For South Africa, a country short on good news stories, losing the Rugby World Cup final and letting down 62m people was unthinkable.
Where did South Africa find the edge to overcome New Zealand? Where exactly was the source of that single but decisive point?
It was in the way that a full-pelt Kurt-Lee Arendse, 5ft 9in tall and barely 13 stone, dragged a tryline-bound Rieko Ioane into touch in the first half. Afterwards Kolisi, the Springboks' skipper and spirit incarnate, spoke about distinctive mood music that accompanies his team's matches. "For me not to give my 100 per cent on the field would be cheating all those people and that's what the coaches always remind us of. The motivations for us, we don't have to look far.
After Japan 2019, Rassie Erasmus - then head coach and who remains the mastermind behind their success - said he could not take on a job with another nation because he would not know what to say to them before a final.
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