“WE ALL wanted this. We knew how big it was.”
That was the immediate reaction of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi after his side completed a fourth-straight victory over the All Blacks to claim the Freedom Cup in Cape Town and take one step closer to winning the Rugby Championship.
Kolisi played a crucial role in the victory, scoring the opening try as he carried the ball strongly, and made some bone-crunching tackles, all while playing with a broken nose.
He is set to fix his facial injury after pushing through against the New Zealanders, helping the Boks to an 18-12 win to back up last weekend's 31-27 victory in Johannesburg.
“For me, the coach gave me the chance when I said that ‘I’m ok’, so I had to prove that to him, I couldn’t go half-heartedly (into the game). Nobody’s going to celebrate you if you play, and you don’t go flat out when you say you are fine. I know there’s Kwagga (Smith) and Marco (van Staden), the other guys who would want this opportunity.
“We needed this but also didn’t start the way we wanted. Before the second half, the coach was quite honest with us. The way we started the second half, we did exactly what we wanted. The subs came on and did what they always do when we grew tired.
“This game was really big for us. We spoke about it. After the World Cup final, this was the biggest game for us as a group. I’m so happy for guys like Sacha, to be coming in, into games like this, and Canan coming back from injury. We are really happy as a group.”
According to the Boks' other try scorer on the day, replacement hooker Malcolm Marx, they were not inaccurate in the first and second half and it aided the Kiwis. But clarity in their roles, whether it's coming off the bench or the starting players, allows the Springboks to overcome those obstacles in a match.
“We pride ourselves in our physicality and there were a couple of penalties at the breakdown,” Marx said about the tussle for possession.
“We weren’t accurate enough at certain times. But everyone knows their roles and responsibilities, even when you are not in the match-day 23. We know what we are playing for and what we want to achieve.
“The main thing for me is making a positive impact and representing my family and the country with pride in what we are doing.”
Marx’s try, of course, sealed the win for the home side, but he didn’t want to take the credit.
“That wasn’t just me. There is a whole pack of forwards involved there. I was the fortunate one that managed to get it over the line. But there are seven guys in front of me working extremely hard to get me into that position so that we can get the try.”
Scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, who played his first Test after the World Cup, said he was grateful and felt privileged to be in the set-up again.
“It’s not a good feeling when you are not there and you have to sit and watch while the guys are out there playing for each other. But getting some minutes again, I am really grateful for that opportunity.
“The guys are delighted with the defence. At one stage we were 14 (players) and had to fight and work for each other. But we prepared in the week for if we got a yellow card and how we were going to play.”