LAHORE, Oct 19: South Africa may be in the middle of a Pakistan tour but the players will have more than cricket on their mind this weekend. After winning the Test series 1-0 and taking an early lead in the one-dayers, Graeme Smith and his men are eagerly anticipating Saturday’s rugby

World Cup final in Paris and expect the Springboks to overcome England to lift a second title.

“They (Springboks) can count on more fans backing them in Pakistan than they ever had before,” Smith told reporters on Friday.

“Hopefully we can also win on Saturday and support them,” he said ahead of the second One-day International against Pakistan in Lahore.

The touring side are all big rugby fans and batsmen Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers played against some of the Springboks at school before opting for cricket.

“It is unbelievable what they have already done for the country and if they can pull it off on Saturday, it would be fantastic,” Smith said.

“The disappointing thing is we can’t be in France to support them. I think a lot of us feel we should be catching a flight there to scream them on from the stands.”

Gibbs said the Springboks had enough pace and talent out wide to win the tournament.

“The forward battle is going to be tough, but the South Africans should have enough to win the cup,” he said, who lined up against fullback Percy Montgomery at school.

It will be after midnight in Pakistan when the final kicks off in Paris but Smith said his players would all be gathered around TV to cheer on the team.—Reuters