Dwindling crowds in Super Rugby has resulted in the SA Rugby Union taking a drastic step to try and bring the spectators back to the stadiums – by reinventing local teams as “Super Heroes”.
That’s right, Lions, Sharks, Stormers and Bulls fans – your favourite player will have a super hero from the Marvel comics stable on their jerseys.
Saru announced on Tuesday that the Bulls kit will be linked with Captain America, the Lions have Spiderman, the Sharks will resemble Black Panther and the Stormers will be associated with Thor.
“In a ground-breaking collaboration between SA Rugby, SuperSport, Vodacom and Marvel, each of the South African Super Rugby teams will be assigned a Marvel Super Hero as their look for the home derbies next season,” Saru said in a statement.
Chief executive Jurie Roux added: “Super Rugby has always been about entertainment and providing supporters with something new, and in 2019, we will definitely achieve that with this exciting endeavour with Marvel.
“The global rugby landscape is changing, and teams across all continents are trying new things to further raise the interest of fans.
“We envisage reaching new audiences and gaining new supporters for our franchises, and the game as a whole in South Africa.”
The likes of the Stormers and Bulls will have to reinvent themselves on the pitch, though, after another disappointing Super Rugby campaign this year.
The Lions will hope that they can finally cross the final hurdle and win the tournament, while the Sharks will want to go further than the quarter-final stage in 2019.
This is 2019 Vodacom #SuperRugby“Superpowered”, with Real. Live. Super Heroes.
Vodacom Bulls - Captain America
Emirates Lions - Spider-Man
DHL Stormers - Thor
Cell C Sharks - Black Panther
Read more here: https://t.co/RJxE3F5pdO pic.twitter.com/chnDvihrrM
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) December 4, 2018
@ashfakmohamed