Boks narrowly edge Wales to set up Rugby World Cup final against England
There was the slightest chill breezing in from nearby Mount Fuji but the Springboks warmed hearts here on Sunday by securing their place in next weekend’s Rugby World Cup (RWC) final against England.
The Boks beat Wales in a nerve jangling semi-final 19-16, to book their place in their third final. They are yet to lose a final.
They however had to do it the hard way in a tense semi-final dominated by high kicks and very little attacking play. The teams were deadlocked at 9-all before Damian de Allende touched down for the Boks in the 57th minute. Handre Pollard added the conversion but Wales scored a converted try in the 65th minute to level matters.
Around the hour mark the Bok conceded another ruck penalty when they were in fact in possession and from the ensuing touch finder the Boks defended stoutly until Wales found a way through off a scrum.
Pollard however showed nerves of steel by slotting the winning penalty four minutes from full time.
Pollard had come into this semi-final with a success rate of 68 off the kicking tee but he came up 100s when it mattered. He coolly slotted the winning kick after Francois Louw secured a turned in an earlier passage of play that crucially got the Boks out of their half.
It was a tactical battle of wills with nothing separating the two teams until first Pollard darted through a gap and from the ensuing ruck the Boks hit left and De Allende should remarkable strength, balance and fortitude to crash over.
Unlike the semi-final that was played here a day before this one was devoid of energy and vibrancy. A game of chess would have had greater aesthetic value and indeed it felt like players were being moved around this field in an overly choreographed way.
When the stakes are high, ambition is low.
This match firmly went according to script, neither side blinking or budging until the third quarter approached. Wales coach Warren Gatland wasn’t the only one who anticipated kick fest. Inside the first minute Pollard sent the ball skyward but Leigh Halfpenny gathered it expertly. Not too long after Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar returned the compliment and again a Welshman gathered it.
Unfortunately for Wales they had lost the aerial skills and sheer physical presence of the strapping Liam Williams and they could build little off the high ball scraps.
Apart from Pollard’s boot, the Boks made inroads upfront. They came into this match with an unblemished record in the line-out at this tournament. Bongi Mbonambi, Malcolm Marx and Schalk Brits had found their designated jumpers 57 times in a row and they didn’t concede any in this match apart from one knock on.
Not that it was an area of concern but the Boks conceded a few penalties under the same referee Jérome Garcès, when they lost their pool match here at the start of the tournament. They won some crucial scrum penalties here and it is a facet of their play from which they can now draw confidence.
The battle for possession on the deck was always going to be scrappy. It almost always becomes a slugfest when these two teams go into battle and the prospect of quick ruck ball is severely limited. It also didn’t help the Boks that when they advanced themselves into positions of promise they lost the ball in contact.
Playing themselves into those positions however took toil and the Boks’ impact was being felt in the collisions.
Duane Vermeulen and Pieter-Steph du Toit were monumental upfront but the entire Bok forward unit deserve kudos.
Faf de Klerk produced another mixed bag, but he was mostly good. De Allende was outstanding, while Willie le Roux’s RWC sleepwalk continues. His confidence is brittle but he remains a player for a big occasion.