The million-rand mark is moving ever closer for the Springboks in their Stronger Together campaign, which raises money for struggling communities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SA Rugby’s hunger alleviation campaign was launched just under a month ago and to date approximately R825,000 has been raised for charity organisations Food Forward SA and Gift of the Givers.

WATCH THE CAMPAIGN LAUNCH VIDEO HERE

Every member of the 2019 Springbok Rugby World Cup squad, as well as the coaches, has donated a unique prize which can be won by buying raffle tickets for only R32.12, which pays homage to the Boks’ winning score in the final last November in Japan.

There is also a Schools Challenge, where all schools are asked to support the campaign and sell as many tickets as possible to support the cause. The school which sells the most tickets before the campaign ends on 1 July, will have the honour of welcoming the Webb Ellis Cup at their school for a ‘personal visit’.

On Monday, livewire scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies pledged a RWC match jersey and the unique green ‘Champions’ cap the squad wore after they beat England in the final. These items – and others donated by the players – cannot be bought.

Other prizes revealed so far include a match jersey worn by Siya Kolisi in a RWC pool encounter, Faf de Klerk’s SA flag-print underwear, Rassie Erasmus’s lucky white shirt and a talk to raise funds for the winner’s charity of choice, as well as a personalised RWC trophy tour to the house of one lucky winner.

Gilbert, official ball supplier to RWC 2019 and SA Rugby, has also come to the party and added a limited-edition replica RWC final ball for every winner, commemorating last year’s final, which the Springboks won 32-12 over England.

And ASICS, official apparel sponsor of the Springboks and SA Rugby, have thrown into the prize pool commemorative World Cup GEL-LYTE III sneakers and a new Springbok jersey.

Kolisi, who has been actively involved in struggling communities since the outbreak of the pandemic, said: ‘I went hungry when I was a kid, but it was nothing as bad as some people are suffering right now. We might not raise millions, but you don’t know how much it means to each single person to have one proper meal a day – it could save their lives right now.’

For more on the campaign, click here, or you can head straight to Computicket to buy.