“One of the few things I was worried about was walking out in an All Blacks jersey into a sea of about 60,000 green jerseys.”
So begins the story of an All Blacks supporter by the name of John from Auckland who recently experienced one of rugby’s greatest rivalries in South Africa.
His concern was understandable. Wearing the colours of New Zealand’s national team in the middle of a stadium packed with passionate Springbok supporters might seem like an invitation to hostility. Yet what happened next surprised him – especially since it happened after the Boks lost to New Zealand on home turf.
“But it was actually brilliant,” he recalls. “I must have had 100 handshakes from Springboks supporters.” That simple observation deserves far more attention than it might initially receive. Because this is not really a story about rugby. It is a story about South Africa’s brand.
We often talk about nation branding as though it is something created by governments, tourism authorities, advertising agencies or carefully constructed campaigns. We debate logos, slogans and international positioning. But the strongest nation brand is rarely created in a boardroom. It is created through shared experience.
Every international visitor who arrives in South Africa encounters our country through its people. They form impressions from the taxi driver who takes them from the airport, the waiter who serves them dinner, the hotel receptionist who welcomes them — and, increasingly, the supporters sitting next to them at sporting events.
Those encounters become memories. Memories become stories. And stories become reputation. That is why the experience of this particular All Blacks supporter is so revealing.
John came to South Africa wearing the colours of our fiercest rugby rivals. He expected, perhaps, that the intensity of the rivalry could spill over into something less pleasant. Instead, he experienced something that surprised him: passion combined with respect.
As he puts it: “One of the biggest things about South Africans is that they’re fiercely patriotic.” He is right. South Africans care deeply about the Springboks. We are desperate for them to win. We celebrate victories with extraordinary enthusiasm and experience defeats almost personally.
But there is another side to that passion which is equally important. We understand rugby as a contest, not a war.
The All Blacks supporter noticed that after the disappointment of defeat, there were no excuses and no bitterness. There were yellow cards, there were contentious moments and there was plenty to debate. But ultimately, the game was the game.
As John put it: “At the end of the day, the game’s over. You shake hands, have a beer and have a laugh — and that’s Rugby.” That is an important lesson, not only for sport but for South Africa. Patriotism and respect are not opposites. In fact, a confident nation should be able to demonstrate both. We can passionately support our own without needing to diminish someone else. We can want the Springboks to beat the All Blacks while welcoming an All Blacks supporter into our stadium, our conversation and our country.
That distinction matters because international sport gives South Africa something that conventional advertising cannot buy: millions of authentic human encounters. When international supporters come here, they don't experience a tourism campaign. They experience South Africans.
They see how we celebrate. They hear how we talk. They experience our humour, our hospitality and our competitive spirit. They discover whether the image they have been given of South Africa corresponds with the reality they encounter.
And then they go home. What do they tell their friends? That is nation branding. The Springboks play a crucial role in this story. They carry the South African identity onto the international stage every time they run onto the field.
But the players are not the only ambassadors. Every supporter is an ambassador. Every person in a green jersey has an opportunity to reinforce — or undermine — the South African brand. This is particularly significant for a country that has worked so hard to build its international reputation since 1994. South Africa has extraordinary natural, cultural and sporting assets. But our most powerful differentiator may be something that cannot be packaged or exported: our people.
We are passionate. We are expressive. We are resilient. We are hospitable. We have an ability to turn strangers into friends around a braai, a table or a rugby stadium. These qualities are not marketing messages. They are lived experiences. And lived experiences are infinitely more powerful.
There is also a deeper leadership lesson here. The greatest rivalries create the greatest opportunities to demonstrate character. It is easy to be gracious when everything is going your way. It is much harder when your team has lost, the referee has made a controversial decision and the opposition is celebrating in front of you.
Yet that is precisely when character becomes visible. The All Blacks supporter walked into a sea of green expecting, perhaps, hostility. Instead, he received handshakes. That is the South Africa we should want the world to see. Not a country pretending that we have no problems. Not a country hiding its challenges behind a marketing campaign. But a country confident enough to say: This is who we are.
We are fiercely patriotic. We love our Springboks. We want to win. But we can also welcome the person wearing the jersey on the other side. Because when the final whistle blows, the rivalry ends. The supporters remain. And the visitor goes home with a story.
That story may be worth more to South Africa than any advertising campaign. The Springboks carry our brand onto the field. We carry it into the stands. And every handshake, every conversation and every act of hospitality tells the world something about who we are. That is not just rugby. That is nation building.
Dr Nik Eberl is the founder and executive chair: The Future of Jobs Summit™ (Official T20 Side Event). He is also the author of Nation of Champions: How South Africa won the World Cup of Destination Branding).
**The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Media Group.