Daniel Carter is a One Man Wrecking Crew

The alarm sounded at 8:30 this morning and as the sun came up over Table Mountain I ventured out into Rondebosch to watch South Africa's beloved Springboks take on the All Blacks of New Zealand in Tri-Nations Rugby. It was a beautiful morning in the Southern Suburbs as I made the 15 minute walk down Main Road to the Coffee Bean, owned by one of my new Capetonian friends, Braam, to watch the action. I arrived just as a group of seven singers was singing Nkosi Sikelei iAfrika, the SA national anthem. Following that rather stirring display of my new nation's patriotism came the New Zealanders turn, but its the Haka that follows which makes for interesting television.

If you have never seen the Haka, I'm sure there's a video of it on YouTube or Google Video. The Haka is the oldest tradition of All black rugby and goes back to their Maori forebears. It is one of the most terrifying and awe-inspiring video you will ever see. The 15 man All Black side lines up facing their opponent - who stand arm in arm watching the display in horror - and 14 of them demeure as their captain chants the beginning in Maori softly, building to a crescendo until the leader shouts...

KA MATE!!! ("We're going to die" in Maori)

The other 14 and the thousands at WestPac Stadium in Wellington return with...

KA ORA!!! ("We're going to live")

This continues as the All Blacks beat their chests and move slowly closer to their opponents as the captain leads them, bidding them to "Step Up, Where The Sun Shines" and as they reach the apex, the chest beating stops, they look the Springboks dead in the eye, and with an insane grin on all their faces, slide their thumbs across their throats, meaning they will stop at nothing to gain victory.

I was watching this on television and I was intimidated. I can't even imagine how the Boks felt on that rugby pitch.

The Haka bore fruit for the New Zealanders today as they easily defeated the Boks, 35-17. However, the star of the show was flyhalf Daniel Carter who singlehandedly scored 25 of the All Blacks 35 points by kicking 7 penalties and 2 try conversions and being the main playmaker on both half-ending tries. Where his counterpart for the Boks, Percy Montgomery, looked lost as a team leader, Carter easily takes the reigns, slings the team on his back and carries them off to victory in one of the most important games on their calendar. I got the same sense looking at him as I do back home watching Adam Vinatieri kick. Perhaps "Danny, and leave" will become a popular catchphrase as the All Blacks mount their '07 World Cup campaign.

Back at the Coffee Bean in Main Road, Rondebosch, the many Springbok supporters took comfort in the fact that their side bounced back from their last match against Australia - in which they got thrashed 49-0 - by playing a spirited match against the best team in the world far away from home. The return matches begin over the next weeks and the Boks will be home in anticipation of mounting the pressure on the All Blacks and Wallabies. All my fellow early risers and rugby watchers seemed relatively happy about the promise of spring for the Springboks.

...

The weather finally broke - at least momentarily - from the winter rains in Cape Town as I walked home. Passing by UCT's lower campus, I looked up at Devil's Peak and the Rhodes Memorial, which sits about halfway up the 1000-meter tall rock cliff (Pictures are coming, I Promise!). The sun glinted down for the first time in days and the formerly crisp air was once again delightfully mild. I listened as the minibus drivers hooted and honked, attempting to get their next fare for a ride to Obs or the City Bowl or Newlands. The smells of an early afternoon braai wafted down from the hill and up from Rosebank center. And as I felt the ground under my feet as I made the turn onto Wolmunster Road and Cecil Road, this African morning sensuously delighted each of my senses in a way that no other place ever could.

And I stopped, briefly, and thought how morning in Africa is a moment to behold. More of these moments will come over the coming months, but I will always remember my morning walk from Rondebosch as the moment the wonders of this place first hit me.

More to come soon. Keep the comments up, it's good to hear from all of you over here. Totsiens!