The Springboks arrived at their Rugby World Cup base in Toulon in the south of France on Sunday morning in high spirits after a ten-and-a-half-hour ferry overnight trip from Corsica. Cheslin Kolbe was delighted to be in Toulon, a place he admitted was particularly special for him after becoming one of the stars of the club in the recent past.
“It was unreal approaching Toulon by ferry,” said Kolbe.
“I’m happy to be back here. It’s a special place. I was here for two years, and I made unbelievable memories in that time, so it’s good to be back here with the Boks.”
Kolbe admitted that while there were big expectations of the team, the players were focused simply on what they had to do on the field.
“There’s a lot of excitement in the group,” said Kolbe. “There will always be expectations from the public. But we won four years ago and if we want to replicate that, it will take a lot of hard work, commitment and sacrifices from each one of us. There is pressure of course, but we see it as positive pressure.
“For us, we just have to prepare as well as we can and buy into the plan, and ensure we follow through with that from the first game.”
