Rugby is also going green.
Proof of this change in mentality, including among the players, the good action of Stade Toulousain winger Cheslin Kolbe after the eighth finals of the European Rugby Cup won against the formidable Munster (40-33) in Ireland.
If the South African player was less visible than the French internationals Romain Ntamack and Antoine Dupont in the victory of the Rouge et Noir, he distinguished himself after the final whistle.
Rather than going straight to the locker room to celebrate qualifying for the quarterfinals of the competition, Cheslin Kolbe took a few minutes to clean the Irish lawn.
Equipped with a garbage bag, the hero of the last Rugby World Cup final picked up the plastic bottles, caps and bandages that the players left on the pitch.
Images captured by BT Sport cameras, which were praised on social networks.
. @ Cheslin_Kolbe11, one of the game's great role models 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/AWMqNWITnu
- SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) April 3, 2021
This eco-responsible and ethical act is reminiscent of that of the Japanese football team, which made a locker room perfectly clean after its elimination in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
If this type of good deed remains rare in the world of ovaling, and in sport in general, it is not surprising that Cheslin Kolbe is the author.
Indeed, the course of Springbok, humble and respectful, is regularly praised.
Before becoming one of the stars of the South African rugby team, Cheslin grew up in an underprivileged suburb of Cape Town where he encountered violence, drug trafficking and poverty on a daily basis.
Son of a rugby player, he always nurtured the dream of becoming a professional rugby player, despite a complex environment.
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Now installed among the best in his post, Cheslin Kolbe is trying to get involved in the South African community.
During confinement last year, he took part in projects to help the most disadvantaged.
In an interview for the last SA Rugby magazine, he evokes his desire to take advantage of his notoriety and his success to change mentalities: "I want to generate as much awareness as possible and show people what they can accomplish. , it does not matter the circumstances in which they may have grown up or that they may have known.
I know I have a responsibility to set a good example and use all possible platforms to contribute to meaningful change where I can.
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