President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has declared 15 December 2023 a public holiday to celebrate the country’s Springboks’ victory at the 2023 Rugby World Cup at the weekend.
On Saturday night, the Boks beat former world champions New Zealand (also known as the All Blacks) 12-11 to lift their fourth World Cup.
Addressing the nation on Monday, Ramaphosa said he will not be able to declare a public holiday now in order to allow Matric students to write their exams. He said:
I know that many of us want us to have a holiday now to celebrate. But we should all agree that we should give our matriculants time to focus on their exams and celebrate afterwards.
In celebration of the Springboks’ momentous achievement and the achievements of all our other sportsmen and women – and as a tribute to the resolve of our united nation – I am declaring Friday the 15th of December 2023 as a public holiday.
We declare this to be a day of hope, a day of celebration and unity. Our sportsmen and women have shown us what is possible. We will succeed and we will ensure that we leave no one behind.
South Africa became the first nation to win four Rugby World Cup titles on Saturday, 28 October 2023.
Source Pindula News
