The Springboks can't live in the past and think victories in finals or ones over the All Blacks in the last few years will help them when the two sides meet in tonight's Rugby World Cup final (9pm kick-off).
Despite comfortably having New Zealand's number in the last duel at Twickenham in August, and being defending champions, it will not count for much – nor will the triumphs in the 2007 final against England and the 1995 one against the All Blacks help the Boks retain their title at the Stade de France in Paris.
What they will have to do is forget about history and stay in the present to produce a 23-man performance in order for them to achieve success.
When the curtain on the tournament draws to a close, South Africa or New Zealand will be the first team in history to win the Webb Ellis Cup four times.
Siya Kolisi's defending champions will also become only the second team, after their opponents, to achieve back-to-back final wins.
“One thing I've learnt through history is if you live in the past, sometimes you are going to have a long day at the office,” Bok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said yesterday.
“It's been a great week for us preparation-wise. We had a seven-day turnaround from our tough semi-final against England, and as a coaching staff, we have done everything in our power to make sure we are well prepared for this game.”
In last week's semi-final against England, South African were on the verge of being knocked out, but salvaged a one-point win.
They wouldn't mind a one-point win over the Kiwis at all, but against the three-time World Cup winners, they would not want to find themselves trailing going into the final minutes. But, should that happen, there's still the Bomb Squad the Boks have to let loose in the second half.
“If you look at the balance, for us to be able to have seven fresh forwards in the second half, that was one of our key focus points to go for the seven-one (split),” Stick said.
“It worked for us once before (against the All Blacks at Twickenham). Against Ireland, when we lost in the group stages, in that game we really performed well … we just missed out by a couple of points.
“When you look at our history, it has worked for us before. That's why against the All Blacks, it is key to have fresh forwards on the field because we know the challenges we face, especially with ball in play.”
TEAMS FOR STADE DE FRANCE
Springboks: 15 Damian Willemse 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse 13 Jesse Kriel 12 Damian de Allende 11 Cheslin Kolbe 10 Handré Pollard 9 Faf de Klerk 8 Duane Vermeulen 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit 6 Siya Kolisi (captain) 5 Franco Mostert 4 Eben Etzebeth 3 Frans Malherbe 2 Bongi Mbonambi 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Bench: 16 Deon Fourie 17 Ox Nche 18 Trevor Nyakane 19 Jean Kleyn 20 RG Snyman 21 Kwagga Smith 22 Jasper Wiese 23 Willie le Roux.
All Blacks: 15 Beauden Barrett 14 Will Jordan 13 Rieko Ioane 12 Jordie Barrett 11 Mark Tele’a 10 Richie Mo’unga 9 Aaron Smith 8 Ardie Savea 7 Sam Cane (captain) 6 Shannon Frizell 5 Scott Barrett 4 Brodie Retallick 3 Tyrel Lomax 2 Codie Taylor 1 Ethan de Groot.
Bench: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho 17 Tamaiti Williams 18 Nepo Laulala 19 Sam Whitelock 20 Dalton Papali’i 21 Finlay Christie 22 Damian McKenzie 23 Anton Lienert-Brown.
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