“Ag nee, man, Boetie!”

This frustrated lament may be commonplace in South Africa and hardly worth a sideways glance, but when your blood is green and you are far from home, such phrases are gold for they stir something deep within.

With the Rugby World Cup now well underway, I know I am not alone in this sentiment as South Africans living in Qatar (and no doubt, elsewhere) are surfacing in gratifying numbers to support their beloved Springboks.

There are apparently some 6500 of us Saffas living as permanent residents in Qatar. I never would have guessed or known it, if it wasn’t for the rugger that’s brought us together.

Yep, rugby makes us proud (and sometimes loud), regardless of where we find ourselves.

We’ve seen it in Mzansi, on the telly in France and have personally experienced it here in the Land of Sand.

Tell-tale Saffas signs

But first, before we kick off this Bok blog post, here are some general observations about South Africans living in Qatar:

• As you trawl the malls (that’s what we’re sometimes reduced to doing during in the height of summer), K-Way clothing, shorts and slops and two-tone shirts are all a dead give-away when it comes to your heritage. But so too are the hairstyles, the Xhosa clicks and often, the brute rugger bugger size of men with cauliflower ears.
• South Africans happily wear their green and gold to any sporting event.
• The South African accent serves to confirm all of the above. But while the H and I know the enunciation is ours, Saffas are often mistaken for Australians or Brits!  Ag nee, man, how could they.
• South Africans work across all industries here and are generally viewed as hard workers.
• South Africans are friendly. They talk to anyone and are well liked. This is according to my new-found church friends from other nations. (Perhaps they are just being diplomatic, but I think not, as this has been our personal experience too.)

South African groups in Qatar

The South Africans in Qatar Facebook group bears witness to who we are and what’s important to us.

Here, Saffas (that’s one of our nicknames) offer to make koeksisters and milk tarts; seek help and offer assistance with visas, passports, shipments and driving licences, and provide advice on accommodation, jobs and schools.

They sell furniture, vehicles, Formula 1 tickets and the like; promote good causes and are consistently standing up for the underdog – over here, it’s mostly about cats and kittens that have been abandoned. Various services are also provided and advertised – babysitting, house sitting, pet sitting, baking …

This site resonates for South Africans living here.

We miss SuperSport on TV

I can’t say the same for the telly in Qatar.

I am referring specifically to sport.

The local TV channel, BeIN Sports, favours soccer, camel racing, tennis, handball and far too many ancient re-runs of every other sport, but rugby. (I am told you can pay an extra stupendous amount for this privilege – and yes, we have been tempted, especially since it includes the Cricket World Cup).

Once upon a time, we used to be able to watch our DSTV, and SuperSport, in Qatar, but no longer. All the “dodgy box” channels are into buffering big time and so we are forced to seek our rugby fix outside the comfort and quiet of our living room.

So it is for other South Africans too, and this hasn’t been a bad thing.

Fortunately, SuperSport is the channel of choice at the Shamrock Irish pub, in Doha.

Coincidentally, this popular Irish pub, is located in the Magnum Hotel which is where we first lived when we arrived in Qatar. It was our rectory in the sky with a magnificent view before moving to Lego Land.

Rugby in Qatar

Since rugger is not available on the goggle box at home then, we gather in pubs and at “Bok Town” late at night (we’re an hour ahead of South Africa), to cheer and chirp our boys.

As fans we may not know each other, but we know where we come from and what’s important to us.

We know what winning the Rugby World Cup (again) can do for our country.

Springbok rugby unites us.

(Thank you again, Siya Kolisi, and team for reminding us that we’re #StrongerTogether.)

Bok Town in Qatar

Bok Town, set up especially at the Doha Sports Park as the official Springbok supporters’ site, was awash with green and gold during Heritage Day weekend in September as South Africans came out in large numbers to braai, mingle and celebrate.

We watched the Ireland game at the Shamrock (which was brave of us).

By all accounts, the Saffas gathering at Bok Town was a great success.

