Bok hero Handre Pollard on his 13/13 kicks at goal at World Cup: ‘It’s pretty simple’

Springboks star Handre Pollard produced yet another kicking masterclass in a final of a Rugby World Cup, underling his accuracy and composure.

The flyhalf converted all four penalties for 12 points in the opening stanza of Saturday’s final against New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, enough to get the Boks over the line against New Zealand, and help the team defend their title from 2019.

The 29-year-old, who played in his third World Cup in France, also kicked 22 points for the Boks in their 32-12 win against England in the final in Yokohama, Japan four years ago.

Flawless

Pollard initially missed out on the 33-man Boks squad for this year’s tournament because of injury but was roped in as a replacement for hooker Malcolm Marx, who got injured early in the tournament in France.

A kicker of Pollard’s calibre becomes invaluable in the knockout stages of big tournaments where the margins are small and with the Boks winning all three of their knockout games by one-point margins, it shows how crucial a reliable goal-kicker is.

Pollard did not miss a kick in the matches he played in France slotting all 13 of his shots at goal, two of them last-gasp penalties to clinch the wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals against France and England respectively.

Against Tonga he knocked over four out of four, against France two out of two. against England three out of three and in the final against New Zealand four out of four.

He explained the process that goes into his kicking.

“When you are actually out on the field it is pretty normal, it’s just rugby, man,” Pollard told the media after Saturday’s 12-11 win against the All Blacks.

“Once you are in the cathedral you just get going and trust your process. The trust the guys have in me and the trust I have in them… if you miss a kick, it’s not the end of the world for us. There’s not a lot going on (with my routine), it’s pretty simple, to be honest,” he said.

‘Unbelievable’

Speaking on the historic win which saw South Africa become the first nation to win the Webb Ellis Cup four times, Pollard said the reality of what they achieved as a group would take some time to sink in.

“It is unbelievable. It is more relief than happiness at the moment. It will maybe take a few days or even weeks to realise what we have done,” said Pollard.

“The second half (in the final) was more containment and limiting the damage. Even though they scored a try, we limited them to only those five points. This team has a never-say-die attitude,” he said.