If the French public are unsure of where their loyalties lie now that France has gone out of the World Cup, Bongi Mbonambi has extended an invitation: support the Springboks.
In one of the all-time great World Cup encounters, French hopes of a first triumph on home soil turned to dust as the Boks came back from a 25-19 deficit at the Stade de France on Sunday to win 29-28.
Mbonambi, who only took over as undisputed first-choice hooker following the injury that ruled Malcolm Marx out of the tournament, put in an outstanding all-round show that earned him the official Man of the Match award.
“We have 60 million South Africans who support us all the way and I think for now that will do but if the French want to support us, they’re more than welcome,” he said.
“We’ve really enjoyed our time here and we’re looking forward to the following week.”
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Within minutes of the final whistle South African thoughts, however, were turning towards the next step in their bid to retain the World Cup they won in Japan four years ago.
On Saturday, the Boks will be back in Paris to take on England, the side they comprehensively beat 32-12 in the 2019 final.
The English are the last northern hemisphere team left in the tournament after this weekend’s defeats for France, Wales and Ireland. The Roses had a poor Six Nations, finishing fourth, and lost three of their warm-up games to Wales, Ireland and a historic defeat at Twickenham by Fiji.
Surprisingly, they are the only unbeaten side left in the tournament having topped their pool and reversed that Fiji loss with a 30-24 win over the Pacific Islanders in their quarter-final in Marseille.
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The Boks, who were beaten 13-8 by Ireland during the pool phase, have again shown the resilience which made them champions four years ago but they remain wary of the English.
Since taking charge of the South African side in 2018, the management team of Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber have shown a masterful understanding of pre-match planning as well as decision-making during the game.
The pair will undoubtedly have Steve Borthwick and his England team already in their sights. The French public may feel the same.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
