12:13 PM GMTMark NicholasFacebookTwitterFacebook MessengerPinterestEmailprintDespite England’s brilliant play against Australia and New Zealand, South African hopes were high. The bywords – strength, both mental and physical; desire; common ground and general pragmatism – had served the country well on the sporting battlefield for as long as anyone could remember. The locals didn’t expect it to be easy but they did expect their boys to be right up for it and a South African sportsman ready to rumble is a force of nature.The score was 32-12 – easy enough – and the rugby World Cup was secured by the Springboks against an England team that had run out of fuel. Since the moment of the final whistle, Siya Kolisi, the first black South African captain, has been celebrated in a manner not seen since Francois Pienaar shared the green jersey with Nelson Mandela 24 years earlier. Back then, the rainbow nation was finding its feet and pretty much anything went. Now, the grown-up Republic is faced with the toxic mix of a struggling economy, political division and social injustice. Therefore, the need for something collective to celebrate, something communal and meaningful, is important. Kolisi’s story is beautiful in its way of…