[imagesource: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images]

The Rugby World Cup has now entered the business end of things, where one wrong move can send a team packing.

Of the eight quarter-finalists, it’s obvious that Japan, as both the hosts and the first Asian team in history to reach the knockout stages, will be the neutrals’ favourite.

There’s a good reason for that, with their on-field and off-field actions deserving of any and all acclaim, but that doesn’t mean the Springboks don’t deserve a shoutout of their own.

The Roar’s Harry Jones is clearly a fan, and he’s outlined why he thinks our boys are an inspiration in their own right.

Be warned – what you read below may cause goosebumps. Let’s set the scene:

Do what you want. Support the Brave Blossoms to beat the brutal Boks. Many of you will, caught up in the magic of the new, the brightness of the Blossoms’ positive playing style, the classic David-Goliath archetype, and the size differential. But I want to give you a few reasons to back the Boks to banish Brighton.

First up is a man it’s impossible not to love (especially with his backstory)…

Little Herschel Jantjies is five foot five. A foot and a half shorter than RG Snyman. But he was always a star. At 15, he was the man for Western Province, then a Currie Cup starter as a teenager. He cracked the Stormers’ line-up in the very last match of 2018, and then stormed into the Boks, famously forcing a draw at the death in the Cake Tin against the All Mighty Blacks. He is the Bok bolter.

Well, him and Cheslin ‘I eat gain metres for breakfast’ Kolbe, who is finally a bona fide superstar of world rugby after his performances thus far in the tournament.

Fun fact to bust out during Sunday’s match – Cheslin is actually a cousin of Wayde van Niekerk, so excellence clearly runs in those genes.

Faf de Klerk also gets a shoutout, with Jones saying that you’ll be hard-pressed to find “two more likeable players in world rugby than the hyperactive Faf and the ankle-breaking Kolbe”.

‘Nice’ isn’t always the kind of adjective you want when talking about your country’s rugby team, but hear him out:

…these Springboks are not your father’s Bokke. Yes, they go into contact hard. But none of the eight front-rowers from South Africa have been carded – ever – in their international careers. Steven Kitshoff might hurt you, but legally. Even if Malcolm Marx looks like a bouncer, and Frans Malherbe a mad farmer in a horror film, and Tendai Mtawarira a beastly nightmare of a foe, none of them have a card, nor a reputation for fighting, or foul play. They tackle in the right framework and avoid niggle

There’s a special mention of the Beast’s affable nature, along with ‘goofy’ Lood de Jager and gentle giants Pieter-Steph du Toit and Franco Mostert, but I guess we should talk about the elephant in the room.

Yeah, Eben Etzebeth of the ‘Wolf Pack’ infamy:

Genetically a freak, from a family that boasts street enforcers, bill collectors, police, a world wrestling champion, and a few top rugby players, Eben is the mildest, nicest guy in his family. But that’s like saying he’s the nicest Peaky Blinder…

He has a cloud over his head from an altercation in the wee hours at a resort town: to protect family and friends, he has kept silent, and maybe he shouldn’t, but in a way, he has more to play for than anyone. He is playing for his reputation, the name of his family, and as the best friend of Siya Kolisi, the first true Bok captain of colour, he has everything riding on this: his choice not to take the money in France years ago, recovery from a half-dozen ‘career-ending’ injuries, coming back stronger every time, and giving it all every match.

I’m sure some of the above goodwill would be hotly contested, but you can see where Harry’s coming from.

Moving on to the backline:

Lukhanyo Am is from the Xhosa heartland in the Eastern Cape. He is a clever footballer, who has won seven turnovers for the Boks in 2019. His midfield partner, Damian de Allende, is always laughing off the pitch, and competes with Willie le Roux as a happy, eat-anything, try-it-all cosmopolitan traveler. By the way, Le Roux has more cards than any current Bok forward except Etzebeth.

Yes, Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach, and Frans Steyn were always going to play pro rugby, having starred at Paarl Gim and Grey College, and coming from Saffa rugby royal bloodlines, but no matter who gets the nod on the wing opposite Kolbe, if it is Makazole Mapimpi or Sbu Nkosi, you are looking at a first generation hero who had unbelievable obstacles to hurdle at home, in their communities, and in the streets.

Consider supporting the Boks for many reasons: history, brotherhood, progress, rainbows, or self interest.

I will be going with all five combined.

Keen for a strong finish and the afore-mentioned goosebumps? Here goes:

But if you see black Bongi linking arms with ginger Kitshoff, backed by man mountain Snyman, and Captain Kolisi flanking them, tiny Herschel shouting directions to the once golden boy of Bok rugby Frans Steyn and the current golden boy Pollard, the back line organised by Am, and steered by Stellenbosch man Le Roux, and the joy of Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaner, English, mixed up and confusing and everything in between celebrating yet another trip to the semi-finals to take on a Home Nation, remember it is okay to support these Boks.

The London journalists are eager to cast the South Africans as the villains, but you can give a little love to the men from the southern tip of Africa, who made the journey their forefathers did not, could not, or would not: to be a brotherhood across the bloody rivers and townships and memories of yesteryear, and bring that fighting spirit, but this time, together.

Bring. On. Sunday.

Wherever you’re watching (potential load shedding planning is essential), bear the above in mind.

The Japanese can be immensely proud of what they have achieved in this tournament, but our Springbok squad has also overcome more than a few hurdles to get to where they are today.

Let’s back the Bokke.

[source:theroar]