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SOWETO - The youngsters assembled at Soweto's Jabulani Soccer Grounds for an after-school training session are united in their reply when asked to name their hero:
"Habana. He's the man!"
As coloured winger Bryan Habana and his fellow Springboks prepare for Sunday's rugby World Cup final against England, a sport which was traditionally seen as a "white man's game" is slowly but surely gaining interest among South Africa's black majority.
A dozen years ago, when South Africa won the World Cup for the first and so far only time, the idea of rugby being played in the country's largest black township Soweto was unheard of.
But since its formation in 1998, the Soweto rugby club has attracted a growing number of players and followers of all ages who are showing that they have nothing to fear from their contemporaries in more affluent white suburbs.
Earlier this month, coach Paseka Mavimbela looked on proudly as the club's under-13 team thrashed an all-white team from the northern suburb of Randburg 22-0.
"The sport is growing in the township," Mavimbela said as he took a break from a training session attended by several dozen, mainly teenage players.
"Most kids are showing interest and passion and they are making Soweto proud ... One day, they're going to make us proud in the national team."
Along with fellow winger JP Pietersen, Habana is one of only two players of colour who are expected to line up against England on Sunday but the emergence of clubs like Soweto in traditional football strongholds offers hope the team will soon become more reflective of the country's demographics.
Mavimbela said the club struggled in the early days to overcome parents' safety fears.
"Initially parents were telling kids negative things, discouraging them and telling them they will break their bones. They forget that children can get hurt in all the sports," he said.
Some of the boys demonstrated an initial reluctance to tackle their white opponents but their inhibitions have melted away.
"I am no longer scared of them," said 12-year-old Sihle Mkhize, who scored four tries in the Randburg encounter. "Actually they are now scared of me."
According to Johannes Mhlongo, a coach for the senior team, the interest has not been matched by outside funding and the club has problems buying kit and equipment that white teams rarely encounter.
"The game in the township is getting a raw deal," said Mhlongo.
"It's sad that even though we began some years ago now, support has not really been forthcoming. Most sponsorship is still focused in the white areas, which is sad considering the fact that our team (Springboks) is doing us proud, raising the rainbow flag higher in France," he added.
Despite the burgeoning interest, football still remains by far the most popular sport among the black population - a trend that is likely to become more marked in the build-up to South Africa's hosting of the 2010 World Cup.
The sports pages of the two biggest-selling dailies, The Sowetan and Daily Sun, have continued to be devoted to football during the rugby World Cup.
But Daily Sun editor Themba Khumalo said feedback during the tournament had underlined how interest in rugby among his paper's mainly black readership was definitely growing.
"We have dedicated some of our pages to giving our readers tips on watching the matches, and yesterday (Tuesday) we had a whole centrespread on readers letters commenting about rugby and the Boks' success" over Argentina in the semi-final.
"That shows that rugby is gaining popularity, and with that, we broaden our scope to cover it."
- AFP
