As the World Cup final looms and yet another Bok Test shapes up, only one mood will do: great disappointment – but only because the magnificent World Cup is almost at an end.

Those days and hours of anticipation, ultimately concluding in outstanding matches, will soon have to be consumed by something else.

No matter that the Boks bombed. The bigger picture reflected a sport in rude health. Standards have been excellent and the public’s appetite for big-game action has been unstinting. Even neutrals have been swept up by the fervour.

Just two games remain, the first featuring the Boks against the Pumas for the hollow bronze (live SS1, 10pm Friday).

It’s a bit like unwrapping your presents on Christmas morning to find a pair of socks while your older brother gets a PlayStation. No-one wants the socks.

But it is what it is and if you search really hard, you’ll find some needle in the game. First, it offers the Boks an opportunity to atone for their shemozzle in Durban a few months ago, when the Pumas humiliated them. Subsequent form suggests Argentina were already on the up, culminating in their semi-final placing in England.

The match will also determine whether South Africa end the year with a winning or losing ratio. The record stands at five wins, five defeats. Another tick in the win column would put some gloss on a largely ordinary year.

Third place would also solidify the Boks’ standing in the world game. They are demonstrably not in the top two – there’s daylight between them and the finalists – but they remain contenders able to put up a rousing fight most days.

So to the final (SS1, 6pm Saturday).

What few have mentioned is how poorly New Zealand played for large chunks of their semi-final against the Boks. The penalty count alone was out of whack and the scrum had a tough time of it. But what the All Blacks have is genius talent that trades in self-belief and composure. They never panic and always believe they will find a way, as they did against South Africa.

Unlike Australia and South Africa, they have perfected the winning habit that makes it extraordinarily difficult for others to break.

The Wallabies have been rejuvenated under Michael Cheika and are playing with greater energy and purpose than they have in years. Their backrow has done wonders, supplemented by a scrum that has been reinvented. Little wonder Adam Ashley-Cooper and his backline cohorts have struck hard and fast.

Were the final in New Zealand, I wouldn’t give them a sniff – we saw what happened in the Rugby Championship this year – but Twickenham will be a leveller. The Wallabies can do what the Boks did, except they play the pressure game far better. They are more accurate and ambitious and will demand far more of the All Blacks in defence than South Africa did.

Ultimately, a glorious, hard-fought final is in store; one that pits many of the world’s best against each other.

It will be brutal, and brilliant.

All Blacks to win.