Temba Bavuma on England versus South Africa at Rugby World Cup: We’ll be supporting the Springboks… I’m sure they’ll be supporting us as well

While the cricket match is a battle of equals - England, if at all, will be the marginal favourites - the Springboks will be favourites against the team they defeated four years ago in the final of the Rugby World Cup

Hours after South Africa and England's cricket teams wrap up their crucial preliminary round encounter in Mumbai, the focus will shift to the highly-anticipated rugby World Cup semifinal in Paris, which will begin half past midnight in India. (PTI/AP)

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Temba Bavuma knows the Proteas won’t be the only team South Africa will rally behind on Saturday. If anything, his team will have to pull off something extraordinary to grab their country’s imagination as one of South Africa’s biggest obsessions, the Springboks, will also be in action in the World Cup – also against England – albeit in a match of more consequence.

Hours after South Africa and England’s cricket teams wrap up their crucial preliminary round encounter in Mumbai, the focus will shift to the highly-anticipated rugby World Cup semifinal in Paris, which will begin half past midnight in India.

“A lot of us love our rugby so we’ll definitely be supporting the Springboks and I’m sure they’ll be supporting us as well,” Bavuma said on Friday. “We play first so I guess the responsibility’s on us to get things going the right way and then obviously we’ll be supporting the guys after the game.”

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While the cricket match is a battle of equals – England, if at all, will be the marginal favourites – the Springboks will be favourites against the team they defeated four years ago in the final.

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And before they took the field, the Boks sent a message of support to Bavuma’s team on Friday.

“They actually sent us a message today in our meeting, I guess you know trying to encourage us with our game so yeah, I think as a fan for South Africa, even for England, you obviously will be glued to your screens. And I guess, again, for us as players, we have that responsibility to put smiles on our countrymen’s faces, and make sure we go out and entertain, and bring back the win,” Bavuma said.