Mbonambi credits Bok teamwork for nail-biting win over France

Springboks hooker Bongi Mbonambi has heaped praise on Boks coach Jacques Nienaber after their inspiring 29-28 Rugby World Cup quarter-final win over hosts France at the Stade de France on Sunday night.

In a game where there were many big performances, Mbonambi got the man of the match gong after his courageous display over the 80 minutes.

The win saw the Boks go through to the last-four where they will meet England on Saturday at the same venue in Paris.

Not easy

Speaking after the win over the French, Mbonambi paid tribute to his teammates and credited his mentor Nienaber for managing the group during the week.

“Credit to coach Jacques (Nienaber) for managing us during the week. Credit to the team, it’s not a one-man effort,” Mbonambi said.

“All credit to the team; it was a whole team effort. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy playing the host team in their backyard, with a sold-out crowd singing their national anthem the whole time,” he said.

The Springboks managed to withstand the pressure that came from the home team’s fans at the Stade de France, who may now look to support another team.

’60 million South Africans’

Asked if the Boks would welcome the support of the French people for the rest of the tournament, Mbonambi said they are happy with the backing they get from South Africans at home.

“We have 60 million South Africans who support us all the way and I think for now that will do, but if the French want to support us, they’re more than welcome. We’ve really enjoyed our time here and we’re looking forward to the following week,” said the Sharks star.

Mbonambi, who was part of the World Cup-winning squad in 2019, knows that the job is not done yet as the tournament enters the semi-final stage.

The Boks are chasing history to win the Webb Ellis Cup back–to–back.

“We’ve still got two more games to go, this is still nothing. We were just focused on what we had to do, we stayed on task,” he said.