With Bok fever raging and the men in green and gold up against the Pacific bone-crunchers of Tonga on Sunday night, pubs across South Africa are raking in bonus points.
Johannesburg’s beloved Pirates sports club in Greenside has been bursting at the seams since the Rugby World Cup started.
“We have been very, very busy during the World Cup so far, especially when the Boks are playing,” said the club's operations manager Terry Pautz. “If I had to compare our turnover on Bok match days to normal weekends this time last year, we are talking double our normal turnover. It has been incredible.”
She thanks the members, but also visitors. “Our very loyal members keep us pumping through the year but we have had a lot of non-members walking in on match days as well.
“For the Boks vs Ireland game we did a lot of preparation, like bringing in extra seats and tables, but we still did not have enough for everybody who came to enjoy it with us.”
“We have a separate venue, The Pigeon House, a little way from our main clubhouse. We normally use it for functions and team-building events. On Saturday it felt like thousands of people arriving and one of them had been in the Pigeon House before and remembered we had picnic tables and chairs there. The next thing we knew, people were streaming over and helping each other carry tables to the main club. We just let them be, too happy to share the World Cup fun with them.”
She said the tournament had been a once-in-a-lifetime event for her and her colleagues.
“It gives me goose bumps seeing South Africans from all walks of life singing the anthem hand on heart. The passion is amazing.”
Mbombela’s Jock&Java is a landmark watering-hole in Mpumalanga.
Owner Craig Strydom said their takings during the tournament compared favourably even with the weekend last year when the All Blacks were actually in town.
“There is a massive vibe on match days. We moved our kiddies play area to make more space. I was quite worried that under-the-influence adults would damage the synthetic grass on the floor, but so far we haven’t found a single cigarette burn — which shows you the respect our customers have,” Strydom said.
“There is an incredible feeling of gees in the air when the Boks get together for the anthem and our customers explode when they run on to the field. I love how our crowd is a demographically representative group across race and gender. We have a spot for everyone.”
Through the rugby the pub managed to empower a local single mom. “She came to see me and asked if she could charge our customers for face painting. She offered me a cut of her takings, which I turned down. We don’t want to profit from her plan and she adds value to our operation on match days. She must have painted hundreds of faces on Saturday.”
Southern Johannesburg’s Tin Cup is just outside Alberton on Swartkoppies Road.
Owner Hugo Botha is chuffed with business so far. “We are normally quite full when the weather plays along, but Saturday was our best turnover ever. I am so thankful to our customers for coming in,” Botha said. “You get busy, very busy and almost too busy. Saturday was almost too busy!”
He expects tonight’s match to be a little less busy.
“On a Sunday evening we will still have customers but I expect more people to watch this one from home because of the looming Monday. I can tell you now though, the quarterfinals will be huge,” Botha said.
Cape Town wouldn’t be Cape Town without a cold beer at the Fireman’s Arms.
One of the owner partners, Dean Kadir, said: “I have been involved here for the past 32 years and I can tell you nothing compares to a Springbok match day when it comes to passion and attendance. With the Soccer World Cup we were also busy, but with Boks games the passion of the customers is unmatched, no matter who they play against,” Kadir said.
Years of practice has taught the pub what is required: “We have cold beers, enough screens and secure parking. See you at the game!”
In Noordhoek, Cape Town, the Toad in the Village is the place to be.
Manager Lameck Phiri is excited. “Every match has been awesome. Everybody in the area knows we are the place to watch the Springboks play,” Phiri said. “For most games our turnover, compared to the same period last year, doubled.”
Even after the game the fun goes on, and it doesn’t change when the Boks have an off day.
“After the Ireland game the Bok fans stayed for hours, doing an autopsy of the match. Nobody was negative about the loss. It was just a lekker vibe,” Phiri said.
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