Handre Pollard reflects: I had written my World Cup chances off!

After a whirlwind couple of weeks, Handre Pollard has rejoined his English side Leicester as attention shifts back to club duty after winning the World Cup with the Springboks.

Pollard of course played a crucial role throughout the World Cup playoffs, not missing a single goal kick – most memorably slotting a long distance match winner against England in the semi-finals.

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It was an incredible comeback for Pollard after he had initially missed out on World Cup selection due to an injury, with the veteran subsequently getting a call-up in place of Malcom Marx after his tournament was cut short.

“Just when I’d written my World Cup chances off, I was back in the mix,” he recalled in a superb interview for Rugby Pass.

“The last thing I wanted was for one of my team-mates to get injured, and to lose a player of Malcolm’s quality is never good for the team. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to receive that call…

“Maybe I’ve been lucky, because some players don’t make it back after some of these injuries. I will never take anything for granted. But once it’s happened a few times, you start to trust the process and set your sights on that comeback. It gives you some peace to know you’ve walked that road before.”

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Pollard hails legacy to be proud of

Meanwhile, the Bok pivot hailed the never-say-die spirit of this World Cup winning group.

“I’m not sure that there is another group like this in rugby, that just simply refuses to give up and always finds a way, no matter the challenge,” he continues. “The scoreline in the three World Cup playoffs tells a story, but when you think about the past six years, we’ve been fighting non stop. It’s a legacy that we should be proud of.”

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Crazy celebrations

After winning the World Cup, the Springboks celebrated for days on end, including a blockbuster trophy tour.

“It was a tough week,” Pollard said in another interview, with clear subtext to how the celebrations took a toll. “A real tough week – but enjoyable. The first two, three days were the most enjoyable because it was just us as a team, still at the hotel – from Monday we travelled for a couple of days. It was just us together; once you land in South Africa it’s crazy, chaos, and you don’t really get the time together again.

“There wasn’t a lot of sleep at all. Some guys – I don’t know how they do it to be honest. I thought I was pretty decent at having a good time but I’m terrible at it looking at the standards they set. There were a few guys – Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe didn’t hold back. As soon as somebody gets tired, the next guy jumps in and gets it going again. It was unbelievable.”

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