This archive report was first published on 18 October 2019.
Published on October 18, 2019, by AFP.
South Africa's Rugby World Cup quarter-final match against Japan will be a challenging one, according to Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus.
Erasmus acknowledged that the Springboks have been firm crowd favourites at the World Cup, with many Japanese fans donning replica jerseys to cheer on the South Africans.
However, he noted that the team will have to overcome their emotions to prevail in the match.
"It's really tough not to like Japanese people," said Erasmus with a smile. "The way they've accepted all teams - not just South African teams - in terms of adopting you, wherever we've stayed, putting on South African jerseys and making you feel at home is something special which I've never experienced in my life before," he added.
Erasmus also praised the hosts for their strength in staging their final pool match against Scotland just 24 hours after a powerful typhoon that wrecked infrastructure and killed scores of people.
Scrum-half Faf de Klerk echoed Erasmus' sentiments, saying that the team was looking forward to an "amazing" atmosphere at the Tokyo Stadium on Sunday but stressed that the Springboks would put that out of their minds on the pitch.
"Obviously we have got a lot of respect for Japanese people but I think once you step on that field, it's every team for itself," said de Klerk.
