Springboks captain Siya Kolisi has given South Africans his word that his team will do its best to achieve the special feat of winning back-to-back rugby world cups.
This days after Boks coach Jacques Nienaber officially named his 33-men squad that will travel to France for the World Cup in September.
Kolisi will possibly lead the national team for the last time and would want to do it in style by guiding the Boks to victory.
The Zwide-born rugby star, who returned to full team training this week after a knee surgery, said the team will embrace the pressure in pursuit of its title defence.
“We know what the country wants and expects, and we want the same thing,” Kolisi told Springboks media.
“We love the pressure because there was a time that no-one wanted to see us play. So, we embrace the pressure.
“We want to do something special that has only been done by New Zealand, to win back-to-back world cups and become the first team to win it four times.
“We know what it will mean to us and the country. As coach Rassie [Erasmus – director of Rugby] said in 2019, it’s not pressure, it’s a privilege.”
The Boks are coming from a convincing win against Argentina and have since recorded three victories in their last four Test matches.
As part of their Rugby World Cup warm-up games, South Africa will play against Wales on August 19 and New Zealand on August 25 before they face the daunting task of defending their title.
The Boks kick off their World Cup campaign against Scotland in a Group A opening match on September 10.
Nienaber and the Boks squad are expected to officially jet off to France on Saturday.
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