The Springboks will face Wales in this Sunday’s second World Cup semifinal after beating Japan 26-3 in the quarters on Sunday.
Coach Rassie Erasmus admits his side was nervous before running onto the pitch for their clash with the hosts, but the players kept their cool to score three tries, two of them belonging to Makazole Mapimpi and one to Man of the Match Faf de Klerk, all while keeping the hosts tryless.
Erasmus says of the hard-fought win: “We were nervous coming in against Japan and with their home support and the way they have played, building momentum.”
WAS NERVOUS: Rassie Erasmus. Picture: Paul Childs/Reuters.
With a slender 5-3 lead at the break, Erasmus adds: “Going in at halftime we were only up a few points and leaving some points out there, there was a lull in the changing room.
“But the boys knew which buttons to push to come out of that lull.”
Next up is a semifinal clash against Wales, after the Dragons beat 14-man France 20-19 in their quarterfinal clash.
New Zealand and England will play in the other semifinal on Saturday, with the All Blacks klapping Ireland 46-14 in their quarterfinal clash and England beating Australia 40-16.