It's a sunny day in South Africa," is an advertising slogan, and it is absolutely true. The summers are never too hot and the winters are never unbearably cold. Because of the good weather, being outdoors and taking part in sport is important for most South Africans. They feared that the years of isolation under apartheid, when their teams were not allowed into international competitions like the Olympic Games, might have caused standards to fall below those in other countries. But as soon as they entered international contests again, it was obvious that they were just as good as before, if not better.

Rugby has always been followed passionately by the white population, but support for the sport is growing now within the black community. The national team's name of the Springboks has been Africanised to Amabokoboko. When they won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, the whole nation was delighted.

Football, much loved by black people, is South Africa's leading sport. The national team is known affectionately as Bafana-bafana - 'The Boys'.

“In the English Speaking World”