- 09 Dec 2013
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All Blacks fans at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Springbok Sevens star Werner Kok says the Blitzboks weren't concerned by the New Zealand supporters' taunting and spitting on Sunday.
The South African players were subjected to this during their lap of honour following their 17-14 win over New Zealand in the Cup final.
‘It didn’t really influence us. We were focused on the win and enjoying the parade,’ Kok told SARugbymag.co.za. ‘We just continued to thank the fans for coming and moved on from it.’
The Blitzboks beat some tough opposition in Paul Treu’s Kenyan outfit and Argentina, before fighting back from 14-0 down to win the Cup final against New Zealand.
‘We stuck together throughout the tournament, and we had confidence in ourselves,' said Kok. ‘Even if there was an injury, we always knew that there was another great player backing them up, so we just played for each other and it helped us in the end. [Captain] Kyle [Brown] told us to just enjoy ourselves and that’s what we tried to focus on.’
Kok said the events of the week surrounding Nelson Mandela’s passing had 'a huge impact' on the team’s performance.
‘We all wanted to play for his honour and do him proud, and it gave us a lot to play for. He was a great leader and we just wanted to follow in his footsteps and play well in his name.’
The 20-year-old has scored some great confidence-boosting tries with the Springbok Sevens.
‘It’s an amazing feeling to score. You tend to underestimate yourself, but you only really know what you’re capable of when you play against the best.’
By Jeremy Proome
