THE bus ride into Ellis Park has been described by various All Blacks teams as a hideous experience, but for Siya Kolisi’s Springboks, the inspiration from the local fans is what pulled them out of the fire in yesterday’s big Rugby Championship match.
Kolisi paid tribute to the passionate Springbok fans after his side fashioned a Great Escape in the last 10 minutes to win 31-27.
“This game was sold out a couple of months ago and 65 000 fans were there to lift us when we needed it the most,” the Bok skipper said.
“When you arrive at the stadium and you are cheered every metre by people from all walks of life, it makes an impression on you,” the captain said.
“The people go crazy in the streets and that is what keeps us going when we are going through tough times in a game. You don’t want to let the fans down.
“Today was really beautiful. The atmosphere was amazing and it motivated us to push through and get the win in the end.”
For this match, coach Rassie Erasmus raised some eyebrows when he kept going with 22-year-old flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for Handre Pollard and picked Aphelele Fassi at fullback ahead of veteran Willie le Roux.
“We wanted those guys to experience this level of Test match rugby to see if they could handle it,” Erasmus said.
“Both came through with flying colours, but that doesn’t mean that Handre and Manie Libbok are out of it. It means that we are growing our depth and we must keep on building.
“It is a huge thing for a youngster like Sacha to play against the All Blacks for the first time and he was emotional afterwards in the changeroom. It is a big step up from playing tier two nations to the ultimate in the All Blacks.”
Erasmus also paid tribute to the veterans in the side.
“I cannot tell you how valuable a guy like (Player of the Match) Pieter-Steph du Toit is. He played (positions) four, five, and seven and by the end, he didn’t know his name. He just kept going and delivering for South Africa.”
Erasmus agreed that the Boks are sitting pretty at the top of the Rugby Championship, but he said the goal of growing depth must not be compromised.
“We will try a few more new players next week and hopefully they make it too,” he said.
“It would be nice to win the Championship, but at this point we have too much respect for New Zealand to look beyond next week’s game in Cape Town.