Who will sing the national anthems at Ellis Park for Springboks v All Blacks

Ellis Park will host pre-match performances of both national anthems ahead of the Springboks’ Test against the All Blacks. Kickoff is at 17:10 in Johannesburg.

Who will sing for South Africa and New Zealand

According to The South African, the South African national anthem will be sung by Demi Lee Moore. The report says Moore was born in Worcester and rose to prominence after competing on Idols SA and winning season one of Die Kontrak in 2018, launching her career as a pop and country artist.

According to The South African, the New Zealand anthem will be performed by Matiu Walter, the frontman and rhythm guitarist for Six60. TheSouthAfrican reports that Walter has regularly performed “God Defend New Zealand” for the All Blacks, including at an October 2020 Bledisloe Cup clash against Australia at Eden Park, and that there is no record of him performing the South African national anthem at a Springbok match.

Moment ahead of kick-off

The anthems will be followed immediately by New Zealand’s haka at Ellis Park. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus commented on the haka this weekend, saying:

“I will WhatsApp and tweet to the people at Ellis Park to respect the haka. Ever since (New Zealand-born Springbok assistant coach) Tony Brown told us what it means, we not just respect it but admire it a bit more. We have always had this weird opinion about the Haka as an advantage, and why can the All Blacks do it… We always thought, how are we going to cancel this? But since Tony explained it, it’s actually an honour for us to face it… It doesn’t scare us. It’s not what it does to us, it’s what it does for them. You can’t nullify that. So us going into a huddle or steaming up to them won’t happen. It is something that is really powerful and something you are proud to see. After that, we can go crazy.”

Broadcast and match coverage

SuperSport has confirmed its commentary and analysis team for the fixture, with All Blacks icons Richie McCaw and Dan Carter listed alongside Springbok legends Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Steven Kitshoff. The broader SuperSport team named in the report includes Gcobani Bobo, Lyla Arrison, Ricky Schroeder, Tera Mtembu, Maso Jucwa, Hennie Koortzen, Motshidisi Mohono, Breyton Paulse, Mthunzi Mabeta, John van Rensburg, Kobus Wiese, Lonwabo Mthimka, Matt Pearce, Hanyani Shimange, Mandisa Williams, Nick Mallett and Akona Ndungane.

What to expect

The event will feature the two anthem performances, followed immediately by the All Blacks’ haka, then the Test match between the Springboks and All Blacks.