Springbok captain Siya Kolisi paid an emotional tribute to head coach Jacques Nienaber, who led the team to a second successive Rugby World Cup title and will be joining Irish giants Leinster in the coming weeks.
Nienaber's involvement with SA Rugby and the Boks dates back more than a decade to 2011 when he joined the national coaching team as a defensive consultant in 2011.
The 51-year-old Nienaber was part of the Bok management at the Rugby World Cup in 2011, worked as a member of SA Rugby's Mobi Unit after that and joined the national coaching team again in 2018, before taking over as head coach in 2020 after the RWC triumph in Japan in 2019.
As Springbok head coach, Nienaber oversaw the series victory over the British & Irish Lions in 2021, with his crowning glory last Saturday when South Africa claimed back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles after a nail-biting final victory over the All Blacks in Paris.
Kolisi, who was named Springbok captain for the first time in 2018 and led South Africa for the 53rd time in the RWC final on Saturday, was full of adulation for Nienaber and the entire management after the match.
"It hasn't been an easy journey - I can't believe what we've achieved today," said Kolisi.
"The coaching staff have been ridiculous. I have worked with Jacques since I was 17 years old. I couldn't tackle. When he and Rassie [Erasmus] used to come to training [at DHL Western Province] it was full contact. You had to show that you could do this.
"Since then, it's just been amazing how he used to motivate us in games. We grew up around him - me and Frans [Malherbe], Steven [Kitshoff] and Pieter-Steph [du Toit].
"As I said last week, he cared about us as people. He would ask, 'Are you going to let your daughter down, your son down?' It became far deeper than just a rugby game.
"Jacques, honestly, it's been a huge honour for me and a huge privilege. To you and your wife and the kids, I appreciate you.
"We love you as a team, not as a coach, but as a person. You've taken it to another level. The way you speak to us - it's not 'make a big hit, make a tackle', you talk to me as a person, as a father, a husband, as a son, it goes such a long way so thank you. We honour you as a team. All the best. They will be lucky to have you wherever you go."