When the Springboks defeated England in the Rugby World Cup semi-final on Saturday, the streaming of Spotify’s playlist Rugby Musiek surged by 191%.

In addition, searches for ‘rugby’ increased by 210% in South Africa and 82% globally.

Rugby Musiek includes new and well-known rugby-themed and patriotic songs, such as Nkalakatha by Mandoza; Siya Kolisi by Robbie Wessels; Saam Suid-Afrika, by Afrikaans musician Anlia Star (Eben Etzebeth’s wife); and artists Robbie Wessels and Karlien Van Jaarsveld.

Since its launch, more males (68%) than females have streamed the playlist.

“Sport unites people and, by the same token, music is universal. The Rugby Musiek playlist captures the spirit of unity, and this is possibly why South Africans turned to it to celebrate this win,” says Henco Harmse, Spotify’s Afrikaans specialist manager, artist and label partnerships in South Africa.

Of those listening to the playlist, people aged 35 to 44 lead the pack (28%), followed by those aged 45 to 54 (19%), while the 30 to 34 age group and those aged 55+ are at 14% each.

Popular Afrikaans music artist Riaan Benadé leads the all-time streams in South Africa and makes an appearance on the global all-time streams. In SA, two of his songs, Spontaan and Vat ‘n Bietjie are at number one and three. American band Toto’s Africa, Irene-Louise van Wyk’s Tekkies Brand, and Elandré’s Vuur Op Die Water round up the top five.

Globally, Africa is number one on the top-five list, followed by Right Said Fred’s You’re My Mate and Stand Up for the Champions, and Riaan Benadé’s Spontaan and Vat ‘n Bietjie.