Jesse Clegg has been praised for his emotional performance, which honoured his late father, Johnny Clegg, at the Springboks match against the All Blacks in Baltimore on Saturday, 12 September.
The singer performed at M&T Bank Stadium, delivering a rendition of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika that left the Boks in tears.
JESSE CLEGG ‘HONOURED’ OVER ANTHEM PRAISE
On his X account, Jesse Clegg has thanked South Africans after they praised his performance of the national anthem, sung before the Springboks vs All Blacks match in Baltimore.
“This was a real honour”, he shared.
This was a real honor ❤️🙏 https://t.co/iJUpY2ICs6— Jesse Clegg (@Jesse_Clegg) September 13, 2026
PAYING TRIBUTE TO DAD
Jesse Clegg’s performance of the national anthem came moments after his father’s iconic song, Impi, was played in the stadiums as the Springboks Impi warriors entered the pitch.
The 38-year-old performed a concert for rugby fans with an overwhelmingly South African audience outside the stadium just moments before singing the anthem.
The impis coming out to Impi and Jesse Clegg singing the anthem is pretty damn awesome. 🇿🇦 https://t.co/96lzBwm3lk— Mish (@Mish_K_) September 13, 2026
During it, Johnny Clegg’s firstborn son sang his iconic 1987 hit, Spirit of the Great Heart, which featured his band, Savuka. The same year, the group released Asimbonanga, a song about Nelson Mandela, who was still imprisoned on Robben Island.
Jesse’s musical ode no doubt paid tribute to his dad, a humanitarian and anti-Apartheid activist, who died in 2019 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
