It’s a misplaced reference to South Africa’s national rugby team. Here’s why.
Yesterday the South African National Rugby team (the Springboks) cruised by the Wallabies of Australia in a 35-17 blow-out. What’s more, they won with Coach Rassie Erasmus’s second-best line-up. Ellis Park remained home and other players jetted to Wellington, NZ to acclimate to weather conditions in preparation for the game against host New Zealand next Saturday.
But it’s a mistake for fans to say that Rassie’s second-best line-up looked like a mabena in the making.
For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, the word ‘mabena’ went viral on South African social networking. It refers to somebody who fails to hit their stride or who performs below standards. The name was coined after observing a real person, named Mabena, who’s a member of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
Yes, the concept DOES apply to some South African teams–the Proteas (cricket) and Bafana Bafana (football) come to mind–but not to our Springboks! They certainly did not ‘Mabenize’ (at least not yet).
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About Manare Donation Matabola
I live in South Africa and view myself as an ‘anti-bias’ sportswriter–meaning that I do my best to remain objective and write without either fear or favor. My favorite teams are the Kaizer Chiefs, Chelsea FC, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur FC, the South African national rugby team (Springboks), and the Proteas. My favourite players are Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eden Hazard, Ousmane Dembele, Andrea Pirlo, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir, Temba Bavuma, Handre Pollard, Willie le Roux, Pierre Spies, and Serena Williams.
