EXCLUSIVE: South Africa anthem singer for Springboks v England Test confirmed

The South African can exclusively confirm who will sing the South Africa national anthem ahead of kick-off in the Springboks v England Test on Saturday, 26 November.

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The much-anticipated clash at Twickenham will start at 19:30 (SA time).

A Rugby Football Union (RFU) spokeswoman confirmed to The South African website on Wednesday that Simon Shibambu has been tasked with singing Nkosi Sikelel‘ iAfrika.

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Shibambu, who was born in Johannesburg and is a bass-baritone, completed his diploma and degree in vocal arts at Tshwane University of Technology under Hans van Heerden, before moving to London to study for a masters in vocal performance at the Royal College of Music where he studies with Professor Graeme Broadbent.

Anthem botched last weekend

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Last Saturday ahead of the Springboks v Italy Test in Genoa, Nicole Magolie delivered a cringe-worthy rendition of the South African anthem which brought back nightmares of Ras Dumisani’s version in 2009.

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In a The South African article that went viral this week, Magolie was quick to say that it “wasn’t her fault” after social media exploded in reaction to her forgettable performance.

No pressure, Simon!

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TEAMS

England

TBA

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Canan Moodie