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The youngsters at Soweto's Jabulani Soccer Grounds for an after-school training session are united in their reply when asked to name their hero: "Habana. He's the man!"
As coloured winger Bryan Habana and his fellow Springboks prepare for the final against England, a sport which was once seen as a "white man's game" is slowly gaining interest among South Africa's black majority.
A dozen years ago, when South Africa won the world cup for the first and so far only time, the idea of rugby being played in the country's largest black township, Soweto, was unheard of.
But since its formation in 1998, the Soweto rugby club has attracted a growing number of players and followers of all ages who are showing they have nothing to fear from their contemporaries in more affluent white suburbs.
Earlier this month, coach Paseka Mavimbela looked on proudly as the club's under-13 team thrashed an all-white team from the northern suburb of Randburg 22-0.
"The sport is growing in the township," Mavimbela said. "Most kids are showing interest and passion and they are making Soweto proud ... One day, they're going to make us proud in the national team."
Along with fellow winger J.P. Pietersen, Habana is one of only two players of colour expected to line up against England on Sunday but the emergence of clubs like Soweto in traditional soccer strongholds offers hope the team will soon become more reflective of the country's demographics.
Some of the boys demonstrated an initial reluctance to tackle their white opponents but their inhibitions have melted away. "I am no longer scared of them," said 12-year-old Sihle Mkhize, who scored four tries in the Randburg encounter. "Actually they are now scared of me."
But Johannes Mhlongo, a coach for the senior team, says the interest has not been matched by outside funding and the club has problems buying kit and equipment that white teams rarely encounter.
- AFP
