WATCH | Boks offer biltong, lift spirits with singing as London flight cancelled

The Springboks offered biltong to a fellow stranded family's children and lifted the spirits of passengers when their flight back from London, where they beat Wales in a Test on Saturday, was cancelled late on Sunday night.

The British Airways flight was cancelled due to a technical problem and its passengers put up in hotels around London Heathrow Airport.

The Springboks were due to fly on another flight at 4pm on Monday, SA Rugby communications GM Andy Colquhoun said.

Author and former Sunday Times journalist Shanthini Naidoo posted videos on social media of the Boks singing and dancing as they waited outside Heathrow for their shuttle bus to the hotel at about 1am in the early hours of Monday.

She tweeted: “So we ended up on a stay-over with the Boks in London. It’s like a strange dream.

“Lovely guys, shared biltong with my girls at a 1am check-in. Then, I got lost in a stairwell with Edwill van der Merwe. Accidentally opened another team member’s hotel room door.”

Reached on a WhatsApp call, Naidoo, whose family were in transit returning from a trip to Paris, said the Boks' fun, high spirits and gentlemanly behaviour made an impression on their fellow passengers.

“They were put up in the same hotel as us. They were singing in the airport parking area while we were waiting for the hotel shuttle,” she said.

“I don’t think I would have been so patient [in the situation] if they weren’t so lovely. They kept spirits up.

“They had their little overnight bags and I said to them, ‘Do you guys have clean clothing at least?’ [Bok captain] Siya Kolisi said, ‘No, not really, but we’re South African, we’ll make a plan'.

“They had their speaker. Rassie [Erasmus, the Boks’ coach] was really sweet, even with things as they were.

“The young player, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, while we were trying to order food and had to wait, gave our children biltong.”

After arriving at the hotel, while going out to collect a food order for the family, Naidoo got lost and bumped into Edwill van der Merwe — the star on debut of the Boks’ 41-13 win against Wales at Twickenham in their first match since winning last year’s Rugby World Cup — on a stairwell.

“I then lost my key card while fetching the food — it was a long night — and the replacement they gave me was for one of the players’ rooms. Very nice guy and he helped me find my room.”

Before the flight was cancelled Naidoo tweeted: “I was a bit shy to ask if we could buy @oxnche [Bok prop Ox Nché] cake at the airport in London. Will give you my dessert since we’re flying home with the @Springboks.”