Overdue try for township

Simnikwe Xabanisa: Late last year, the marketing gurus at Absa's PR company had an idea to host a press conference with the captains of Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, the Blue Bulls and the Cheetahs.

The reason was that the Soweto derby and the Currie Cup final were going to be played on the same day in competitions sponsored by the bank.

At some stage of the conference, somebody asked if they had thought about hosting both games at Soccer City in future, splitting the 90000 crowd in half to accommodate both sets of fans.

After much head-scratching, the bullshit-baffles-brains-brigade were of the opinion that it would be a tough ask.

But if the Bulls hosting their Super14 semifinal at Orlando stadium in Soweto is anything to go by, we're halfway there.

A lot has been made of the move but it has been a long time coming.

The SA Rugby Union has openly mentioned its wish to stage the Johannesburg Springbok Tests at Soccer City, once the World Cup is gone.

Western Province are engaged in a similar debate about whether they should sell Newlands stadium and move to Cape Town stadium.

And, at a more acrimonious level, the Sharks are almost being bullied into leaving their famous King's Park to make a new home at Moses Mabhida stadium across the road.

As a result, the Bulls' visit to Orlando stadium this weekend doubles up as the acid test for Saru to see if their idea might work.

A lot of people will have struggled to believe Bulls coach Frans Ludeke and his captain, Victor Matfield, when they openly embraced their temporary relocation to Soweto.

Ludeke saw it as an opportunity to grow the game, and Matfield said it was a sign that South Africa had come a long way over the past decade.

Whether you believe that or not, the fuss over this weekend will intrigue a few potential rugby converts, and you can't argue with the fact that, just five years ago, you couldn't imagine a rugby match of this magnitude in the township.

There has been a degree of scepticism around the whole thing, but it's a typically South African response to the unfamiliar.

With change the only constant in our country, most of us find it safer to cling to our stereotypes.

But, make no mistake, this most certainly is the way forward for rugby, especially if getting the Southern Kings up and running remains on Saru's dusty to-do list.

And, judging by the many black people scrambling for tickets this week, they are hungry for rugby.

With regards to the repercussions for the Bulls of playing in Orlando, they shouldn't be as devastating as many think.

Sure, they can't transplant the invisible aura of Loftus Versfeld, but the situation is exactly the same for the Crusaders.

They've still had to travel a heck of a long way; the game is still being played at altitude; and the last time I looked they'd never played in a township either.