Springboks celebrate their Rugby World Cup win

It was a special moment, seeing Siya Kolisi and South Africa lift the Webb Ellis trophy. Their 32-12 victory over England was a stunning demonstration of set-piece power and bullying defence, but also cunning – it was not as obstinate or predictable a display from the Springboks as we had been told to expect and for the first time ever South Africa scored a try (two in fact) in a World Cup final. It was poignant to see what the win meant, after.

Related: Springboks win Rugby World Cup powered by hope of a nation

But with any rugby team, the serious stuff was mixed in with the fun, joking and drinking and there was even dancing, dignitaries and royalty thrown into the mix.

Just look at the joy. It can be infectious.

Hooker Bongi Mbonambi said immediately after the game that: “We can’t wait to get home to see our loved ones. We knew that this final means a lot to the country, and to us personally. You could see what 1995 and 2007 did, what kind of impact it had on the country.

Great day: South African president Cyril Ramaphosa was there (Getty Images)

“So, we hope we will have the same impact with this trophy. We can’t wait. We are so excited to bring the trophy home. We are representing the whole nation that needs hope, and we really pray they get hope from this.”

Duane Vermeulen echoed Mbonambi’s sentiments, saying: “We were doing it for each other, but we’re also doing it for 57 million people back home in South Africa.

“We wanted to be consistent as a team and try to achieve something and, in a way, trying to create hope in the end, so hopefully we achieved that goal tonight.”

There was also a lot of love for skipper Kolisi afterwards.

Related: Siya Kolisi’s journey from township to Test star

Prop Steven Kitshoff told the press: “He’s an incredible captain. You see that from playing junior levels back in the Stormers and the way he’s grown as a player.

“He leads by example. He doesn’t hold anything back. He gets his team to follow him and put in the effort every week. He knows how to take control of every situation.”

And there were some brilliant moments for families and loved ones.

Embrace: Damian de Allende of South Africa with his partner (Gallo Images)

Fans and compatriots around the world also made their feelings clear.

And we got a royal visit too!

Royal visit: Tendai Mtawarira with Prince Harry of England (Getty Images)

The team sounded their appreciation and looked to the future…

But after that it was all about celebrating together!

Bit of fizz: Frans Steyne gets doused (Getty Images)

Lock stock: Franco Mostert, Lood de Jager, RG Snyman and Eben Etzebeth (Getty Images)

Time to slow down: Lethal try-scorer Makazole Mapimpi (Getty Images)

Snatch a shot: Cheslin Kolbe takes a candid photo (Getty Images)

There will be some sore heads today!

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