Pollard: we are ready for England
POLLARD: COME SATURDAY WE WILL HAVE TO BE THE MORE CLINICAL SIDE
Springbok flyhalf admits England were brilliant in semifinal.
Though he admits England made a big impression on him at the weekend, Springbok points machine Handre Pollard fancies South Africa’s chances in Saturday’s World Cup final in Tokyo.
Pollard kicked the Boks into the final with a late penalty in their semifinal against Wales on Sunday, with the side climbing to second place in the latest World Rugby Rankings, while England were ruthless in knocking out defending champions New Zealand as they climbed to top spot.
“England were brilliant,” Pollard said.
“Physically they really stepped it up, so they brought it to a new level, but our boys will be keen for that and they will be ready for it.”
The Boks are set to face England for the first time since their narrow 12-11 defeat at Twickenham in November last year, in a clash which was marred by Owen Farrell’s controversial no-arms tackle on Andre Esterhuizen.
After taking the day off yesterday to recharge their batteries, following their physical battle against Wales, they are preparing for another onslaught from the big England pack.
“We’ll train, but you can’t change too much at this time in the tournament,” Pollard said.
“So we’ll recover well and come Saturday we will have to be the more clinical side.”
Though England had an extra day to recover after playing an earlier semifinal, and their coach Eddie Jones had an inside edge after assisting former Bok coach Jake White at the 2007 World Cup, the SA team are confident of securing their third title.
Pollard’s boot is expected to play a crucial role, measured against deadly accurate England kickers Farrell and George Ford.
Despite struggling to find his best form earlier in the tournament, producing a 63% success rate with his boot before the semifinals, Pollard landed all his kicks against Wales and he believes he can handle the pressure again if he is called on at the death this weekend.
“You try to forget the situation and the external factors,” Pollard said of his winning kick in the penultimate round.
“Of course there’s pressure, but that’s why we train so hard. You imagine those scenarios over and over in your head.”