For South Africa hooker Bismarck du Plessis facing champions New Zealand in a World Cup semi-final will be a new chance to make good on a childhood dream.
Saturday’s match at Twickenham promises to be another gripping encounter between two of rugby union’s fiercest rivals and it did not take du Plessis long to realise the importance of the fixture while growing up on the family farm in Bethlehem in South Africa’s Orange Free State.
“When you’re young you wake up at four o’clock in the morning in a freezing cold Bethlehem to watch the Springboks play the All Blacks and ever since those days it’s been a dream of mine to play against them,” said du Plessis.
“This weekend I get another opportunity to play against them and that we as a team can showcase our talent against them,” added the 31-year-old.
“To be able to face New Zealand at this stage of the competition is a huge privilege and we have a massive task ahead of us.
“For us as forwards, the set pieces will be of cardinal importance and we have to lay a platform to ensure we can play in the right areas on the field,” explained du Plessis, capped 77 times.
South Africa like New Zealand and fellow semi-finalists Australia are bidding to become the first side to win the World Cup three times. But they suffered the biggest shock in World Cup history when beaten 34-32 by Japan in their opening match of this tournament.
“We’ve been in the knockout phase from the get-go after our defeat to Japan,” said du Plessis. “We’ve had that mindset all the way and we must take that mindset in with us again this week — we only have one chance.”