Boks will need to outthink rivals in next World Cup

TWO years ago today, most South Africans woke up with massive babelas. Some may not even have slept.

- JOHN GOLIATH

Leftover braai and a beer was the breakfast of choice as they made their way back to the scene of the crime - the living room - where many also left their voices and their dignity behind.

For, on the night before, far away on a crisp evening in Paris, the Springboks completed a feat of sporting willpower to secure back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles by defeating the All Blacks in a dramatic and brutal final. It was another one-point win - their third in succession - that put the nation’s collective nerves in a state.

But the euphoria that followed swept the length and breadth of the country. From Soweto to Stellenbosch, the braai fires sparked one of the biggest parties South Africa has ever seen.

The Springboks’ victory on October 28, 2023 was the culmination of a four-year cycle built on tactical genius, unparalleled physicality and the iron will of a cohesive squad.

Today, however, the champagne glasses have long been emptied, the confetti swept away, and the focus has shifted to the monumental challenge of a three-peat in Australia in 2027.