The Springboks welcome the pressure ahead of Saturday’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against England in Paris.

The pressure associated with knockout matches at the World Cup is natural, however, the Boks have found a way to deal with it as they showed on the weekend in the tense quarter-final against France.

The match will be a repeat of the 2019 final which the Springboks won 32-12 in Yokohama, Japan.

There will be changes to the team for the semi-final and one of these is expected at halfback with Faf de Klerk returning to start at scrumhalf, while Handré Pollard could replace Manie Libbok in the number ten jersey.

The season flyhalf, Handré Pollard, said the pressure is just some they embrace as a team.

“It's just the way we were brought up, we love it,” said Pollard.

“It's not always been easy for some guys in our squad growing up so when we get to this position, this point where there should be a lot of pressure on us, we refer back to it a lot.

“This is not really pressure, this is more privilege to be a part of these occasions.

“I think our game model and the way we play the game suits World Cups pretty well. We are comfortable in this environment and we have been under pressure off the field, growing up and we all know the stories that have come from the previous World Cups.

“We just enjoy it, we enjoy the pressure. It's a privilege to have this pressure on our shoulders, playing for our country.”

Saturday’s big semi-final at Stade de France kicks off at 21:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport