The Springboks have barely landed in Baltimore, and already it sounds like they have played a home game.
The Boks landed in the USA at 2am local time on Monday — and were greeted by a loud and proudly South African welcoming party that made it sound more like OR Tambo than Baltimore.
Social media footage of the arrival showed fans decked out in green and gold, waving South African flags, singing Shosholoza and, naturally, reaching for the vuvuzelas.
It was a hero’s welcome in the early hours of the morning, with the South African expat community making sure the Boks knew they had arrived in friendly territory.
And there was one particularly interesting feature of the welcome party.
No All Blacks supporters were in sight.
The Boks and All Blacks travelled to the USA on the same charter plane, but while South Africa’s supporters were making their presence felt in the terminal, the Kiwi contingent was conspicuous by its absence.
Perhaps the All Blacks have a sinking feeling that Saturday night is going to feel like another South African home game after the first three Tests of the Greatest Rivalry series have been played in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
An estimated 150,000 South Africans live in the United States, and plenty of them are expected to descend on the 71,000-seater M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday.
Tickets have been selling briskly, although it remains unclear whether the stadium will be completely sold out.
At the current exchange rate of $1 = R16, upper-tier tickets priced at $112-$145 work out at roughly R1,792-R2,320.
Lower-bowl tickets at $191-$212 come in at around R3,056-R3,392, while premium pitch-side seats listed at up to $758 would set you back a rather eye-watering R12,128.
For many South Africans, however, the price of admission will be worth it.
Among those welcoming the Boks at the airport were members of the Braai Army, the global South African supporters movement that has made a habit of turning foreign rugby venues into temporary homes for the green and gold.
