VIDEO: Even an ugly win is a good win
REACTION: It was #NOT South Africa’s best performance, nor aesthetically the most pleasing display they have produced this year.
In fact, the Springbok team doctor may have to dip into his personal supply of heart tablets, as they were certainly in short supply in Paris after the second-successive one-point win at Stade de France.
The 16-15 nailbiting win over England in the World Cup semifinal on Saturday, followed the 29-28 squeaker over France in the quarterfinal a week earlier.
“[The doctor] definitely has [some heart tablets],” Nienaber quipped, when asked about giving his team’s travelling army myocardial infarctions for a second week running.
“Credit to England,” Nienaber said, adding: “They were outstanding.
“It could have gone either way.”
(@king365ed asks Bok coach Jacques Nienaber if the Boks have an extra supply of heart tablets for their fans…)
Nienaber paid tribute to the English, who not only defied their critics and the form book, but their gutsy, no-frills style almost caused one of the biggest boilovers of the tournament.
“I must start with paying a lot of credit to England,” Nienaber told a post-match media briefing.
“I thought they were outstanding.
“They had a very good tactical plan and they really put us under a lot of pressure.”
The defending champions were facing the ignominy of a third-place play-off when they trailed 6-15 after 69 minutes.
However, replacement lock RG Snyman crashed over for a short-range try and Handre Pollard converted, before adding a 77th-minute penalty to give his side their second successive one-point win.
“It took us some time to get to grips with the England tactics,” he said of the English kicking game.
The coach was full of praise for the resilience of his team.
“That is probably the strength of this team.
“They find a way, even if things are not going our way, to get a result.
“It took them [his players] probably 70 minutes to get a foothold in the game.
“They just refused to give up and they fought to the end so I am very proud of that.”
Captain Siya Kolisi expressed his ‘pride’ in his team’s fighting spirit.
“It’s honestly all the hard work we have put in which came off,” Kolisi said.
“It was really ugly but that is what champions are made of,” he added.
“It was ugly – like it was last week.
“However, we found a way to fight back and get back into the game.
“Well done to the boys. I am really proud of the fight that was shown.”
Nienaber said the Boks would need to study the way England pressured them in readiness for next Saturday’s Final against the All Blacks.
“England had a good tactical plan, put us under pressure,” he said.
“We will have to improve in terms of that if New Zealand use the same tactic.
“It took some time to get to grips with it.”
The Bok skipper added: “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 with the way they played, and we had to fight to make it through to the final.”
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