The Springboks are on top of the world following their 29-28 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal win over France on Sunday night.
“Pushed to the edge” in the words of director of rugby Rassie Erasmus in Paris, the Springboks showed great guts and determination to KO the tournament hosts and book their place in the final four against England on Saturday.
As an added bonus, captain Siya Kolisi and his charges also climbed to the top of World Rugby’s latest standings which was released on Monday.
Absolutely massive changes in the Men's World Rankings 😱
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) October 16, 2023
Powered by @Capgemini | #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/Rr2dRacnov
But that counts for little, as Erasmus and company have already started plotting the downfall of the team they beat 34-12 in the final of the tournament four years ago.
Following a match which saw South Africa outscore their hosts four tries to three - with Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Eben Etzebeth dotting down for the Boks - and deliver a superb performance on defence in arguably the most physical clash of the tournament, Erasmus knows it could have gone either way.
The Bok mastermind explains: “We were very happy [with the win], with the one point it can go either way. If they’d won, they would have deserved it.
Playing for something greater 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#RWC2023 | @SiyaKolisi | @Springboks pic.twitter.com/UUuG0L2Qcq
“It was a battle of two teams who scored four tries to three, I think the penalty count was seven to six, two teams that tactically, physically and mentally tried to push one another to the edge…
“It was lekker, but now it’s onto the next game.”
Erasmus says they know what “they’re in for” in the next game will be and says of England: “They scored 19 tries and got 180 points, we scored 26 tries and also have 180 points.
“They conceded six tries, we conceded seven, they conceded 63 points and we 62, so you now how close this game will be just looking at the stats…”
Your final four 🏆#RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/KKqbUx8Irg
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 16, 2023
WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS
1 (previous position 3) South Africa 92.48
2 (4) New Zealand 90.91
3 (1) Ireland 90.57
4 (2) France 87.81
5 (6) England 84.03
6 (5) Scotland 83.43
7 (8) Argentina 83.07
8 (7) Wales 80.64
9 (9) Australia 77.48
10 (10) Fiji 76.38
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za