@Springboks
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and captain Siya Kolisi thanked South Africa for inspiring them to overcome the All Blacks at Stade de France on Saturday night.
The Boks recorded a third successive nail-biting one-point victory in the playoffs on their way to a record-breaking fourth Rugby World Cup title.
“This is for our fans and for South Africa,” said Nienaber in a statement after the 12-11 victory.
“I wish I could show you the amount of messages and videos of what was going on in South Africa. I think there was 62 million people that united behind us.
“We felt every single bit of energy they gave us and in the last three games, all one-point victories, that drove us and we needed it.”
Kolisi said: “At the last World Cup the country was hopeful that maybe there was a chance we could win it and what transpired afterwards was the belief between this team.
“There is not a lot of things going right in our country and we have the privilege to be able to do what we love and inspire people in life, not just sports people.
“For me not to give my 100 per cent on the field would be cheating all those people and that's what the coaches always remind us of. The motivations for us, we don't have to look far,” Kolisi said.
Meanwhile, about 10 000 people packed the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium fan park for the final clash despite a big downpour.
