Full Description
In this timely follow-up to The Fireside Springbok, Bok to Bok details the electrifying Springbok campaign at the 2024 Rugby World Cup. Featuring Mike Greenaway's analysis as well as the words from various Springbok Team Players and Coaches, perfectly complemented by the images of Steve Haag and other photographers. Discover the story behind the Springboks' rugby success in this riveting account showcasing their unwavering dedication to uplifting South Africans through the sport they love. Dive into the heart of a team that plays not just to win, but to unite and inspire a nation.
The legendary All-Black captain Richie McCaw once said that an advantage the Springboks enjoyed was the responsibility they felt to play for the greater good of their country. McCaw came to that conclusion after sharing a room with Bok captain John Smit for a week before a game for the Barbarians. McCaw was spot on. The deep urge the Boks feel to help South Africans endure hardships by winning rugby games is at the heart of how in 2023 they defended the World Cup title they had won in 2019.
That 2019 win for Siya Kolisi's team was unexpected and the players were thrilled to see what the win meant for a country that suffers more than most. Kolisi's men have said they went to France with greater pressure on them compared to Japan four years before. This time they knew millions of their countrymen were counting on them to bring home the Webb Ellis Cup. There was expectation of happy times and that gave the players a strong responsibility to deliver. That sense of duty explains why the Boks, on three weekends in a row, finished on the right side of one-point victories over the best teams in the world.
To win one game by one point could be luck, but to do it three times in a row is not. France coach Fabian Galthié said after his team had lost to South Africa in the quarter-finals: "One point can be nothing but also everything.* Never were truer words said because when it truly mattered, the Boks dug deep and found a way to get over the line with their noses in front. Again and again and again. When the final whistle sounded to spark mass celebrations in South Africa, SuperSport commentator Matthew Pearce encapsulated the moment perfectly.
