SuperSport’s World Cup offering overflows with rich rugby fare

A 24-hour SuperSport channel dedicated to the Rugby World Cup will be just one of many highlights of the seven-week event that will see South Africa defending their crown.

All 48 matches will be broadcast and streamed live (via the all-new DStv Stream) on the Home of Sport with dedicated magazine shows and support programming designed to give fans the total rugby package.

Apart from having the most accomplished group of analysts, among them former World Cup champions in Schalk Burger, John Smit, Jean de Villiers, Victor Matfield, JP Pietersen, Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits and Jake White, several other experts will be part of SuperSport’s programming, including George Gregan, Justin Marshall, Hanyani Shimange, Gcobani Bobo, Nick Mallett, Joe van Niekerk and John Plumtree.

An all-new show – Mayibuye - will also debut on the eve of the tournament. Meaning “bring it back”, Mayibuye is intended to take the broader rugby community along for the World Cup ride.

Mayibuye will be available to all DStv packages.

Match build-ups – one hour for the group stages and quarterfinals – will focus on form, tactics, key players and prevailing themes, and will be two hours for the semifinals and final. Post-match analysis will also be a standard feature.

Match presentations will be anchored by the polished trio of Motshidisi Mohono, Owen Nkumane and Sam Ludidi.

All matches will have multiple language options (English – international, English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa).

SS Rugby, available to Premium subscribers, will become a 24-hour channel for the duration of the tournament, ensuring that those who miss the live action can watch repeats and assorted programming covering events in France. All matches will also be available on SS Grandstand.

SuperSport’s embedded crew will provide daily reports of life and happenings inside the Springbok camp, much of which will feature on Blitz’s rolling news channel.

Covering the action from the heart of France will be Matt Pearce, Hanyani Shimange and the inimitable pair of De Villiers and Burger. Be sure to look out for their “Burger and Chirps” segments that will regularly illuminate SuperSport’s coverage.

For those wanting more, DStv’s Catch Up service will have a dedicated RWC section that will have seven-minute and 26-minute highlight packages for each match.

There will be full match repeats for all SA games, as well as all knockout games.

Xhanti-Lomzi Nesi, senior manager for rugby at SuperSport, said: “The 2023 Rugby World Cup is set to be a truly special affair. Never before has the rugby landscape had so many teams in such competitive standing.

“And for South Africa, this one has a special touch as they go in as defending champions and the last team to have won it in France. As SuperSport, we’re taking all viewers with us on the journey. We will bring viewers all 48 matches, working together to showcase the Springboks’ voyage. We are Stronger Together.”

GETTING SOCIAL

Go inside the Springbok camp like never before – get training footage, player and coach interviews, team announcement reaction as well as the now-famous team photo shenanigans.

Follow SuperSport on social media for fan content, an inside look at the fan parks, chats with South Africans in France and live crossings from the heart of the World Cup. There’s also hardcore rugby for the die-hard fans – all the stats, analysis and more.

For the rugby boffins, there’s an opportunity to test your knowledge in a free-to-play daily quickfire quiz which will be available on the SuperSport website and app. Fans will stand a chance to win daily vouchers and the coveted top spot on the leaderboard.

Download the SuperSport app, log in and add the Rugby World Cup and your teams to favourites to get score notifications, enhanced match coverage, news, video clips and more.

MAGAZINE SHOWS

Allez Allez

This RWC-dedicated show will premiere on Monday evenings (SS Rugby) and will feature the sights and sounds and happenings in France with contributions from several of SuperSport’s presenters and analysts, plus major names like Bryan Habana, Gregan and Marshall.

Super Rugby

This long-standing Afrikaans show (SS Rugby, 9pm Mondays) will switch focus to RWC, both reviewing and previewing the action and giving viewers a good sense of how the World Cup unfolds.

Super Rugby will include fan interaction via social and live calls.

The show will be repeated on Wednesdays.

The Breakdown

Join Sky Sport NZ’s expert team from New Zealand including Jeff Wilson, Mils Muliaina, Honey Hireme, John Kirwan and more as they run through the game with weekly episodes featuring player and coach interviews, top level rugby analysis, and rugby insight from some of the game’s best-ever players (SS Rugby, Tuesdays at 6pm).

