There is a particular affliction that continues to grip South African rugby online fandom, and it is not pride, nor passion, nor patriotism. It is something far more problematic.
It is the chronic need to live through reflected glory; to bask in the achievements of others as if they were personal triumphs, to weaponise victory as both shield and sword, and to rewrite history with the ink of grievance and the brush of self-congratulation.
The truth of champions
Yes, South Africa won the 2023 Rugby World Cup, that is an undeniable fact. But facts, as any decent analyst knows, are not
