Do You Need Vuvuzela to Enjoy the Game

The sign outside the Springbok bar near the Newlands Rugby Stadium said it all: No Vuvuzelas. Those trying to sneak one of the plastic horns that have so characterised this World Cup into the stadium for the France v South Africa Test match were also asked to give them up.

In Cape Town, the football World Cup may be dominating the TV schedules and the newspapers but rugby - still the white population's most popular sport here - is holding firm.

Rugby Ahead of Saturday's 55,000 sell-out at Newlands, FIFA asked the South African Rugby Union if they would postpone the match until after the World Cup, so as not to detract from the majesty of their own tournament.

The SARU by all accounts took about five second to say 'no'. Quite right, too. South Africa's grand sporting heritage reaches far beyond football and there is absolutely no reason why the world should stop turning here just to make way.

Certainly the crowd at Newlands was rather different to that found at Green Point Stadium for the France v Uruguay World Cup game the night before. It was, it has to be said, a whiter crowd and certainly a more middle-class crowd.

Vuvuzelas It was, however, more knowledgeable too. The spectators that saw the Sprinboks beat an under-par France 42-17 cheered and applauded in all the right places. They certainly didn't need to blow on a long plastic horn to show that they were enjoying themselves.

The stadium itself is a fantastic arena. Built adjacent to the Newlands cricket ground that is recognised as one of the world's most picturesque, both have views of Table Mountain. Well, they do if you are lucky enough to be sitting in the right seats.

The rugby ground has hosted football before. Manchester United played there on the pre-season tour to South Africa two summers ago. Which, of course, asks the question of why it couldn't have been used as a venue this month?

Lion An atmospheric stadium, it certainly has enough corporate facilities and even has its own train station serving the centre of Cape Town that lies 20 minutes away.

It seems odd that while Johannesburg and the north are being serviced by five World Cup stadia, there is only one within reaching distance of Cape Town.

Certainly here in the Mother City that fact has not gone unnoticed. #