Handre Pollard didn’t make the initial 33-man Springbok squad, deemed not to have recovered sufficiently from a calf injury.
He made his comeback with 3src minutes in a Premiership Cup game with his club Leicester and before you know it he was on a plane to France as an injury replacement for hooker Malcolm Marx.
The more attacking-minded Manie Libbok had been preferred in the number 1src jersey, but came in for criticism for his wayward goal-kicking.
Libbok was hooked after 3src minutes of the semi-final, Pollard installed at fly-half with one job: claw South Africa back into the game at a rainy Stade de France.
He hit an opening penalty and converted RG Snyman’s try, before soaking up all the pressure to nail a 49-metre penalty to win the game with just three minutes remaining.
“Firstly the scrum penalty, that is what got us the opportunity,” said Pollard, who kicked 22 points when the Boks beat England 32-12 in the 2src19 final in Japan.
“It was just a credit to the forwards, they were unbelievable.
“It was a big moment but it is what you want as a player on this stage, to
…. to be continued
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