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Springboks vs All Blacks: Do you know the words to Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika? The Springboks will face the All Blacks in the first of their four ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ Tests at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, 22 August. The Springboks will face the All Blacks in the first of their four ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ Tests at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, 22 August. To help get you into the ‘gees’ ahead of kick-off at 17:10, it may be time to brush up on your singing of South Africa’s national anthem, ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’. READ | Springboks vs All Blacks | Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry: All the RESULTS History lesson But first, a quick history lesson. South Africa’s national anthem combines new English lyrics with extracts from the 19th-century hymn ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’ and the Afrikaans song ‘Die Stem van Suid-Afrika’. ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (Lord, Bless Africa)’ is the official anthem of the African National Congress, while ‘Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (The Call of South Africa)’ was the country’s national anthem during apartheid. When South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the songs were as usual heard alongside each other. The powers-that-be at the time decided to acknowledge both songs as national anthems. Two years later, they merged into one song. Today, South Africa’s anthem is the only neo-modal national anthem in the world, meaning it is the only one that starts in one key and finishes in another. What are the lyrics? South Africa’s national anthem features five of the most widely spoken of the country’s 12 official languages, namely Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English. Language: isiXhosa and isiZulu Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (God Bless Africa) Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo, (Raise high Her glory) Yizwa imithandazo yethu, (Hear our Prayers) Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo (God bless us, we her children) Language: Sesotho Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, (God protect our nation) O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, (End all wars and tribulations) O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, (Protect us, protect our nation) Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika. (Our nation South Africa – South Africa) Language: Afrikaans Uit die blou van onse hemel, (Ringing out from our blue heavens) Uit die diepte van ons see, (From the depth of our seas) Oor ons ewige gebergtes, (Over our everlasting mountains) Waar die kranse antwoord gee, (Where the echoing crags resound) Language: English Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land.