Durban - As the Springboks prepare to defend their Rugby World Cup title in France next week, they should have a psychological edge over their opponents given that the tournament’s whistle has been in the care of one of our own since the last tournament in 2019.
When South African adventurer Ron Rutland cycles into the stadium in Paris to deliver the commemorative Rugby World Cup whistle, he will hand it over to South African referee Jaco Peyper, who has been awarded the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2023 on Friday.
“It’s such an honour…I’m still pinching myself,” said Rutland.
He has criss-crossed continents and countries and completed at least 20 00 km with the whistle to raise funds for sports charity ChildFund Rugby, an organisation which teaches rugby and life skills to children from vulnerable communities.
Yesterday an excited Rutland told the Independent on Saturday that they were definitely on track to surpass their target of $200 000.
The final leg of Rutland’s epic journey to raise funds, called Pedal to Paris, will see him and a convoy of 180 cyclists leave Twickenham stadium in London on Tuesday and arrive at the Stade de France in Paris on Thursday night to hand over the whistle.
“So that’s kept me busy while I’m off the bike. It’s caused me a few extra grey hairs but I cannot wait, it’s going to be the most incredible finish to this amazing journey,” he said.
During his months-long cycle trip, Rutland introduced rugby to those unfamiliar with the sport and proudly showed off the commemorative Rugby World Cup whistle to the sport’s most ardent followers.
“I’ve almost lost it once, but not quite, and fortunately only one or two people have been overly exuberant in blowing it so it should be pretty clean,” he said.
Although he was extremely tired and had “mixed emotions” as his “wild, wild adventure” drew to a close, the excitement of knowing they were getting to Paris kept him going.
He’s made peace with the fact that this is his last Race to Rugby World Cup and probably the last big ride of his life because he is finally beginning to feel his age.
“I started doing these kind of adventures when I was 38 and I’m now 48, and that big (health) wobble I had in Central America when I took some time out in Mexico to rest, really reminded me that I’m not as bullet proof as I perhaps thought I was, or as I was in my twenties and thirties. So, I do think this is my last big journey of this nature. I really am making a concerted effort to appreciate every day that I have on the bicycle, to appreciate every day that I’m cycling somewhere new.”
He said he was looking forward to being in one place for a while and being part of a community.
He yearns to catch up with old friends and not have to unpack his bag every night.
Despite the hundreds of thousands of kilometres he has cycled over the years, he still doesn’t consider himself a cyclist, which some people find weird.
“It’s (cycling) a wonderful tool, it’s a wonderful way to experience the world. It makes you super relatable, you move at a pace where you can cross countries and continents in weeks and months but you are going slow enough to experience everything in between. I enjoy the physical challenge of riding. I enjoy the simplicity of having everything I need on my bicycle but in the same breath I must say for the first time in all my journeys over the last ten years I really am starting to feel my age now.”
Rutland says he experienced the goodness of ordinary people who were willing to help and take him in wherever he cycled. And he has witnessed some of the most remarkable scenes on the planet. But when the World Cup is over he will finally be returning home to South Africa, find a way to make a proper living and possibly settle down in KwaZulu-Natal.
Hosts France take on New Zealand in the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2023 on Friday while South Africa start their title defence against Scotland next Sunday.
The Independent on Saturday