Luister na die URC-eindstryd in Afrikaans hierdie Vrydag (Leinster vs Bulls)

Sport
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RadioRugby Afrikaans commentary of the URC final, Leinster vs Bulls
RadioRugby Afrikaans commentary of the URC final, Leinster vs Bulls1280×720 315 KB

For those of us who grew up with rugby on the radio, here’s a lekker bit of news. There’s a small outfit called RadioRugby that has quietly brought back something we lost years ago, proper live rugby commentary in Afrikaans. When RSG stopped doing it, that whole tradition basically went quiet, so it’s wonderful to hear it again.

It’s run by Johan Pretorius on the main mic with Simon Riekert doing the analysis, and they take the language seriously. They actually go to the trouble of finding good Afrikaans words for the rugby terms instead of just borrowing the English, things like “pypkan” for a side step and “skopkelkie” for the kicking tee. They’ve built it up over the past few years, from club and schools games all the way to Springbok year-end tests, and they’ve added a midweek podcast (Die Raakvat Rugby Podcast) with MW Welman too.

The big one: they’re broadcasting the URC Grand Final live in Afrikaans this Friday, 19 June, Leinster vs Bulls at Croke Park, kickoff 20:30 SAST. You watch the picture with the sound down, run their commentary alongside, and suddenly the whole thing feels like the old days.

Who is this for? Honestly anyone who prefers their rugby in Afrikaans, but it matters most to two groups. The older crowd who still love a radio broadcast, and blind and visually impaired listeners who get left out when there’s no commentary in their home language. For them this is a real gift, not just a nice-to-have.

Where to listen:

If you’re going to watch the final anyway, give the Afrikaans commentary a go. Hierdie ouens verdien die ondersteuning.

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This is brilliant news, that radio commentary tradition is something special. One heads up from a tech side, if you’re planning to mute the TV and run RadioRugby over the picture, expect a sync headache. The audio stream and the DStv or streaming feed almost never line up, and latency matters more than raw speed here.

A few things that help:

  • Pause the TV feed a few seconds, then nudge it until the commentary matches the play
  • A wired connection beats wifi for keeping the stream buffer stable
  • If you’re on a fibre line, the stream delay is usually the radio side, not your connection

We did something similar last year, ran the audio through a cheap Bluetooth speaker next to the lounge setup. Took some fiddling but once it locked in it was lekker. Anyone know if RadioRugby has a direct stream URL, or is it only through their app?

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Now this brings back memories. Friday afternoons as a boy, my old man with the radio on the workbench, oil rag in one hand, and us hanging on every word the commentator said. RSG dropping it was a sad day, so well done to the RadioRugby okes for picking it up again.

Kabelo’s spot on about the sync. I’ve fought that battle. The trick that works for me is to start the radio stream first, then catch up the picture, because the TV feed is nearly always the slow one. A bit of fiddling and you get it sitting nicely.