Captain, SiyaKolisi, believes the rivalry between the sport’s greatest foes has been restored following two years of hard work by the Springbok management.
Kolisiwas speaking on the eve of the Springboks’ opening Rugby World Cup Pool B match against New Zealand in Yokohama on Saturday.
The rugby world – northern and southern hemisphere – has widely tipped the match as a dress rehearsal for the November 2 final at the same venue.
Kolisi, however, was staying very much in the present.
“The rivalry is the best it’s been in a while, so I’m looking forward to the game,” he said.
“We will give them the respect they deserve, but all that we can do and sort out is obviously ourselves. We are in a good place at the moment.
“It has been close and we can’t say who will have an edge over whom as it’s been one point, two points, and then we played to a draw in the last one.
Kolisi also said that Saturday’s match would be a yardstick as to whether the balance of power had shifted.
Meanwhile, the image of late Springbok legend Chester Williams will appear on every player's number on the jersey and, although Kolisi was too young to remember the player, he understands the legacy.
“I was very young when he played and never got to see him play. I think I was one year old when South Africa won the World Cup in 1995,” he said.
-African News Agency (ANA)
