Graphic: The final reckoning - where the game could be won

It seems odd, but South Africa's two most experienced players in the final tomorrow, earning their 80th and 94th caps, both missed the 2003 World Cup. Os du Randt was fighting his way back from a crippling series of injuries that brought a hiatus to his career, while Percy Montgomery paid the price for a rush of blood while playing club rugby in Wales; a six-month ban for pushing over a touch judge came at the wrong moment.

Few thought that either would represent their country again, let alone play in a World Cup final. That they will be in Paris, bookending the line-up at No1 and No15, is a sign of Jake White's determination to have the best men for the job.

When White was appointed South Africa head coach in 2004 he knew that he had to persuade two exceptional players to pull on the myrtle jersey again. He said that tempting Du Randt back to international rugby was the most important factor behind the Springboks' resurgence. “We needed to make our scrum powerful again and Os has helped us to do that. He is a player the other guys look up to,” he said. Montgomery, meanwhile, has cast aside a reputation for making silly errors and emerged as a reliable points accumulator.

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• Beauty and the Beast

Montgomery and Du Randt could unkindly be referred to as Beauty and the Beast. It is true that Montgomery's blond quiff and chiselled good looks give him the appearance of some Aryan Adonis who has walked off the beach and into the Springboks' changing-room, while Du Randt has the rugged solidity that indicates his second occupation: an Afrikaner cattle farmer. Yet Montgomery is tougher than your average pretty boy and Du Randt, like many props, is a gentle pussycat. Christened Jacobus but taking the Afrikaans nickname meaning a bull, Du Randt, 35, will pack down against England's own Raging Bull, Phil Vickery, tomorrow, each trying to become the second prop, after Dan Crowley, of Australia, to win a World Cup twice. Du Randt was 23 when he played in South Africa's win in the 1995 final.

However, after 39 internationals it looked as if his career was over when, in 2000, he suffered knee injuries. He was out of the sport for three years, tending his 2,000-acre farm near Bloemfontein, when he got a phone call from Rassie Erasmus, the former Springboks flanker who was coaching Free State, asking him if he fancied a game. Little more than a year later he was a Springbok reborn.

Montgomery, 33, is another whose career has had a second lease of life. He made his debut in 1997 against the Lions, playing as a centre and the main goalkicker in the second international of the series. But despite scoring a try, Montgomery was aimless with his kicking and the Lions, outscored three tries to nil, won 18-15.

After such a demoralising debut, Montgomery trod water until, with the retirement of André Joubert, he became the full back. He had little impact in the 1999 World Cup, his only points being two dropped goals in the third-place play-off, and his career appeared to be stalled three years later when he decided on financial grounds to play in Wales for Newport Gwent Dragons. The South African policy at the time was to only pick players based in South Africa.

White's diplomacy brought him back and allowed the flawed hero to accrue a record 861 points. His boot has rarely erred this tournament: unlike Wilkinson, Montgomery has not missed a kick at the Stade de France.

This could be a final hurrah for both South Africa's ageing warriors. Shortly before the World Cup, the Springboks played Namibia in Cape Town, at the end of which Du Randt and Montgomery walked out on to the field with their sons on their shoulders, soaking up a standing ovation. It looked like a valedictory. The reaction will be even greater, and more tear-stained, if they return to Johannesburg with the Webb Ellis Cup.