Rugby World Cup, Kolisi: “Victory for 62 million South Africans”

South Africa won their fourth World Cup. It is the first national team in history to have achieved this historic milestone, and its captain Siya Kolisi has signed another record, joining the legendary Richie McCaw in a very exclusive club: they are the only two players to have raised, as captains, two world cups in a row: “We are not just talking about one match, about the pitch, but about an entire country that pushed us, about all the people who have to fight in everyday life, about 62 million South Africans who have cheered for us. If you play together and fight together, anything is possible” says the South African captain emotionally. “I don’t know how to describe all this, but first of all I have to recognize the strength of the All Blacks, they played an incredible game with one man less and this shows what a great team they are. We immediately lost a hooker and this led them to put a lot of pressure on us in the throw-in, but we found a way to get out of it and the credit goes to all the boys, but not only” continued Kolisi.

“We kind of like drama!

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“It’s been a long journey,” said Nienaber, in his last match as South Africa coach. His choices, sometimes much discussed such as those of bringing 7 forwards on the bench or recalling the injured Pollard for the ongoing World Cup, paid off in the end: “We planned everything to get here. Injuries? This team had the experience to deal with such situations. Defensively we were incredible, and Pieter Steph du Toit was immense.” Du Toit himself, best on the pitch and author of 28 tackles, recounted the difficulties of the last 3 matches, all won by one point: “Evidently we like the drama (laughs, ed.). Indeed there have been many dramas in recent years, and overcoming them has helped us a lot, and the way in which we have faced these matches demonstrates the resilience of this team and of the whole of South Africa.”

All Blacks bitterness

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The All Blacks, despite the great game and the near comeback, are weighed down by the errors in the first half and especially the red card to captain Cane: “I’m mortified by what happened. I left my companions alone for 50 minutes. I can only compliment South Africa, we were still close until the end, but credit to them” he said, barely holding back tears. Also destroyed was Ian Foster, who after 3 years of hell dreamed of an incredible revenge against everything and everyone: “I’m proud of my boys. The way they tried to get back into the game and got back into the running was incredible, and I’m incredibly proud of this group. The game is made up of moments, and in these moments they went better.”