What started as a defiance campaign against racial segregation in sport has developed into a strong tradition among local All Blacks enthusiasts.
What started as a defiance campaign against racial segregation in sport has developed into a strong tradition among local All Blacks enthusiasts.
Apartheid no longer prevents non-whites from playing for the Springboks, but many coloured people in South Africa still pledge allegiance to the New Zealand team.
Mark Fredericks, of the Eastern Cape All Blacks Fan Club living in East London, says they officially have 14 000 registered members.
According to Fredericks, this bond between coloured rugby fans and the Kiwis started in the 70s when the All Blacks first toured South Africa.
Maori players weren't allowed to stay in the same hotels as their white team mates. They had to stay in the coloured townships. Since then their fan base has grown so much that fights breaking out between Springbok and All Blacks supporters led to games in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth stadiums being banned.
Fredericks maintains that this is because All Blacks fans outnumbered the Springboks fans.
Grahamstown Brumbies rugby club coach Weston Du Plessis says his whole club backs the All Blacks. This is to boycott the racial segregation in South African rugby that he says is still alive and well today.
"They deliberately field the usual black players in Habana, Ndungane, Peterson and The Beast, and avoid adding more deserving blacks," Du Plessis said.
For others, supporting the Kiwis is just about admiring how they play.
Errol Goliath, head of sport at Mary Waters Secondary School, says his first rugby team is affectionately known as the All Blacks. "Our first kit was entirely black so we looked like the All Blacks, and we soon adopted their ethos and started playing the same brand of rugby," he said.
