Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says he and his team will fight to the bitter end for the people of South Africa in every single match they play in.
South Africa takes on England in this evening’s second Rugby World Cup semi-final in Paris, France. Kolisi says the team can feel the support from their fans back home, even though they are more than 12 000 kilometres away.
In the quarter-final match against France, the home team had the upper hand for most of the 80 minutes, however, the Springboks never gave up, and that “never say die” attitude of the players played a big role in the victory.
The coaching staff have proved their tactical masterclass in the past, but the true inspiration and motivation come from the people of South Africa.
Kolisi says, “Kids at schools are sending clips of themselves singing, because they know we like singing, people at work wear their green jerseys and the beautiful thing to see is that people who can’t afford the jersey are wearing anything that’s green. We see that and that will continuously be our motivation and we know what the team meant in the past, not just for sport but for our country. We use that to keep us going, it’s more purposeful when you don’t just do something for yourself but you’re adding other people that you don’t even know.
“When you start playing for others it’s not easy to give up. It’s much harder if you think about how many people would like to be in your place and you know the majority of the people in our country are unemployed or homeless. I’m not saying we are gonna win every game but giving up will be cheating, not just myself but the rest of the people at home.”
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber says, “When England played New Zealand in the semi-finals four years ago, New Zealand were the favorites but England won and we have to stay in the moment and stay in the reality. We are facing England and a good England side, and any team can beat any team in world rugby these days. It’s knock-out rugby and this game isn’t bigger than the quarter-final or the final, if you lose this game you are out so you play for everything to gain.”
The Boks face an ever-improving England side.
England coach Steve Borthwick says, “I think this team has progressed. Each week we’ve had through this tournament, we’ve built and we’ve built, and whatever situation players find themselves in the game, the players have found a way to get the result they want at the end of it. And we know this weekend is different, every game is different, but I also know we got a great group of players who care deeply about representing England. I want to make sure, they’re putting on a performance we’re all proud of and our supporters are proud of on Saturday night.”
The game starts at 9pm South African time tonight.
VIDEO | Bok fever in Paris ahead of RWC 2023 semi-final clash:
