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Sport

21st Sep 2015

Man cycles 26,700 miles just in time to see his beloved Springboks lose to Japan

Kevin Beirne

When the Proclaimers loudly proclaimed that they would walk 500 miles and then even walk 500 more to show their devotion, we reckon they were pretty proud of themselves.

But what about 26,000 miles?

For South African rugby fan Ron Rutland, that was the distance he decided to cycle in order to see his team’s opening World Cup game against Japan in Brighton.

The 26,700-mile trip included stops in all but four countries in mainland Africa as well some parts of Europe. After originally planning to cycle around Africa, he realised he could change his route in order to make his team’s World Cup opener.

So how did that work out for him? Well, in case you haven’t heard, Japan pulled off the greatest upset in the history of the World Cup by beating the Springboks 34-32.

But in fairness to Ron, he was a good sport about it all.

We just hope he doesn’t have to cycle back.