The World Cup-winning Springboks have come together to raise money for hunger alleviation through a giant raffle of cherished team memorabilia.

The campaign, called ‘#StrongerTogether for R32-12′, is based around the scoreline in last year’s World Cup final.

The squad from that World Cup triumph has chosen to put up cherished mementos in what may just be rugby’s biggest-ever raffle with all proceeds going to hunger alleviation charities, Food Forward SA and Gift of the Givers.

And R32-12?

The campaign has been built around the score in the Rugby World Cup final in November, in which the Springboks defeated England 32-12. To find out more on the campaign, click here, or you can head straight to Computicket to buy.

In all there will be 44 prizes (32 + 12), the campaign will run for 44 days, and if fans help the Springboks do the supporting and buy 100,000 tickets that’ll be R3.212 million for food parcels and soup kitchens in this time of dire need.

Individuals and companies wishing to make a straightforward donation to the campaign can do so by direct payment into a dedicated FNB account – account number 62851652638; branch code 210554; swift code: FIRNZAJJ.

‘When I made the call for the squad to make donations, they were all in within a matter of hours – boots and all!’ said Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby director of rugby.

‘We talked a bit last year about what pressure was – not having a job, having a family member murdered – and now this pandemic has put millions out of work and left as many struggling every day to put food on the table.

‘All year round we ask South Africans to support us in different ways. Our campaign last year was called #StrongerTogether and we believed it. We said, if we stood together, we were stronger as a nation. Well now’s the time to put those words into action and for the Springboks to do the supporting.’

SA Rugby has partnered with South Africa’s largest food redistribution agency, Food Forward SA, and disaster relief expert Gift of the Givers, to ensure that every cent raised goes straight to the frontline in the war against hunger. 

Each day for the next 44 days, SA Rugby will also reveal a new prize on its website, www.springboks.rugby, and on its social media channels.

The launch day of the raffle saw Springbok captain Siya Kolisi put up one of his Rugby World Cup jerseys into the prize pool as a highly significant contribution to the campaign.

‘I have seen up close the really bad state many people are in through the work of my foundation, so when coach Rassie explained what they were planning to do, I had no hesitation,’ said Kolisi.

‘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.

‘I really hope people get behind us for the main reason of the campaign – to feed the hungry – as well as having the chance of winning something special from one of the squad.’

A new raffle prize will be revealed each day with the last offering to be revealed on 1 July. The draw will be made by PwC one week later. Click here to enter the raffle.

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