It seems more than a month ago that South Africa became tangled up in hysteria and despair after losing to Japan, but they are now one victory from appearing in a third World Cup final and back to their mean and confident best.
Standing in their way, in the latest instalment of the fiercest rivalry in the sport, is New Zealand, rated by the Springboks’ head coach, Heyneke Meyer, as the best team in the history of rugby union.
The loss to Japan forced Meyer to re-evaluate. Only seven of the starting lineup that day in Brighton will take the field at Twickenham on Saturday and the Springboks have a more youthful feel with six of the side 24 or younger, even if in Schalk Burger, Bismarck du Plessis and Duane Vermeulen they retain a hardcore of experience at forward.
“I never thought a year or two back all these youngsters would be playing and all in great form,” said Meyer, after naming an unchanged team from the quarter-final with the hooker Bismarck du Plessis and the second-row Lood de Jager expected to recover from wrist and foot injuries respectively. “I am happy with where we are at. We had a bad start to the season, but we have taken heart out of coming through adversity and sticking together. We showed great character under pressure to come back and beat Wales last weekend, but we are going to need more than that to beat the All Blacks.”
Last week, the France head coach, Philippe Saint-André, refused to utter the words All Blacks, believing it would add to the team’s mystique. He always referred to them as New Zealand and the quarter-final turned out to be all black for France who conceded 62 points at the Millennium Stadium.
“What they did against France was amazing,” said Meyer. “I really believe this is the best team that has ever played the game. There is usually a decline after a team wins the World Cup, but they have got better, which hasn’t happened before. We know that to beat them we will need our best performance ever and we believe we can do it.”
The winning head coach will buy the other a beer after the game, a tradition started by New Zealand’s Steve Hansen in 2012 after the All Blacks defeated the Springboks. “I was very down after that defeat and he came over, brought me a beer and said he knew how I felt,” said Meyer. “I really respected that and after it happened a second time, he started talking about his family and we have now got to know each other. I have only once brought him a beer and hope to be supplying him with a case of it on Saturday. There is real respect. You would think I would sit here and bad-mouth them and try and get into their heads and things, but you won’t see that from us or from them.”
Meyer’s sole victory over the All Blacks came at Ellis Park a year ago, Pat Lambie’s late penalty delivering New Zealand’s first defeat in the Rugby Championship. Only seven of that side remain: Jean de Villiers is injured, but Jannie du Plessis and Victor Matfield have been relegated to the bench and the greater emphasis on youth helped South Africa cope with a ball-in-play time against Wales of more than 45 minutes.
“I was not happy with our fitness levels at the start of the World Cup,” said Meyer. “We had probably overtrained in the Rugby Championship and failed to close out games at the end when we were ahead. We finished strongly against Wales and we are fit enough. People talk about a contrast in styles on Saturday, but we want to move the ball round and score tries which we have done against the All Blacks. Playing them is never a dull affair.”
South Africa may have a younger look about them. But at the age of 32 Burger has turned back time in recent months, two years after he contracted bacterial meningitis in hospital after an operation to remove a cyst next to his spinal cord that led to fears he would not pull through.
“His family and friends said he was close to dying and for him to come back as he has is unbelievable,” said the scrum-half Ruan Pienaar. “He has changed the way he plays, distributing well and creating a lot. He flies into everything and has a never-say-die attitude. He is one of the hardest guys I know, laid back off the field but once he gets on to the field he becomes an animal. He has been outstanding.”
