By Patrick O’Leary
OK all you truckers. It’s rugby time and I know a lot of people from our industry are currently in Japan to cheer for the Bokke on Sunday as they play Japan in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup. I also know that everyone in our industry – in fact everyone in South Africa – will be donning their green jerseys on Sunday in support of our guys over there.
There is a problem though. I think of the good South African folk from our local UD Trucks, Hino Trucks and Fuso who may be over there for this great event. This is the first time ever that Japan has made it through to the quarter finals. So picture the scene.
There they are, sitting in the stands of the stadium in Tokyo surrounded by thousands of cheering Japanese supporters. Sitting right next to them are their colleagues from their respective parent companies – one of whom is the guy who determines the truck prices for our local market. He needs to be on side with them so that we can get the best prices for our local operators. So here’s the quandary – who the heck do our guys cheer for?
The whistle goes and the game is on. Within the first 15 minutes, the Boks score a try. Our guys leap out of their seats in pure jubilation as they wave to other South Africans in the crowd. They then glance down at the Japanese ‘price determining guy’ and he’s looking sad. He stares up at them and they read it in his eyes: “Aaaah sooooo! Your team add five points to their score. I just add another 1% to your price. Ha. So who u shout for now hey?”
The internal struggle is huge for our guys. Do their loyalties lie in getting the best prices for our local truckers or do they continue cheering for the Boks? What a quandary! I feel for them. It is thus FleetWatch has decided to give them a bit of help here.
I know our guys will be getting this in Japan so I urge them to watch the video below. It features the Ndlovu Youth Choir who did so well on ‘America’s Got Talent’ and have made South Africa so proud on so many fronts. Woolworths got the choir in to show support for the Bokke in this weekend’s game and even had Victor Matfield, Trevor Nyakane, and the families of Chester Williams, James Small and Ruben Kruger there as guests.
This should help the decision of who to support – not only for the UD Trucks, Hino Trucks and Fuso guys who will be in the stands on Sunday with their Japanese colleagues – but for every South African wherever you are. UP THE BOKKE!
