It was a scene like nothing he had ever witnessed before.
When Faf de Klerk landed back in South Africa with the rest of the victorious Springboks squad they were greeted by a sea of green and gold as thousands turned out to hail their success.
No longer were they just rugby players. By beating England in the Rugby World Cup final in Japan, De Klerk and his teammates were now heroes for a new generation of the Rainbow Nation.
The 28-year-old scrum-half has since returned to his adoptive home of Manchester, resuming his talismanic role for Sale Sharks in their bid to climb the Gallagher Premiership Rugby table.
But while several weeks have passed since the Springboks’ famous triumph, the scale of their achievement and the reaction back home is still sinking in for De Klerk.
“I can't really describe it – it was amazing,” he said. “We knew the levels of our support in Japan from South African people and when we got off the plane and got back it was amazing.
“The airport was full of people and when we visited a different part of the country, more people showed up. It felt like everyone in South Africa was there.
“It was amazing to be a part of it and amazing to see what it means to them all.
“As players it's amazing to see the support we've got and hopefully it's done some good for the country and some positive stuff comes from it.
“We were under a lot of pressure two years ago, not performing up to standard, and we wanted to change the perception of the Springboks. It means so much.
“All of the people and children, their faces and to see people crying, people uniting and all types of races coming together, was incredible.
“There were people who didn't have television sets to watch the games, but they found a way and you could see what it meant to them.”
Much has been made about the significance of South Africa being crowned world champions for a third time, with many comparing it to their previous titles in 1995 and 2007.
Their first title saw Francois Pienaar presented with the Webb Ellis Cup by president Nelson Mandela, an iconic image that symbolised a new future following the end of apartheid.
The Springboks then repeated the feat 12 years later in France when John Smit lifted the trophy arm in arm with then president Thabo Mbeki in Paris in 2007, with two black players in the team.
But the image of Siya Kolisi, the first black skipper in the country’s history, raising aloft rugby’s grandest prize felt like a seminal moment that may have outstripped even those previous successes.
That’s certainly the view of De Klerk, who believes the stories of players like Kolisi – a kid from the townships who was born with nothing – can inspire change in the complicated nation.
“A lot of people said it was similar to the 1995 World Cup win but in a sense, it's almost bigger for what it means to people. To be part of that side who has done that is amazing,” he said.
“So many of us came from humble beginnings and to get to this now it shows that it can give a lot of hope to a lot of youngsters, that you can come from poverty and make it.
“To inspire people is the main thing. There's always things to be done back home.
“Hopefully we've got the right people in the right spaces now – be it political, be it the coaches, be it South African rugby in general – we're in a good in spot in terms of the place we're in.
“There's a lot of negativity in South Africa right now and if we can give them some joy, even for just a few weeks, that will be amazing.”
For De Klerk, he must now put his exploits in Japan – and the jubilant celebrations that followed in South Africa – to the back of his mind as he turns his attention to Sale’s current plight.
It’s been a mixed campaign so far for Steve Diamond’s men in both Gallagher Premiership Rugby and Europe, with their Heineken Champions Cup knockout hopes hanging by a thread.
But De Klerk insists there is still plenty more to come from the Sharks in the coming months – and he is confident that winning the English top flight remains a realistic ambition for the club.
“We've got different goals here and different standards we want to get to. We want to be a top four side in all competitions and that's a new goal for me: we want to win the Premiership,” he said.
“I always think you can improve; there's never been a time when you can say anything is perfect.
“One of my goals is to become the perfect player but you'll never reach that goal if your mindset is right, I think. Hopefully I can get even better for the club.
“I've spoken about how Sale handed me a lot more responsibility. The conditions in England are up and down and you need to learn to play in all sorts of conditions.
“Learning to adapt quickly was a massive part of that, I've learned more skills, game-management and things like that, being back in South Africa, I wouldn't have refined those skills so much.
“It's helped me a lot. I need to add to the team because that's why I'm here, and there are new goals for me now. I enjoy playing rugby and if I get the opportunity to play you must take it.”
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