South Africa can turn to a talismanic bulwark for inspiration tomorrow as they strive to end a miserable run against world champions England.
Os du Randt, the 32-year-old powerhouse prop brought back from retirement, will lead the young Springbok side out at Twickenham to mark his 50th cap a decade after his first.
Widely considered the greatest loosehead prop South Africa has produced Os, the Afrikaans word for Ox, would appear to have all the credentials to help the Springboks to their first win at Twickenham since 1997 and a first over England anywhere in six tests.
The only World Cup winner in the South African line-up, Du Randt has never lost to England, a fact which will hearten the more superstitious among the young Boks.
South Africa coach Jake White is not superstitious but he knew du Randt could play a key part in his plans despite his retirement in 2000 with a knee injury.
Back then, Du Randt was frustrated by injury and disillusioned with rugby. He took his money and bought a 420 hectare beef farm in Dheunissen about 100 kms outside Bloemfontein.
Thankfully for White and his Springbok team, the exile was only temporary.
The pull of rugby resulted in a tentative comeback in 2002 which gathered momentum with a full season for Free State in 2003 and a return to Super 12 this year.
Coach's role
"I went out to see him on his farm, had a long chat with him and said if you show me you want to play for South Africa then I know what you can do and there's no reason why you can't play again," White told reporters on Wednesday.
"I told him to use the Super 12 to get himself fit and he did that. He lost about 10 kgs. He was probably 130 kgs then."
Having slimmed down, Du Randt rediscovered his exceptional mobility for a man his size and his tough tackling and scrummaging experience have helped restore the authority of Springbok packs.
He certainly has a fan in White.
"I'm happy that he's got to 50 Test matches," the coach said. "He's only 32 and if he'd played all the way through and not been injured he'd probably have played 100. "I think he was going through the motions, just playing Super-12.
People forget that he got dropped in 1999, he always wanted to have a chance to play again so he could go out on his own terms instead of being discarded.
"He'll stay with us for maybe a year or two but then we can use him as a mentor for the next loosehead prop."
His return has provided badly-needed stability in the pack at a time of unprecedented upheaval in South African rugby.
