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Pollard: I've been preparing for this my whole life

Cape Town - Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard is embracing the pressure ahead of Saturday's Rugby World Cup final against England in Yokohama, saying he has been preparing for this moment his entire life. 

The Boks go into the match as slight underdogs while it has been widely accepted that the contest will be incredibly tight with a huge emphasis on kicking - both at goal and out of hand. 

That obviously makes Pollard key to proceedings, and with that will come immense pressure. 

"I love it," he said on Friday.

"That’s why you train, that’s why you put in the hours.

"If you imagine being a little boy in the backyard, thinking to yourself, 'this kick is in the World Cup final’ and all those scenarios. You’ve basically been preparing your whole life for it.

"It’s going to be pressure, it’s going to be tough. But you’ve got to embrace it, you’ve got to enjoy it."

Pollard added that it wasn't just the kickers who would feel the pressure on the day. 

"It’s the whole game where there is going to be pressure," he said.

"The side that embraces it and takes all the energy you can get, and uses it in the right way and sends it in the right direction, that’s the secret to finals rugby.

"I’m very excited and I can’t wait to get going."

Teams:

England

15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola

Substitutes: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Dan Cole, 19 George Kruis, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jonathan Joseph

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira

Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Francois Louw, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn

- Compiled by Lloyd Burnard

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