Survey of nearly 300 South Africans finds wine increasingly part of rugby match day

The national team won, the jerseys are on, the braai is going and the post-match analysis has already begun. For South Africans, a rugby win is rarely just about the 80 minutes – it’s about the occasion that surrounds it. And that occasion may be changing.

A new survey of close to 300 South Africans suggests that while many of these traditions remain firmly in place, what’s being poured is changing. Wine is increasingly becoming part of the rugby match-day ritual, joining the braai, biltong and national team’s jersey as part of the occasion.

The occasion

For four in five of those surveyed, rugby is a home affair, watched either at home or at friends’ homes. And while the game is obviously central, the occasion around it matters just as much: more than a third (37%) say spending time together is the most important part of match day, ahead of the game itself at 32%.

The traditional match-day rituals are still firmly in place. More than eight in 10 respondents (81%) say enjoying drinks is part of their match-day tradition, followed by the braai at 69% and wearing a national team’s jersey at 58%.

But match day is not just about what is being eaten or poured – it is also about what is being said. Almost everyone surveyed (98.7%) says they comment on the game while it is happening, while almost nine in 10 (89%) say they debate the action. Almost half (49%) reckon they could do a better job than the coach, while more than a quarter (27%) have something to say about the referee.

For three quarters of respondents (75%), the atmosphere, food and drink are an important part of the match-day experience. The same proportion say commenting and having a conversation about the game is as important as the game itself.

In other words, rugby isn’t simply something South Africans watch. It is an occasion – one that brings people together, gets the conversation going and creates plenty of opportunities for everyone to have their say.

The match-day mix

If the conversation around rugby is evolving, so too is what’s being poured. Wine was the most popular alcoholic drink among those surveyed, with 91.2% saying they enjoy it while watching rugby, compared with just over half (51.1%) who choose beer and one in five (20.4%) who opt for spirits.

Wine is also finding its place beyond rugby itself. More than four in 10 respondents (42%) say they enjoy wine while watching sporting occasions generally, while 38% specifically associate wine with rugby.

And for many, this isn’t simply a long-standing habit. More than four in 10 (43.4%) say they drink wine more often while watching rugby than they did a few years ago, while only around one in 30 (2.9%) say they drink it less often. Half (50.4%) say their wine consumption has remained much the same.

Taken together, the findings suggest that wine already has an established place at the rugby occasion, while its role appears to be growing.

A century in the making

For Alvi’s Drift, the connection between rugby, wine and family goes back almost a century. In 1928, Albertus Viljoen “Oupa Alvi” van der Merwe became the first player to score a try against a touring New Zealand side on African soil. He later represented South Africa as national team No. 221 and went on to lay the foundations for what became the family wine estate. Today, his national team number lives on in Alvi’s Drift’s 221 wine range.

Nearly a century later, that history remains particularly relevant as the national team and New Zealand side continue their long-standing contest. Oupa Alvi’s grandson, Alvi van der Merwe, is now winemaker at the family estate.

“The Van der Merwes are no different from other South African families on match day. We gather to watch the national team, eat and drink together and make an occasion of it. Rugby and wine both have a wonderful way of bringing people together, whether it’s around a table, a braai or in front of the television. What the survey shows is that those two worlds are increasingly coming together too. Given our family’s history with both, that’s something that feels particularly special to us,” says Van der Merwe.

Created by the current generation of the Van der Merwes, the 221 range carries that story into the present, with Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage and Special Cuvée Red.

The final whistle

Whether the national team wins or loses, one thing seems unlikely to change: South Africans will have plenty to say about it. The survey suggests that while the rugby itself remains at the heart of match day, the occasion has become something bigger – a reason to gather, eat, drink, debate and enjoy the people around you.

And increasingly, it seems, there may just be a glass of wine on the table while they do it.