APA-Pretoria (South Africa) President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared December 15 as a public holiday to celebrate the Springboks’ victory over the All Blacks of New Zealand during the final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup played at the weekend in Paris.
In a televised address to the nation late Thursday, Ramaphosa said he would not be able to declare a public holiday now to allow high school students to complete writing their final year examinations which kicked off nationwide on Monday.
“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 high school students time to focus on their exams – and celebrate afterwards,” he added.
Due to this, he said, “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.”
The president also declared the occasion “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,” Ramaphosa said.
South Africa became the first nation to win four Rugby World Cup titles during a hard-fought match against New Zealand played in the French capital last Saturday.
NM/jn/APA