Lining up alongside your teammates for the playing of your
national anthem is a special moment for any player, but for South
Africa's squad at Women's Rugby World Cup 2010 the emotions
are magnified a hundred fold.
This is because the version of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
played at Surrey Sports Park before all their World Cup matches was
actually recorded by the whole squad in a Cape Town studio a few
months ago.
LISTEN TO THE ANTHEM RECORDED BY THE SQUAD
>>
The decision to record their own version was taken because
the squad "weren't too happy" with the anthem played
before some of their previous matches and decided to utilise their
love of singing to give them a sense of extra pride at the World
Cup.
"When we were playing [Kazakhstan] in Dubai, they played
a national anthem and it wasn't proper," explained second
row Dolly Mavumengwana.
"So we thought because we can sing and we are proud of
our nation, we wanted to sing it nicely and bold, so decided to
give it a go. It was so much fun, it was awesome and we really
bonded when we were singing, it was a great thing for us.
Goose bumps
"I asked somebody if the national anthem that is playing
is the one that is recorded and they said yes and it was like wow,
that is great, I am surprised. It makes us feel good. I can't
express it, you feel good that it is being sung the way we wanted
it to be."
South Africa has 11 official languages with all of them
spoken with the Women's Rugby World Cup squad, but bringing the
squad together for the recording sessions at Durbanville in Cape
Town was not a problem according to Aimee Barrett.
"The whole team was up for it. It was a different
situation, inside the studio it was all microphones and very
different to the field, but it was fantastic," admitted the
full back only days after South Africa recorded their first ever
World Cup victory.
"It was a different experience but really worthwhile
because obviously we're far away from home and to hear that
anthem play, we can sing it loud and proud.
"It was amazing [to hear it played for the first time at
a match], definitely a goose bumps moment. I think I can definitely
speak for all of the team when I say that every time you sing the
anthem, I'm even getting goose bumps now just thinking about
it."
Barrett admits it took "quite a few goes" to get
the final version just right, but while she is hugely proud of the
finished product, she is also keen to stress that rugby is what the
squad are here to play.
Springbok challenge
"South Africa is quite well known for their singing, but
in this World Cup we want to be known for our rugby ... but now
we've got the rugby to remind everyone that we can sing as
well."
South Africa certainly caused a surprise by beating Wales
15-10 on day two and if they can reproduce that performance against
Australia in their final Pool A match then their goal of a top six
finish will still be attainable.
"It will be a big step for us but we are prepared to
take it and for us we have a few goals, to make a statement and we
are coming here to be one of the biggest teams and to fight against
them, not standing back at any time," added Lorinda Brown.
"It is actually a boost for us, the people back home,
our culture is rugby mad, they don't want any losses and for us
winning that game against Wales is very important for us. Now we
will go out there putting our bodies on the line trying to beat
Australia."
And after that, who knows maybe an anthem sing-off with the
Springboks?
"I can't say I've heard their voices but I would
say the Springbok women definitely have the better voices,"
added Barrett with a smile. "But you never know for the
future."
