They went through the eye of the needle. South Africa did not deliver its best match of the Rugby World Cup, Saturday October 21 at the Stade de France: roughed up, clumsy and as if washed out by the downpours falling on the Seine-Saint -Denis, the partners of captain Siya Kolisi only dismissed the valiant English at the very end of the match. But in a match resembling the rugby of yesteryear – where the ball spends more time in the air than in the hands of the belligerents – the defending champions ended up winning the showdown by the narrowest of margins (16 -15). Four years after their coronation in Japan, the Springboks will defend their crown in the final, against their biggest rivals, the All Blacks.
“Today was really uglyrecognized the South African captain after the match. But that’s also the stuff of champions. » Being able to prevail even when the elements seem against you. “Before being an ugly match, it’s a victory, and that’s what we’ll remember,” continued Siya Kolisi. Like last week against the French in the quarter-finals, the Vert et Or struggled, fell behind, “but we found a way to get back in the gameenjoyed the future Racing 92 player. Few teams in the world could win like this. » After chasing the mark throughout the game, the Springboks escaped through the boot of their opening half Handré Pollard – replacing at kick-off –, author of a victorious penalty two minutes from the end of the match.
In a crowded Stade de France – and on the heels of the match referee, Ben O’Keeffe, already on the whistle during the Blues’ quarter, and copiously booed by the French spectators as soon as he warmed up – England posed for a long time insoluble problems for the reigning world champions. “They were exceptional tonight. They had a very good tactical plan and really put us under pressure”greeted the South African coach, Jacques Nienaber after the game.
At ease, Steve Borthwick’s men seemed to be in control of the match for a long time, unlike the Springboks who increased the number of handballs throughout the match, chasing the soap that had become the ball – incessant rain obliged. An exercise where the English are not their first attempt: on Friday, the coach in charge of the attack of the Rose, Richard Wigglesworth, revealed that when they expect to play in the rain, the previous week spent training with wet balls, “a logistics guy on the ground with a bucket of water” being responsible for preparing players for “handle a slippery ball rather than a dry ball”.
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