With the first win against the All Blacks in the bag, the Springboks can now eye history this weekend against their traditional foes and bag a championship if they come out on top for a second time in a row.
The 31-27 victory in Johannesburg took the Springboks to 14 points on the log, eight ahead of the All Blacks with Argentina on five and Australia on four in this year’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship log.
A victory in Cape Town will allow coach Rassie Erasmus the freedom to give the wider squad more responsibility in the final two games against Argentina, while a loss will not be a train smash if they decide to experiment this week.
It will also be the first time in the professional era that the Boks have won four in a row against their traditional foes after Saturday's win added to the World Cup final victory and the Twickenham rout to equal the 2009 three-peat against the Kiwis.
But the attitude in the Bok camp is to put the hammer down and look to cement their dominance with a fourth straight victory over their traditional foes, but not exactly for that reason.
As young upstart Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu said on Saturday, the team is more chasing excellence in ensuring their own high standards are met.
And that means not taking a step backwards after such an important victory at Ellis Park.
“We don’t want a repeat of losing the second test, like what happened against Ireland in July, and that’s something we pushed for in Australia,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
“So, if we can be as hungry and determined next week and get a good result, it would take us one step closer to hopefully securing the Rugby Championship title.”
THE DART AND DIVE
That was underlined by scrumhalf Grant Williams, who scored the winning try with a trademark dart and dive across the line.
Williams said that the ultimate goal was to win the Rugby Championship, and that meant that the team could not let their standards slip this week.
“Attempting to win the competition is a massive goal for us, so we need to ensure that we maintain the consistency in our performances,” Williams said.
“We are pleased with how we are growing as a team, but I don’t think we’ll take our foot off the gas. We are really looking forward to next week’s match, and we know it is going to be equally as tough, if not tougher.”
Feinberg-Mngomezulu spoke glowingly about his 60 metre penalty kick in his first game against the All Blacks.
“It was special,” he said. “I think our preparation in the week was valuable going into the match, especially with all the players putting the team first and helping each other. We put our best foot forward and the crowd was amazing, which always helps get us through such tough games.”
Williams agreed, saying the result meant a lot to the team, especially after they lost in Auckland last year.
“It was special for the group as a whole. We placed a big emphasis on sticking together, especially during the tough times, so we are happy about the result.
“The last time I faced them was in New Zealand last year and we got a hiding in that match, so it was a great feeling to get a victory against them this time.”
'AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE'
Feinberg-Mngomezulu said he had learnt a lot from the game that would help his development as a player.
“You have to be mentally conditioned against the All Blacks. They are fast, nippy and awake and they are a great rugby side. I would have to write a whole notebook to tell you the learnings I got,” he added.
“But that was an amazing experience and playing against some of the best in the world is a good way to step forward.”
Feinberg-Mngomezulu played down his own performance, saying he still had a lot of things to work on.
“It was an 80-minute game as we expected from the All Blacks. In the week we spoke about soft moments and what we showed at the end there were no soft moments. It was great defence and great discipline in their half to keep them strangled.
“Personally I thought it was alright. There are still a lot of things to fix and I made a few mistakes, so that is what I will take out of my performance.”
He was more excited to talk about the team’s fightback from 10 points down to get the victory in front of their own fans.
“It says a lot about the buy-in, the individuals and the respect that we have for our coaches and our supporters. That was a dog fight out there,” he said.
“It wasn’t our cleanest or most clinical performance, and we didn’t achieve everything that we wanted to achieve, which is good for next week.
“That just shows, to come out and get a win against the All Blacks at Ellis Park when things weren’t going our way, it summarizes us as the Springboks.”
The Boks will name their team for the Cape Town game on Tuesday.