South Africans go into this week in high spirits after the Springboks and the Proteas dealt England a double dose of defeat in the rugby and cricket World Cups at the weekend.
The country will be gripped with rugby fever this week as the Boks prepare to play their Old Enemy, New Zealand in Saturday’s final in Paris.
The cricketers still have some way to go in their World Cup in India but given the ruthlessness with which they annihilated a very strong England team, it is not inconceivable that South Africa will have double world champions before long.
While the cricketers cruised home in their 50-over match, the Springboks had to claw their way out of a deep hole to edge home in a thrilling ending to a match played in heavy rain.
The Bok flyhalf Handre Pollard showed nerves of steel to nail a long-range penalty three minutes from the end of a game the Boks never looked like winning but showed tremendous courage and character to scramble over the line.
Social media has been awash with celebratory memes as fans blew off steam following the tense finale. South Africans filmed each other getting up to all sorts of antics — from a grown man running out of his lounge and diving fully clothed into a swimming pool to a mother feeding a child sugar water to combat a panic attack.
The Springboks will see these clips as well as hundreds more, according to captain Siya Kolisi. He says they keep abreast of the public mood at home as part of their motivation to go all the way and secure back-to-back World Cup titles.
“We have been feeling it,” Kolisi smiled. “One of our sponsors gave us a screen so we can see the support and what is happening back at home. We see the videos where people talk about how they feel and what it is doing for them.
“I think South Africa must be the only country where people who don’t have a TV can go to a shopping mall and sit together to watch us play, people from different walks of life. That is exactly what is fuelling the team. We do see the support and we appreciate it.”
But not everybody loves the Springboks. Last week scrumhalf Cobus Reinach received a death threat from a French fan who was devastated that the Boks had knocked his team out of the World Cup.
The Bok hotel in Paris is being heavily guarded by armed gendarmes but Reinach says he has moved on from the incident thanks to the support of his teammates.
The big question now is whether the Boks can scale one last mountain and beat the All Blacks in what is a repeat of the 1995 final in Johannesburg. One thing is for sure, it will not be for lack of effort.
As coach Jacques Nienaber said after the nail-biting 16-15 defeat of England.
"This team just refuses to give up.
"It took them about 70 minutes to make an impression in the game, but that is the strength of this team. They find a way even if we are not playing well. If things don't go our way, they find a solution to get a result. They fought to the end. So, I am very, very proud of that.”
The Proteas displayed their class when they overpowered their English rivals in the ODI World Cup in India. In for skipper Temba Bavuma, Reeza Hendricks’ 85-runs knock proved to be a solid foundation for the South Africans.
It was Heinrich Klaasen’s 109 runs off 67 balls that guided the Proteas to a mammoth 399/7. A disciplined bowling performance followed, the Proteas bowling out the defending champions for 170 in 22 overs.
Afterwards, Klaasen declared his innings as, “up there with my best ever,” as he battled insufferable heat.
"I had to dig really, really deep there,” the 32-year-old added after the match.
“I didn't have any energy left. "My partner, Marco (Jansen), played a big part in that.
“He told me that he's got me and that I'm not allowed to walk off the field if I don't score a hundred.
"It was like just breathing in hot air. Every time you try to run it's just sapping more and more energy and then at the end of the day your body just doesn't want to work with you anymore. It was just like almost running in a sauna for the whole innings. But you've got to dig deep for your country as well, I've worked my whole life for it, so it's a great moment."
The last thing the Proteas did after their crushing victory, was gather in their hotel room to watch the tense semi-final between the Boks and England. As the shrill of the final whistle blasted over the TV broadcast, they erupted in revelry, a famous SA sporting day against England completed.
* Additional reporting by Morgan Bolton
Cape Times