Handre Pollard has kicked two high pressure penalty kicks in two weeks – both from halfway – to propel the Springboks into the World Cup final on Saturday.

In the quarter-finals, the first goal knocked out France, while in the semi-finals an even more devastating penalty broke England’s heart.

For everyone in the Stade de France, it was a nail-biting watch, but at a certain point, it was simply “fun”.

Pollard said he drew confidence from last week’s kick, but that was always the plan. Get a scrum and a penalty was the only way.

It was a big moment, but it’s what you want as a player on this stage, to have moments like that as a fly-half.”

As Manie Libbok struggled in difficult conditions, the 29-year-old came off the bench to replace him after just 31 minutes.

With his ice-cool attitude, Pollard fired over a 76th-minute penalty to beat Wales in the semi-finals, then kicked 22 points against England in the final.

Due to a calf injury suffered in May while playing for Leicester in the Premiership, he was not selected for the 33-man World Cup squad.

After playing 30 minutes for the Tigers, Pollard was deemed ready to return by the world champions after sustaining a knee injury to hooker Malcolm Marx during the pool stage.

“It’s been an interesting four years since the last World Cup, with many highs and lows,” Pollard said.

Having been injured before the Premiership semi-final with Leicester this year, injuries whilst in France [with Montpellier].

The last few months have also been filled with ups and downs, being rejected then being selected again, but that’s all behind me now.