Funny pre-World Cup South African adverts unearthed

The back end of 2023 will forever go down in history as the time that South Africa once again proved the doubters wrong to become the greatest World Cup-winning nation of all time with a record fourth victory, beating huge rivals New Zealand in the final at the Stade de France in Paris.

The Springboks and their remarkable fanbase had unwavering belief throughout the build-up and the tournament itself, going on to beat hosts France, England and the All Blacks in the knockout rounds.

The tournament victory came at an incredibly important time in the country’s economic climate, providing fans with incredible joy at a time most needed.

As Siya Kolisi said in his post-match press conference, “There is not a lot of things going right in our country and we have the privilege to be able to do what we love and inspire people in life, not just sports people”. The sport of rugby, and that win in particular, came a long way to help bring a nation some optimism.

Two months working in France chatting to the players in person, hearing the passion from South African fans, and seeing the tears after the final whistle…this win means more to this country than many of us can fathom.

Brilliant, beautiful words from #SiyaKolisi #springboks #RWC pic.twitter.com/UiPiNCV0mQ

— Jack Tunney (@JackTunneyRugby) October 31, 2023

The signs of a country all routing together were there well before any ball had been kicked, however. The build-up to the World Cup saw the players involved in plenty of marketing campaigns and meet-and-greets with fans as they built an army of green and gold to support them in France.

Utilising the Springbok brand, multiple adverts involved the players in their marketing campaigns as the World Cup momentum built. Here is a selection of rather funny pre-World Cup adverts in a compilation put together by TikTok page ‘Grounduprugby’, and posted on Facebook by page, ‘SupaRugby’.

Check it out here: