Springing back into the line of fire

South Africa’s players have the scars to prove they are prepared to fight, writes Geoffrey Riddle.

South Africa's back row forward Francois Louw passes the ball during the captain's run at Twickenham Stadium. AFP

London // If New Zealand are indeed the best side there has ever been, then in South Africa they face one of the most resilient in the first Rugby World Cup semi-final at Twickenham tonight.

Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer suggested this week that this All Blacks squad have no equal, given that they have lost just three matches since they hosted the last tournament four years ago.

South Africa have beaten New Zealand twice at Rugby World Cups from three encounters, however, and Meyer oversees a squad that have been forged with an iron will and been doused in grit due to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

South Africa arrived in the United Kingdom last month under a dark cloud after former coach Peter de Villiers and a trade body demanded Meyer quit due to alleged racism.

The Springboks have been in knockout mode ever since they were shocked to the core by their defeat to Japan in their opening match of the tournament. Meyer and captain Bismarck du Plessis apologised to the nation afterwards.

And just last week while the Springboks celebrated their last-gasp defeat of Wales, rugby coach and schoolteacher Zukisa Kela was walking in Johannesburg with his fiancee. They were set upon by a gang of 12 men, and Kela was tied up and thrown fatally into a lake.

Kela’s reported last words? “Viva amabokoboko viva” or “Long live the Springboks”.

Bryan Habana, who is aiming to edge past the 15 tries he shares with Jonah Lomu as the World Cup’s leading try-scorers, spoke movingly on Wednesday about the role of the Springboks in trying to inspire his bitterly divided society.

As a memory of South Africa’s first of two World Cup wins 20 years ago, former captain Francois Pienaar will lead the 1995 squad in a run from Trafalgar Square this morning.

The legacy of that squad’s achievement has not been the unity which had been hoped after Nelson Mandela handed Pienaar the Webb Ellis Trophy at Ellis Park.

The possibility of sports results to mend an entire nation is often overblown. But should South Africa record their first victory against the All Blacks outside of the Rainbow Nation since Hamilton in 2009, surely the mood in Johannesburg will be lifted, even if only momentarily.

New Zealand were shaky at the breakdown during the Pool stages and the resurgent South African back-row smell blood.

If durability was a factor, they deserve supremacy over Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read.

No 8 Duane Vermeulen underwent neck surgery in July, something which blindside flanker Francois Louw has also endured.

Schalk Burger is another carrying the same scalpel blemish on his neck, but for the Japan-based open-side just to be taking to the field is close to a miracle.

Two years ago Burger’s wife, Michele, had to make the phone call any family member dreads. She contacted Burger’s parents to tell them her husband was dying.

Burger had contracted bacterial meningitis after an operation to remove from his spinal chord a cyst.

His recovery has been nothing short of extraordinary and barring Japan’s Michael Leitch, he has carried the ball further than any other forward at the tournament.

Meyer has harnessed his back-row trio together just six times, and they have never lost a match.

“The battle of the loose forwards is going to be immense,” Meyer said. “The great thing about Schalk is that I still can’t work him out. He is an amazing human being. For him just to be alive is great.

“There is always time for a joke and just before we go in to battle, he is all smiles and I think he is not ready. Then we get on the field and he is just a different human being. The way he came back has been an inspiration for the team.

“Once we are on that field, there are 23 guys that have been under huge pressure and have come through. This will be the biggest test they have ever played.”

As the world’s highest-ranked team, the All Blacks represent the sternest challenge in the sport whether Meyer’s flattering comments are true or not.

It is time for South Africa to bear arms against a sea of troubles – given what they have been through at least they know they are unlikely to die trying.

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