Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi lauded the resilience of his troops following their 29-20 victory over England at Twickenham, in London, on Saturday.
In a Test match which began firmly in favour of England, the lead would change a number of times before the Springboks ground their hosts down in the final quarter of the clash.
Ultimately, it was a masterclass in tactics from Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus and his skipper Kolisi to first keep pace with a highly-motivated England outfit before showing just why the men in green are Rugby World Cup champions.
The Springboks outscored England by four tries to two, and despite the hosts leading 20-19 with just under half an hour remaining, Kolisi’s side were able to finish the stronger of the two teams.
Stronger together
“We are a team that believe in fighting until the end and chasing lost causes, and that’s pulled us together as a group,” said Kolisi.
“We had to dig deep, but the players never gave up and kept on believing and that’s special about this group, and it allowed us to go all the way.”
Erasmus, meanwhile, said it was a very even contest.
“It was tough. We also had to work hard last week for the victory (against Scotland). We missed a kick here and there and both teams were disallowed tries in the second half, while the injury to Ox (Nche) disrupted the way we planned to do things.
“We were certainly not happy with the performance, but if you beat England by nine points, it could come across as arrogant to say that. So, we are content with the result.”
The Springboks fielded their strongest possible team against England, as they made 12 changes to the side which beat Scotland 32-15 last week.
“We named an experienced team and one that has played important matches,” said Erasmus.
“Many of them played in the closing match of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship against Argentina, but to hang in there with the yellow card, shows the planning the by the coaches.
“In fact, if Vincent (Koch) was not named as a loosehead prop on our team-sheet, we could have gone to uncontested scrums and had to play with 13 players on the field, so I’m pleased with the calm heads the players showed and how they remained calm and collected.”