You better believe that this is an article about the Springboks! How can we not talk about the Boks after they went back-to-back and won the World Cup again! I chose my title not just because we are number one in the world for another four years, but also because that was the margin we won by in every one of the three knock-out matches to bring the cup home.
What was remarkable about this World Cup was how few individual stars South Africa had if you look at the statistics. On the official Rugby World Cup statistics page, they track the top players across the following categories: top points, top tries, most runs (not as in cricket but rather runs with the ball in hand), most conversions, most offloads, most tackles, and most clean breaks. We did not have a single player in the top 10 of any of those categories other than most tackles made, where Franco Mostert came in at number 3 and Pieter-Steph Du Toit came in at number 5. We truly had to come together as one team to get over the line. In various games we had individuals performing well at key moments – Ox Nché will forever be the cake-eating legend who killed the English scrum in the semi-final, and Pieter-Steph du Toit the Malmesbury Missile who tackled the All Blacks into submission in the final. We had a team of players at the top of their game, but when we look back, the World Cup success was that of one team rather than of individual brilliance.
Another thing that we can take away from the victory is that Siya Kolisi and the whole team kept emphasising that they were not playing for individual glory. They had a greater purpose and that was to carry the hearts of every South African and represent a country. They were not there to just win the World Cup, they were there to unite the country. This was the drive that kept the team going and why they refused to lose even when all odds and statistics were against them.
As I reflect on the World Cup, I realise that there are some parallels to what we do at 36ONE Asset Management. We are a team of skilled individuals working towards a common goal. Our goal isn’t to be the top individually, but rather to come together as a team and deliver on our mandate. This mandate is given to us by every investor and we carry the mandate with respect and responsibility. Our corporate identity is premised on “The degree of difference”. It is the ONE in 36ONE which speaks to the extra effort, the more than the norm and the excellence we strive for. It is a privilege to be entrusted with the savings of average South Africans, just as the Springboks had the privilege of carrying the hope of a nation. We are proud of our performance because we know what it means to those who matter most in our business – our investors, just as the Springboks know how much their performance meant for their country.