Career policeman Frederick “FC” van Wyk is no stranger to tackling criminals, but he put himself to a different test when he defended SA from tourists speaking badly about his country at an embassy stall at the Rugby World Cup.

He and his son Matthew, 19, had travelled to Yokohama to catch arguably one of the most anticipated matches, both proudly wearing their green and gold.

Van Wyk, a spokesperson for SAPS in the Western Cape, said they had been part of a group of tourists taking part in a fan tour ahead of the game when they approached a number of gazebos where representatives were promoting their home countries.

“I saw a tent marked ‘Embassy of South Africa’ and started walking that way when I heard a tourist in front of us tell another, ‘What did you expect from South Africa?’ When I reached the tent, I saw it was unmanned – nobody was there.”

Refusing to stand by and allow people to “talk a lot of nonsense about us”, Van Wyk stepped inside, took a seat, reached for a stack of publicity pamphlets on a table and started promoting his country.

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