RECAP: England v South Africa
READERS’ FORUM: Welcome to the World Cup Final between England and South Africa in Yokohama.
This is it – the ninth Final and perhaps the greatest of them all.
The interest in the match is enormous and not just in South Africa and England – where it has handed off Brexit and an election in grabbing the nation’s interest.
What has gone before in Japan has been so special that it makes this a special final – a glorious climax to a glorious tournament.
Prediction: Head versus Heart, a contest that is seldom a draw! But in this case, we are going to give head a chance and fancy that the England backs will use opportunities to set their strong wings running in space and win by 10 points or more.
* To read our full preview, CLICK HERE!
* Don’t miss this week’s podcast …
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Teams
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Dan Cole, 19 George Kruis, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jonathan Joseph.
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Rudolph Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Francois Louw, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
