The Springboks’ remarkable performance and back-to-back winning of the Rugby World Cup in France as the South African national team also lifted the spirits of rugby music by South African artists. According to Spotify, the Boks’ 16 – 15 win over England resulted in rugby music streams surging by 191%; and searches for “rugby” increased by 210% on the playlist.
Globally, searches for rugby increased by 82%.
The playlist of rugby music consisted of new and well-known rugby-themed and patriotic songs such as “Nkalakatha” by Mandoza, “Siya Kolisi” by Robbie Wessels and “Saam Suid-Afrika” by Afrikaans musician Anlia Star (wife to Eben Etzebeth, the Springboks’ lock) alongside fellow artists Robbie Wessels and Karlien Van Jaarsveld.
“Sport unites people, and by the same token, music is universal. The rugby music playlist captures the spirit of unity, and this is possibly why South Africans turned to it to celebrate this win,” said Henco Harmse, Spotify’s Afrikaans manager for artists and labels in South Africa.
According to the web music player, 35 to 55-year-olds, who likely watched the 2019 Rugby World Cup excitedly as the Springboks took home the cup, were in the top three age groups streaming the playlist. The 35 to 44-year-olds lead the pack at 28%, followed by 45 to 54-year-olds at 19%, then 30 and 34 to 55-year-olds at 14%.
Popular Afrikaans musician Riaan Benadé leads the all-time streams in South Africa and makes an appearance on the global all-time streams. On the home front, two of his songs, “Spontaan” and “Vat ’n bietjie”, were at number one and three, respectively.
American band Toto’s “Africa”, Irene-Louise Van Wyk’s “Tekkies brand” and Elandré’s “Vuur op die water” rounds up the top five. Globally, “Africa” topped the list with Right Said Fred’s “You’re my mate” and “Stand up (for the champions)” right behind, followed by Benadé’s aforementioned songs.
