If you follow Springbok rugby, there’s a good chance you’ve come across rugby_kaans and enjoyed his unique blend of South African humour and raw passion for the game.
With over 63,000 followers on Instagram and 42,000 on TikTok, creator Westley Cockrell became a massive hit during the recently concluded Test series between South Africa and New Zealand.
His unwavering authenticity sets him apart as a creator destined to leave a lasting mark on the social media landscape.
Yet, while his quick-witted takes come thick and fast around game days, it was a far more sombre moment that sparked the channel’s creation.
“It actually started with heartbreak,” Cockrell told IOL. “A girl left me, and I was just really sad for two weeks. I just kept watching those rugby reels on social media.”
“One day, I made a silly video—I think it was about Jaque Fourie—and I posted it on TikTok just for a joke. I posted it on Instagram as well, then kind of forgot about it. Two weeks later, a friend messaged me saying, ‘Dude, you’re blowing up on Instagram.’”
That sudden traction encouraged Cockrell to keep creating, tapping into content that clearly resonated with a rapidly growing audience.
“With the clips and stuff, I started to find my own voice. I’m not pretending to be anything; it is a character I created with a South African accent and everything. The more I did it and the more people commented, the more I realised I had something here.”
“The ‘goeie donners’ grew, and the ‘let’s praat about it.’ About three months ago, I realised there was something missing in the space, and I took it from there. I just kept growing, but it’s my own voice.”
So, what made Cockrell realise he was built for social media success in the first place?
“I do have the talent of talking a lot of nonsense,” he laughed. “If you spoke to my mom—a lot of people message her asking how I come up with all of this—she literally just goes, ‘He’s been talking nonsense his whole life.’”
“In high school, I’d sometimes forget there was an oral exam in class, go up, start talking, and actually get 80 or 90 percent. The teachers were like, ‘Damn it, Westley did his research,’ and I just made up the nonsense.”
While traditional rugby media focuses on objective reporting, channels like rugby_kaans fill a unique void in an ever-shifting digital landscape.
“My channel works because I take the fun out of it and speak more as a fan,” Cockrell explained. “A lot of guys want to be the next Nick Mallett or the next Schalk Burger and talk with an analyst vibe. People want to talk about the fun bits. They don’t want to talk about the pods running off the nine, or how we’re going to work the 10 kicking.”
“Everyone loves that and talks about it around the braai, but they want to highlight Cheslin Kolbe’s step, Ox Nché catching the ball, or a scrum that functions like a windpomp. You bring out the fun bits of rugby that everyone can talk about around a braai, instead of a boring, monotone breakdown of driver points. People want the lekker bits—Cheslin’s step or a hard tackle from Kwagga Smith.”
@MichaelSherman
IOL Sport
