Boks to take things one step at a time, says Pieter-Steph du Toit

Having reached the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup after being France 29-28 in their quarter-final in Paris on Sunday, the Springboks are now on course to make history and repeat the feat of 2007, when they also won the Webb Ellis Cup in France.

Four teams are remaining in the global showpiece: South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina, and England. Among the last four, the Boks are odds-on favourites to win the tournament after the exits of world No 1 Ireland and hosts France, who were tipped to win on home soil.

Bok flank Pieter-Steph du Toit, who was 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year when the Boks last won the global title, in Japan, four years ago, has called for calm as expectations grow about the Boks going back-to-back.

The world champions still need to get through two games, with the first being a semi-final date with England on Saturday at the Stade de France in Paris.

‘Game by game’

“We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We will just take it game by game. We will travel to another hotel tomorrow (Monday) and then start our analysis,” said Du Toit when speaking to the media after Sunday night’s win.

The second semi-final will pit the winners and runner-ups of the 2019 edition against one another. The Boks annihilated England in the final four years ago in Yokohama, winning 32-12, but Du Toit believes England will be a different side when they meet in Paris on Saturday.

“They have a new coaching staff and a new system as well,” said Du Toit.

“We will have to start checking that stuff out; although I’m sure our staff is already doing that. It’s very exciting. It’s another opportunity to do ourselves and our country proud.

“England have won every game. A World Cup is different when you get to knockout matches and they have taken their opportunities. Hopefully, we will do that against England as well. The ball can go either way. We just have to make sure we are better prepared and stick to our plan,” he said.

‘Turn things around’

Bok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk shared the same sentiments as Du Toit regarding the state of England.

“We have played against England a lot. Obviously, they struggled before the World Cup, but they have definitely started to turn things around.

“It is going to be a very big, tough challenge, especially with a six-day turnaround. We just have to focus on recovery and make sure we are ready for that,” De Klerk said.