‘Powerful’ back stories will drive Springboks on against Gatland’s men
Bryan Habana has warned the British and Irish Lions of the "powerful" emotional drivers the tourists must overcome to beat the world champion Springboks.
World Cup winner Habana has moved to explain the kind of stirring back stories that bind South Africa ever tighter, ahead of next month's three-test series.
Warren Gatland’s Lions will kick-start their tour by hosting Japan at Murrayfield tomorrow, however the vital Springbok showdowns will not start until the first Test on July 24 in Cape Town.
Siya Kolisi made history as South Africa's first black captain and then doubled down on that by lifting the World Cup in Japan in 2019.
A young Kolisi would often go so hungry as to have his only meal of the day at school, while flying wing Makazole Mapimpi had to endure a 20km round-trip walk for his formative education.
So, as the Lions prepare to take on the reigning world champions, ex-boks winger Habana lifted the lid on the deep-rooted backgrounds that underpin this summer's hosts.
"I was fortunate enough to be in Japan and I got pretty emotional the week leading up to the final, talking about the Siya Kolisi story," said Habana.
"Talking about Siya having to watch the 2007 final in a shebeen, a local pub in the rural townships, because his grandmother didn't have a TV.
"He wasn't worrying about the rugby, he went to school the next day not for education but just to get a meal because that was going to be his only meal for the day.
"Had England won the World Cup in 2019 it would have been well received and rightly celebrated.
"But for South Africa, you have someone like Makazole Mapimpi, who as a youngster had to walk 10km to school and 10km back from school, five days a week for five years of his life, and those stories that now become able to resonate with 70 per cent of our population.
"It's something that if you don't understand it's very difficult to relay.
"Can you try to teach that to the Lions? I don't know, it's very difficult.
"I do think the Lions have a unique history, and the players that represent that want to do the jersey proud.
"But as Rassie Erasmus aptly put it, pressure is not playing for your country, pressure is knowing where your next meal is coming from.
"There are different living circumstances in the UK and the northern hemisphere, and for us we lean on that, because it does bring about an extra sense of what we're actually playing for.
"Yes it is emotive, but in the same vein, I know the Lions will want to come to South Africa as the team did in 1997 and do something as amazing as beating the Rugby World Cup champions.
"And I hope that will make for an extra spicy series, but for me it's the legacy beyond that, the likes of Siya Kolisi and Makazole Mapimpi, whose stories resonate with 70 per cent of our population, stories that are so powerful and so much more emotive."