Siya Kolisi spoke beautifully after leading South Africa to retaining the Rugby World Cup in Paris on Saturday night.
The Springboks captain steered his side to a 12-11 victory over New Zealand at the Stade de France, to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time, following the Japan triumph in 2019.
When the inspirational flanker spoke, still on the field and just minutes after a punishing and tense encounter, he did so with a level of composure never before displayed after a Test match.
The Springboks are driven by the higher purpose of trying to inspire and unite their troubled nation, and that kind of narrative and ambition can ultimately lead a team all the way to victory.
They push and pull all the emotional levers to get every last drop of resilience, commitment and energy out of the whole group.
Maybe other teams will start to look at how they generate that narrative. England cannot match that high purpose, but they can look to find a slightly different voice.
Somehow the England team must find a way, they have to find a connection with the rest of the country beyond the rugby heartlands and the committed supporters.
They need a connection to the wider general public that unifies everyone for a common purpose.
England have quality players who are fully committed, but a collective will to win on the level of South Africa, that could be what is required.
Steve Borthwick’s England might have finished third at the World Cup, but no one in the Red Rose camp should allow themselves to believe that they are the third-best team in the world.
No one in the England camp should allow themselves to believe that they are the third-best team in the world
They have a lot of work to do and ground still to make up, and winning more games than they lose should be the minimum objective for next year’s Six Nations.
England are in good shape now with what Borthwick has done, no doubt, and the head coach should have a fair idea of which players he wants to take forward.
There will be a reasonable turnover of players now though, with a nucleus of vastly experienced men retiring from Test rugby or coming very close to that point.
Scrum-half will be a focus, where Jack van Poortvliet and Raffi Quirke can push hard.
Tom Willis, Zach Mercer and Tom Pearson can all stake a claim in the back row – a unit that could need an entire rethink.
Ben Earl has been England’s forward of the tournament, but is hardly likely to feature regularly at No 8 back at Saracens because of Billy Vunipola and Willis.
Certainly England need to work out what they are going to do at inside centre.
England will need more gainline power and carrying ability, while continuing to bolster their set-piece up front.
