Rugby-Streets lined with jubilant fans as South Africa honours champion Springboks

Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - South Africa Trophy Tour - Pretoria, South Africa - November 2, 2023 South African president Cyril Ramaphosa celebrates with the players and staff after winning the World Cup during the trophy tour REUTERS/Alet Pretorius

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of jubilant fans lined the streets of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto on Thursday to catch a glimpse of champions South Africa at the start of a five-city Rugby World Cup trophy tour that will continue until Sunday.

The sight of thousands of adoring supporters in Soweto, South Africa’s largest township, were particularly striking given how rugby was once perceived to be the sport of the white Afrikaner during Apartheid.