As the city eagerly awaited the Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash between the Springboks and New Zealand at the DHL Stadium on Saturday, four former rugby stars came together to launch the latest version of Avante Brandy at the Queens Hotel on Friday September 6.
Avante Cape Brandy was first established by managing director Rob Heyns with Rugby World Cup-winning captain John Smit and 15 rugby legends, former and present, to coincide with the excitement of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The co-founding squad includes South Africans Butch James, Jean de Villiers, Joseph Dweba, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi and Schalk Brits, CJ Stander (Ireland), Dallen Stanford (USA), George Gregan (Australia), Jim Hamilton (Scotland), Justin Marshall (New Zealand), Raymond Rhule (France), Waisale Serevi (Fiji), and WP Nel (Scotland).
Heyns said the 15-year-old brandy embodies the spirit of triumph and reflects the global excellence achieved in both rugby and Cape Brandy from South Africa.
“These narratives have earned credibility through persistent hard work and challenge long-standing misconceptions about Africa’s potential.”
At the launch of the brandy on Friday, former South African rugby players Butch James and Schalk Britz, with South African-born Irish rugby player CJ Stander and former All Blacks player Justin Mitchell engaged in a panel discussion about Avante Brandy XV, and also weighed in on the champion era of the Springboks.
The Springboks beat the All Blacks 18-12 at the DHL Stadium the next day, winning the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009. This was also their fourth win in a row against the All Blacks.
Speaking on the Springbok’s winning season, Marshall said the All Blacks have been the number one team before and the shift in momentum is justified and is healthy for the game. “We haven’t seen the World Cup for a while.”
He said good teams have the ability to turn the game or to wrestle back momentum or to win a game where they are not playing that well. “I feel that that’s what South Africa has over the rest of the world at the moment… They also just have the winning culture and spirit at the moment and that’s a massive infectious thing when you’re getting inside a team, to be able to even on a day facing adversity, still find a way to win.”
James said even though his former team has been on a winning streak, they still get nervous watching the game. “It’s terrifying, but when they pull off the victory off, its always a good feeling.”
Smit said the notion of what it means to be South African is about overcoming many obstacles and adversity, and continually proving ourselves.
“This applies to entrepreneurs, sports stars, and anyone who has faced defeat, been knocked down repeatedly, only to rise up, continue doing what they love, and ultimately progress, improve, and succeed. The 15 rugby personalities on board help us continue this conversation and add the much-needed gravity to valuing our local talent and products.”
