Twice the Glory

You only need to win a game by one point.’ – Jacques Nienaber after South Africa’s tournament opener against Scotland in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Little did the coach know that it would take three one-point games to propel the Springboks into the history books as back-to-back winners of the Webb Ellis Cup. In 2017 the Boks looked punch-drunk as Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus watched them being overpowered by Ireland. The following year, the coaching duo took up the reins little more than 18 months before the 2019 RWC in Japan. And so began a journey that was to end in victory in the Stade de France six years later. Twice the Glory goes deep inside the Bok story of that historic era. Filled with drama, cheers and tears, it will have you on the edge of your seat as you relive each nail-biting moment. It’s all here: the Covid disruption, Siya Kolisi’s rise to the captaincy, Rassie in hot water over that video, injury blows and the emergence of new talent as they head off to France. The book also includes penetrating analysis and insights from the self-effacing Nienaber into how this team became the finest the world has seen. A recurring theme is the friendship between Jacques and Rassie that goes all the way back to their university days, and why they decided to come home to South Africa to ‘turn things around’.

Lloyd Burnard is the sports editor of News24.com and is the author of Miracle Men and Insights into the Rugby World Cup with Nick Mallett (Jonathan Ball Publishers); Khanyiso Tshwaku is a senior sports reporter at Sport24 and a commentator/analyst for SABC Sports. He services all the Arena Holdings digital platforms along with the Sunday Times.

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