Springboks captain Siya Kolisi said he hoped his side's Rugby Championship triumph would provide fresh inspiration to South Africa as a whole following the world champions' thrilling 29-27 win over Argentina at Twickenham on Saturday.
"I think I've worn this jersey when nobody wanted to watch us play and when it was hard to get a win," Kolisi, who previously skippered South Africa to back-to-back world titles in 2019 and 2023, told reporters.
"And now, at this moment, no matter how tough it is in the game, we know how to win, we know how to fight, we know how to dig deep."
One of the closest-fought editions of the southern hemisphere tournament ended in dramatic style with the Springboks winning successive Rugby Championship titles for the first time as they topped the table ahead of New Zealand on points difference, with their 67-30 thrashing of Argentina in Durban key to this latest success.
"I know what we do on the field doesn't change a lot in our country," said Kolisi. "But I know the feeling that it gives people, that South Africa is going to walk tall and people that look at us in the places that we come from, they look at us and say they know that it's possible no matter how tough things are."
The flanker added: "This win is not just for us, but the people of South Africa."
Argentina led 13-3 ahead early in Saturday's match before South Africa scrum-half Cobus Reinach and hooker Malcolm Marx both scored two tries apiece in a match where the Springboks dominance of the scrum – a traditional Argentina strength – proved decisive.
But with South Africa leading 29-13 heading into the final quarter, the Pumas staged an impressive rally, with wing Bautista Delguy scoring his second try of the game.
Three minutes from time, Santiago Carreras' penalty from the half-way line, which would have reduced South Africa's lead to six points, hit the right post in what proved to be a crucial miss.
Carreras' superb cross-kick sent in Argentina replacement Rodrigo Isgro for a last-minute try which the full-back converted in the last act of the game as the Pumas just fell short.
'STAY IN THE PRESENT'
South Africa, already a record four-time world champions, are bidding to become the first side to win three Rugby World Cups in a row at the 2027 edition in Australia.
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus, however, said: "I think one of our goals is to stay in the present, do well, and not just focus on the World Cup."
But with South Africa deploying close to 50 players during the tournament, Erasmus accepted building squad depth came at a cost.
"I think the character was OK, but tactically there's a lot of things to fix," he said after a match where rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had a much harder time than when the fly-half scored a Springbok individual match record 37 points in Durban last week.
"But I think definitely trying to build squad depth played a role in the lack of continuity."
Argentina captain Julian Montoya was proud of his side's improved showing in front of a crowd of over 70 000 dominated by Springbok fans in what was technically a 'home' game for the Pumas, albeit this defeat meant they finished bottom of the table, a point behind Australia.
"Last weekend it was tough," he said. "We weren't proud about that. But today we saw our character and we were better."
The hooker added: "You don't need to be an expert to realise the scrum was our biggest weakness today. But we keep going."