. They represent the pinnacle of the sport. The highest level of achievement possible, and our heach coach Rassie Erasmus, the man who masteminded both our victories, all the while challenging the sports's conventions, pushing boundraries, and always keeping the Boks one step ahead.

Growing up Bryan Habana was the most recognisable player in the sport, and I even have a photograph I took of him on my Instagram, but this group, and this captain, with those forwards and those wings, yeah they've now surpassed any South African team, and that's no easy thing to do.

Even more difficult than that is restoring some feeling of national pride at a time when it's becoming harder to create reasons for that.

Thank you to the Boks, they will never be forgotten.

[enjolraspermettendo]

Rugby athlete Grantaire

[singsweetmelodies]

your mom being a springbok supporter omg I love that😭 would u consider writing fics about them tho ?🇿🇦

morning anon! ohhh, great question - but i'm afraid it's going to have to be a no, for various reasons. firstly because, well, i simply don't know enough about rugby or about the team... my mum might be a big rugby fan but i'm not, really. i only ever watch 2 or 3 matches once every four years for the world cup 🥲

secondly, even if i did know more about rugby, i would still have to say no because my writer's block is currently so bad that it's even extending to my PhD. (🤣😭) in all seriousness though, i can't write anything of quality at the moment, and the second i do get my writing mojo back, i have a whole list of f1 rpf fics that i need and want to get to.

sorry to disappoint, love! but i hope this answers your question 🥰

[cowboykakashi]

SOUTH AFRICA WON THE WORLD CUP AGAIN POST ASS POST ASS !!!!!!!!!!

[heavenbarnes]

absolutely fucking devastated

[6ebe]

Have today seen two people say raffi quirke looks like Charles leclerc . Guys we need to stop lying

[jackiekeswick]

Today, I've watched more TV than I usually do in four months! Still. I finally got my first Faf de Klerk fix in over two years...

[scrumandf1]

Faf de Klerk is a menace of the best kind

[suntoucher2001]

everyone say thank you to faf de klerk for being a real one