(As an aside, Qatar does play rugby. Our friend’s son, Tom Featherstone, who grew up in Qatar, plays for the national side. So perhaps we’ll have global rugby tournaments here one day too, given the success of the FIFA 2022 World Cup. I know, I am a naïve optimist).

Rugby fans in Qatar

Of course, Saffas are not the only rugby-playing nation living in Qatar.

With its fluctuating population of between 2.7 and 3 million people, Qatar is also a temporary home to those who come from other rugby-playing countries like England, Wales, Scotland, France, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Japan and hordes of Irish folk. (My reference to the latter is guarded given the large fan base in Qatar and the present brilliant form of their Irish XV.)

In short, Saffas are far from alone when it comes to supporting their national teams. (Indeed, you need to book a table well in advance to ensure you don’t lose out. The other popular spot in Doha, especially for English fans, is the Red Lion.)

I’d like to think that we are among the most passionate (and entertaining) fans.

Saffas at the Shamrock

The “Ag nee, man, Boetie” cry broadly translated, “ag no, man, boetie” means “oh no,” in a resigned, irritated kind of way. In this case, it is towards “boetie”. This is an Afrikaans word meaning “little brother” but is also used affectionately in a friendly chum-like way.

On this particular occasion, the comment from fellow South Africans at a neighbouring table was aimed at young Manie Libbok, whose failure with the boot was getting us down during our first World Cup encounter against Scotland. (We won 18 – 3).

We commiserated with our fellow fans, a group of men in their green and gold, who entertained us their chirps and celebrations (and made me homesick).

We raised a cheer and a glass whenever we scored – though at QAR46 a beer there can never be too many of these! Fair play to management, however, which, on big rugby days offer 3 drinks for QAR100, and a great roast dinner, along with a starter or pudding for QAR75. At R5 to every riyal, the need to nurse an amber ale or stick to cooldrinks (for those of us earning Rands) is real.

At all games at the Shamrock since, we’ve seen Proteas shirts, Bafana tops, Bok caps, flags, slops and shorts or anything remotely Souf Efrikan.

Get your Bok gear

Fortunately, Doha is awash with sports shops, and several have brought in Bok rugby shirts (though thankfully not the peppermint green version) for the local fan base.

Like the beers, none of the sporting paraphernalia is cheap in Rands terms, but it’s right up there in terms of quantity. The Bok green far outstrips the availability of All Black, French and Irish fan gear.  

Are the merchandisers trying to tell us something …

It makes us homesick

The rugby – and all that comes with it – makes us homesick.

When the South African adverts appear, we reminisce about eating our first Spur burgers; we laugh about the crazy characters in the Game store jingle, and giggle about the lingo that only we understand.

Lekker, howzit, braai, eish, jol, tekkies, haibo, bra, skinner …   

When the Ouma rusks, Ina Paarman spices and Oros arrived at the Spar are Tarwan Mall to celebrate Heritage Day we were there.

Yes, we miss home, especially now as we picture our friends and families gathering to support the Boks in their campaign.

France is going to be a tough one, but I’m hopeful we’ll beat Ireland in the final! (Update: I got part of that wrong with Ireland’s 28 – 24 heartbreaking loss to the All Blacks last night).

Appreciation of good rugby

We’ve watched all the South African games (bar the Tonga match) and many more World Cup matches besides.

We’ve viewed these matches with Qatar friends who come from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jordan, Singapore and South Africa. Our Australian pals left two months ago. All had been part of the Doha Rugby Club, which sadly closed its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have our own Doha Rugby Watchers WhatsApp group. We chirp one another; alert one another as to rugby table bookings and share our supporter pictures.

We all want our own home nations to win, but perhaps because we are far from home, or that we are older and wiser, or because of changing priorities, we also recognise and appreciate good rugby (and friendships that go beyond winning or losing).

We acknowledge a great try, the challenges of injuries and lost form, and the never-say-die performances of hard-working teams or individuals.

We know the names of our players and key opposition players too.

We respect the kicker, commend fair decisions, and applaud excellent play, regardless of the side.

In short, we appreciate good rugby.

And more especially friendships when we are far from home.  

(But we could really do with winning the Rugby World Cup again. Go Bokke!)