Phaka

This popular staple broadcasts on Tuesdays (SS Rugby and Variety 4, 7pm).

In an exciting development, the Phaka team will take to the road during RWC for a series of activations across the country, visiting Zwide, Mlungisi, Gateway (Durban), Vincent Park, Botshabelo and Maponya Mall (Soweto).

Anchored by Six Sotyelelwa, Simi Mdaka, Kaya Malotana and Philasande Sixaba, they will be joined by popular content creators who will engage with fans throughout the rural rugby community to promote the World Cup.

Australian magazine show

This weekly rugby show from Down Under will highlight what’s hot and happening in Antipodean rugby circles during RWC.

(SS Rugby, Tuesdays, 8pm).

Rugby 360

This show will be a curation of content pulled together by the SuperSport digital team.

(SS Rugby, Wednesdays),

Mayibuye

Mayibuye (“bring it back”) will begin on September 1 and run daily until the end of October with a top cast of talent, namely Scarra Ntubeni, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Skhu Notshe, Lionel Cronje, Phiwe Nomlomo, Mac Masina, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Sbu Mjikeliso, Bafana Nhleko and Lawrence Sephaka.

To be found on DStv channel 209, it will feature an array of programming designed to appeal to the rugby community at large, giving easy-to-understand insights and what it takes to win a World Cup.

The first week of broadcasts will include rugby documentaries, followed from September 8 by match build-ups and engagement by content creators, who will often take a left-field view to their presentation and offer Rugby World Cup from a unique perspective.

The Greatest Rivalry

The Greatest Rivalry is a two-part collaboration between SuperSport and Sky Sports NZ, bringing focus to the legendary rivalry between South Africa and New Zealand on the rugby field.

Part one was shot in Auckland, New Zealand, with Sky’s Kirstie Stanway hosting a panel consisting of former All Blacks Mils Muliaina and Jeff Wilson, and former Springboks Schalk Burger and Hanyani Shimange.

What is clear from the lively discussion was how much this contest meant to all the guests, not only through their experience as players, but also when growing up and as brroadcasters since their retirement from playing.

Lead commentators Grant Nisbett of Sky and Matthew Pearce of SuperSport were also asked to recall their favourite moments calling matches between the two nations.

Part one spoke to the overall history between the Springboks and the All Blacks, paving the way for a more specific look at their respective fortunes in Rugby World Cups in part two.

Ahead of the teams meeting for just the second time at Twickenham in London on Friday ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France, part two was shot in the English capital, with Pearce hosting the discussion involving former All Blacks Sir John Kirwan, Sean Fitzpatrick and Justin Marshall, along with Shimange and fellow former Boks John Smit, Bob Skinstad and Francois Louw.

Focusing in on their respective countries’ success at World Cups, the panel reflected on topics such as the rigours of “tournament rugby”, the importance of captaincy and leadership in a World Cup group, the pressures of being a World Cup host, the challenges of winning away and the toughest games to play – almost certainly the quarterfinals and the third/fourth playoff match.

Meetings between the two countries at World Cups have not been as frequent as one would hope, given the rivalry. But the final of 1995 and the semifinal of 2015 stand out, while the respect for each others’ achievements in Rugby World Cups – both as three-time winners – comes through clearly in the discussion and debate.

The first episode will be broadcast on August 24 (SS Rugby, 7pm), followed by the second on September 7 (SS Rugby, 7pm).

Social Corner

Light-hearted and fun in nature, Social Corner will be five-minute inserts that recap events, action and activities in and around the World Cup both locally and internationally.

Three Captains

SuperSport has partnered with adidas on “Three Captains”, chiefly because all three South African Rugby World Cup-winning captains wore the three-striped boot when they held the Webb Ellis Cup aloft.

Francois Pienaar, John Smit, and Siya Kolisi talk candidly about their challenges and experiences in bringing home rugby’s greatest prize.

It will premiere on August 27 (SS Rugby, 8pm).