Morné van den Berg says he doubted whether he’d even be part of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series after a long injury layoff.
But the Lions scrumhalf put in another assured performance in the Boks’ 43-28 win over the All Blacks in Baltimore and was named Man of the Match.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Van den Berg, who only returned to action in August after recovering from a bicep injury that required surgery and kept him sidelined for three months.
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Given that setback, the 28-year-old admitted it had looked unlikely that he would even be able to play in the series.
“It’s so emotional,” he told SuperSport after the match.
“I just want to thank the Lord. It looked impossible that I could play in this series but His miracle hand touched me and it’s been such a massive honour to play for this team, for this jersey, for our country and for my family back home. So proud of the boys that we could pull it through and it’s all glory to the Lord.”
Van den Berg’s performance was made even more memorable by scoring his first try against the All Blacks, something he described as a childhood dream come true.
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“It’s special. It’s always good to score tries but it’s a bit more special to score in this game,” he said.
“It’s been a dream come true. You dream of this as a young boy playing in the garden, scoring tries in the corner of the garden and then to be able to do it on this field in America, in Baltimore, in front of this amazing crowd – I’m speechless.”
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
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