The Springboks: Rugby's hottest brand on and off the field

WITH Lenny Kravitz playing a fiction-alised version of himself, the rock star stands on stage announcing the Male Model of the Year award.

- Morgan Bolton

First up is Hansel McDonald, played by Owen Wilson, with a ridicu-lous monotone delivering him is edgy, a rebel, a maverick, or the messiah.

The villainous Mugatu, sitting and watching from the gathered viewers and shakers in this world of Zool-ander, leans towards all, undoing the femme fatale Katinka, and whis-pers: “That Hansel is so hot right now.”

Most recently, I found myself utter something similar, ringing a colleague in the office and proclaiming: “Them Springboks are so hot right now.”

And I don’t mean that regarding their on-field prowess, which has undoubtedly been impressive since 2018, and especially in the last two years, but rather when looking at the brand itself.

It has undoubtedly become a juggernaut, with other organisations and companies clamouring to partner with SA Rugby just to get a patch of green fabric on the Bok jersey.

This past week, FNB extended their sponsorship with the Boks, becoming their headline sponsor.

Pick n Pay followed a day later — their logo set to appear on the back of all national shirts, from the men’s to the women’s and senior national team kits.

Earlier this year, Coca-Cola also jumped on the Bok train, as did Mon-ster Energy.