Less than 48 hours to go.

Nerves still shattered.

But hey, this is what Springbok supporters wanted when the tournament kicked off on September 20, which feels like an eternity ago, so let’s just try and enjoy it.

Rassie Erasmus has named his starting XV and ‘Bomb Squad’, which makes up the matchday 23, and Cheslin Kolbe slotting back in for S’bu Nkosi is the only change.

Win or lose, the World Cup final will be Rassie’s last match as coach. The good news is that he will remain in his position as director of rugby, which allows him to oversee the development of the game as a whole.

Although defence remains our strongpoint, the Boks have managed to run in a few classy tries this tournament, and one of those has been shortlisted for the International Rugby Players (IRP) Try of the Year 2019.

Nominated alongside Cobus Reinach’s effort against Canada at the Rugby World Cup are tries by Frenchmen Charles Ollivon, Sergio Parisse for Italy, and TJ Perenara with a cracker for New Zealand against Namibia.

Let’s go to the tape:

That Reinach five-pointer at the end was superb, but is it too late for a Cheslin Kolbe World Cup final entry? Hey, a man can dream.

At the very least, I expect us to put in the kind of tackles that dominate those ‘biggest hits of the Rugby World Cup’ compilation videos.

The winner will be announced at the World Rugby Awards in Tokyo this Sunday (November 3), and Reinach isn’t the only South African in with a shot.

Over to Sport24:

The Springboks as well as their coach, Rassie Erasmus, have been nominated for prestigious honours in the World Rugby awards.

The Springboks have been named as contenders for the title of Team of the Year while Erasmus is among the five nominations for Coach of the Year…

The nominees for Team of the Year are: South Africa, England, Wales, New Zealand and Japan.

The Coach of the Year nominees are: Erasmus, Eddie Jones, Warren Gatland, Steve Hansen and Jamie Joseph.

Win on Saturday, and I’m sure Rassie and the Springboks are locked in for those respective awards.

Holding the William Webb Ellis trophy aloft, though, is the sweetest prize of all.

I’ll sign off in the same way that I insist on ending every WhatsApp conversation from now until kick-off: BOKKE!

[source:sport24]