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Narrow victories in all three knockout games show Springboks are masters of ending on the right side of small marginsSiya Kolisi is singing the national anthem. But of course, anybody who has ever seen Kolisi belt out the South African national anthem will know that this is a pitiably meagre way of describing it. The head rocks back, the chin jags out, and as his mouth opens you can see every tooth in it, the tongue and the tonsils and the remains of the energy gel he polished off during the warm-up. For South Africa’s captain, this can never simply be a perfunctory discharge of pre-match formalities. It’s an opportunity, a decisive moment, a chance to gain an edge. And when you play rugby for South Africa, you quickly learn that there is no edge too small to be worth the effort.What does this look like in practice? Perhaps you see it in the 76th minute of a bruising and scarified World Cup final, when Jordie Barrett is racing through clean air with two runners outside him, and you, Pieter‑Steph du Toit, you know that if you don’t wrap him up in the next couple of seconds – and properly wrap him up, arms and wriggling hips and all – then New Zealand will probably eat up half the field. Yes, the lungs are screaming. Yes, this is your 26th tackle of the night. But it needs to happen, and it needs to be you, and it needs to be now, and it needs to be perfect. Continue reading...