Gauteng’s rugby weekends showed what works – and what doesn’t | The Citizen

Sport is a funny old thing. It can bring out the best and the worst in us; whether we are playing it or watching, it does the same for those who are running it.

The recent rugby internationals in Gauteng are a case in point.

The suits at the SA Rugby Union have dug their heels in over prices, which could be seen by a less-than-full Loftus Versfeld on Saturday and faced a revolt by the suite holders at the stadium.

That issue was probably worse than the ordinary tickets; forcing season suite holders to pay a massive premium for their boxes they have already paid for – and use Saru appointed caterers – or forfeit their boxes for the game.

The SuperSport cameras didn’t zoom too closely into that part of the stands on Saturday.

Instead it seemed to be a lot darker in the hospitality suite area when the cameras panned around.

And yet, areas you expect to be wholly dysfunctional and even dangerous do the exact opposite.

Social media last week had many posts from fans who had used a combination of Gautrain and Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa services to get to the Ellis Park game safely, cheaply and calmly.

Stations were clean, law enforcement officers were on duty. There were marshals ensuring none of the commuters took a wrong turn.

It can be done. We’ve seen it in Johannesburg for the G20, even if it was just to create a Potemkin village for the visiting world leaders, patching potholes and fixing street lights.

We are seeing it again in parts of the northern suburbs, with the roar of Johannesburg Water front-end loaders tearing up tar to fix leaks that have run unhindered for months, or fixing lights that have been dark for forever.

Bizarrely, it’s all happening at a time when we are told that the Treasury has withheld funds from the City of Joburg for its heroic mismanagement and financial incontinence and, at the time of writing, has about two days of cash reserves left.

None of it makes sense, much like the Springboks beating Scotland on Saturday, yet they did.

We need to get administrators administering, not gouging the fans; police enforcing the law, not soliciting cool drinks; and everyone else working together towards the common good of building this city.

We keep getting glimpses of what could happen, it’s time to make it a reality.