BONUS – RUSTENBURG – Do you believe in time travel?
I do now.
I have aged 20 years in less than three hours on Saturday evening.
During Saturday’s Rugby World Cup semifinal, the English ruled the roost for more than 70 minutes, the wet weather fitting them like a glove.
But then Deon Fourie was the match to spark a little fire, sending RG Snyman over the score line for a Bok try. Even with Handré Pollard adding the two extra points, SA where still behind with two points.
And that darn clock kept ticking.
Literally with no more than two minutes left, the Springboks was given a penalty and Pollard torpedoed a kick from 50m out to give the reigning champions a one point win over England at the State de France in Paris. The result now sets up a mouth-watering final between the Springboks and the All Blacks next Saturday to see who will be crowned winners of Rugby World Cup 2023.
This will be the third meeting between the Springboks and New Zealand this year.
In an interview on Sunday, Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids said that it would be a mistake to look back at their last result against the All Blacks at Twickenham in August. The Springboks had a comprehensive 35-7 victory that time.
Davids added that he expected a battle of epic proportions this coming weekend.
“Both teams would have learned lessons from our previous games, and the New Zealanders are playing much better rugby than the last match we played against them.
“If you look at the past, you’ll fool yourself. So, the focus for us will be on what we need to do in order to be the best we can.”
He said that both New Zealand and the Springboks have strengths in the way they play the game, and both squads bring something similar in experience. “And both bring an X-factor,” said Davids. “This match will come down to playing in the right areas and the team that uses their opportunities the best will probably come out on top.”
The match Saturday night will kick off at 21:00. The English referee, Wayne Barnes will be in charge of the match.
France and England will meet each other the previous evening, also at 21:00 to determine the third and fourth spots.
