Springboks through to the Rugby World Cup finals

Defending champions Springboks have secured a spot in the Rugby World Cup finals after a nail-biting semi-final victory against England on Saturday.

The Boks staged a dramatic second-half fightback from 15-6 down to snatch the dramatic victory by 16-15.

ALSO READ: Driver arrested clocking 234km/h on the N1 Modimolle

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and captain Siya Kolisi hailed the team’s fighting spirit. They have now secured back-to-back finals and stay in the race to defend their world champions title.

“Credit to England, they had a good tactical plan and they put us under pressure,” said coach Nienaber.

“We’ll have to improve on that if New Zealand uses the same tactic. But one has to commend the strength of this team for the way they find a way to get a result.

“It took us 70 minutes to get a foothold in the match. The players refused to give up and fought until the end. I’m very proud of them for that,” he said.

RUGBY WORLD CUP FINALS AWAIT THE SPRINGBOKS

Kolisi also shared the coach’s sentiments: “England are a world-class team, and a very different team to a year ago. We had to dig deep to get the win and I’m proud of the way the players fought,” said Kolisi.

“It’s great to be in a position to defend our title. It was not about how ugly the game was, for us, it was about South Africa winning the game.

“England were outstanding on the night with the way they played, and we had to fight to make it through to the final,” he added.

Kolisi also praised the supporters for their passionate support and the inspiration they gave the team. Both from South Africa and Africa as a whole.

“We feel and see the support. Even at our hotel one of our sponsors has a screen with all the messages of support,” said Kolisi.

The Boks team will have Sunday off to recover and will return to the training field on Monday. The final against New Zealand at the Stade de France will take place on Saturday at 21:00.