AfroAutos


Auto Site for Africa by Africans

    • Latest Stories

      What is new?

    • Total Car Cost When Importing Secondhand

      December 19, 2016

    • Common Car Problems That Everyone Should Know How To Fix

      November 25, 2016

0

The Best...

Springbok Captain John Smit – Placing Africa on the World Map

  • by Patrick Gioko
  • September 30, 2013

Seems like we have been too much about cars, and Africa has been progressing in the world of sports by taking part in competitions around the world. There have been many won games and trophies in areas such as athletics, volleyball, football, rugby and others. Sport has placed Africa in the international limelight time and again.

Defender1 Springbok Captain John Smit – Placing Africa on the World Map

Land Rover Defender has been an icon in Africa
Image source: www.caricos.com

Springboks has done Africa proud so many times. Tribal as we are in Africa, you should see us when an African team is bashing an English, Australian, American or Fijian rugby team to smithereens! The Springboks have won two world cups, one in 1995 when South Africa hosted the game and the other in 2007.

The team’s 50th captain John Smit placed Africa on the world map when Land Rover South Africa announced him as a brand ambassador. John Smit is the most capped forward in South Africa’s Rugby history and he is also an international rugby legend. Land Rover is a British car manufacturer that specializes in four-wheel-drives. Well, what do Smit and Land Rover have in common? They are both big, muscled and internationally acclaimed. I mean, John Smit would be hard to miss in any street, wouldn’t he? Well, so would the Land Rover!

John Smit being an African player represented the Land Rover brand in support of their global partnership with the Rugby world cup. This was in an effort to promote the brand to the fans of rugby at the world cup 2011 so that they would be as passionate about the brand as they were about rugby.

springboks Springbok Captain John Smit – Placing Africa on the World Map

The Springboks celebrating a win
Image Source: www.foxsports.com.au

By relating to John Smit who drives a Land Rover, the fans would identify with the player as well as with the manufacturer. Since the game was to be watched by fans all over the world, the affiliation brought Land Rover and Africa to the spotlight. I would say these two deserve each other.

Being an ambassador and an owner of Land Rover for many years, John Smit believed in the style, the reputation, the product and the rugged lifestyle that a land rover displays anywhere. The imagination that the combo of John Smit and the Land Rover provokes is that of a strong land, a strong African people that deserve a strong car, like a cross between an SUV and a truck.

Land Rover has been around Africa for a long time. In fact, many of us can rightly claim that this is the first car we set our eyes on, back when these metallic apparitions were rare things in the Africa countryside. However, competition from cheaper brands like Toyota, Isuzu and Nissan have been snatching the carpet from right under the feet of the Land Rover. I would say that picking John Smit was smart.

Placing Africa on the Map Springbok Captain John Smit – Placing Africa on the World Map

John Smit in his Range Rover
Image source: http://theexperience.ning.com/

As Africa is growing,it is gradually becoming a lucratibve market for vehicles. Thus, every vehicle maker is on a bid to make a mark in Africa. Renault, Foton and Tiggo Motors have been the latest entrants in the market, having been preceded by the refurbished Mahindra not so long ago

— Patrick Gioko

Patrick Gioko is from Nairobi, Kenya. A writer with diverse experience, he has been writing for flyer-online.com since its establishment. Patrick admires the resilient spirit of the African people and would love to see all of Africa on wheels.

  • Previous story Auto Expo Africa – What Is It About?
  • Next story Assemblage vs Importing Cars – Which is Better for Africa?

    Related Posts

  • Image of road train Road Trains In the Australian Outback
  • Image of crash test Reasons Why Volvo Leads In Car Safety
  • Image of changing tire How to Maneuver Your Car Safely After a Tire Blowout
  • Image of turbocharger Turbo or Non-Turbo? What Should You Buy?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

HTML tags are not allowed.

  • About AfroAutos

    • Welcome to AfroAutos – Designed for Africa
  • Categories

    • Featured Articles
    • The African Autos
    • The Best…
    • News & Events
    • Trends & Opinions
    • Buying & Importing Cars
    • Development & Industry
    • Guest Post
  • Recent Posts

    • Total Car Cost When Importing Secondhand
    • Common Car Problems That Everyone Should Know How To Fix
    • What Causes Car Hard Start?
    • Road Trains In the Australian Outback
    • Five Things To Never Do in an Automatic Car
  • Contact Us

    afroautos looking for writers
  • Archives

    • December 2016 (1)
    • November 2016 (3)
    • October 2016 (3)
    • September 2016 (3)
    • August 2016 (4)
    • July 2016 (3)
    • June 2016 (2)
    • May 2016 (3)
    • April 2016 (3)
    • March 2016 (4)
    • February 2016 (2)
    • January 2016 (5)
    • December 2015 (7)
    • November 2015 (6)
    • October 2015 (5)
    • September 2015 (6)
    • August 2015 (7)
    • July 2015 (12)
    • June 2015 (12)
    • May 2015 (12)
    • April 2015 (12)
    • March 2015 (13)
    • February 2015 (12)
    • January 2015 (14)
    • December 2014 (15)
    • November 2014 (12)
    • October 2014 (13)
    • September 2014 (13)
    • August 2014 (13)
    • July 2014 (14)
    • June 2014 (12)
    • May 2014 (13)
    • April 2014 (13)
    • March 2014 (12)
    • February 2014 (12)
    • January 2014 (12)
    • December 2013 (12)
    • November 2013 (12)
    • October 2013 (12)
    • September 2013 (12)
    • August 2013 (12)
    • July 2013 (13)
    • June 2013 (12)
    • May 2013 (12)
    • April 2013 (7)
    • March 2013 (14)
    • February 2013 (11)
    • January 2013 (21)
    • December 2012 (20)
    • November 2012 (8)
    • October 2012 (14)
    • September 2012 (11)

© Copyright 2025 AfroAutos. Special thanks to BeForward Japan.
All images, music, and videos are copyrighted by their respective copyright owners.