South Africa: thieves almost made off with the Rugby World Cup trophy
The Webb Ellis Cup could have been stolen. Burglars broke into the headquarters of the South African rugby federation
Sport News Africa · Author profile ·
Listen to this story
Audio version in preparation · read aloud by your browser meanwhile
A bizarre story has emerged from South Africa. Three weeks after winning the Rugby World Cup in France (on 28 October), the South Africans very nearly lost the Webb Ellis Cup. On the evening of Monday 13 October, thieves broke into the South African Rugby Union offices at around 20:00 GMT. The group got in and one of them even lifted the trophy, according to CCTV footage from the premises published by the BBC.
However, the burglar left his haul where it was. He and his group then moved on to the cupboards below. In the end, the Webb Ellis Cup stayed put. The group did, however, leave with bottles of whisky, five signed Springboks jerseys and eight laptops, along with small items from other offices. According to the local press, no arrests have been made yet.
In comments relayed by the BBC, a spokesperson for the South African rugby federation said all the trophies were now safe. He also said the trophies from previous tournament wins had been kept in a cupboard, whereas the 2023 one, claimed in Paris on 28 October, was in a safe.
https://twitter.com/BBCAfrica/status/1724738327746654707