The Springboks’ fourth World Cup title will be celebrated with a public holiday – but not for another six weeks. As South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in a televised speech on Monday, the party in honor of the national rugby team will take place on December 15th.
The reason for the delayed celebrations is upcoming school exams.
“This victory rightly calls for a moment of national celebration and recognition of our rugby players and their achievements,” Ramaphosa said: “But we should all agree that we should give our students time to focus on their exams and beyond to celebrate.” In South Africa the school year ends in December and final exams begin on Monday.
On Saturday, the Springboks beat the All Blacks from New Zealand 12:11 in a dramatic final and became the sole record world champions with their fourth title.