Pollard boots Boks into the GRAND FINAL
MATCH REPORT: South Africa booked a spot in the World Cup 2023 final with a hard-fought 16-15 win over England at Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
It took a Handre Pollard penalty in the 77th minute to steer the Boks to victory.
Label a grudge match, the semifinal match between England and South Africa was nothing short of intense.
*To recap all the action: CLICK HERE!!!
The Springboks were eager to defend their title while England were determined to avenge their 2019 World Cup Final defeat.
It was a very nervy start for the Springboks, struggling under the highball, while the line-outs were also a big problem.
The Springboks trailed from the fifth minute when Owen Farrell landed the first of his four penalties but a late surge from the defending champions, which included a try from RG Snyman as well as Pollard’s enormous match-winning kick.
The victory saw the Boks into a fourth final where they will meet their old rivals New Zealand.
With England leading 15-6 after dominating and controlling play for the first 70 minutes of the game, South Africa grabbed a lifeline with Snyman’s try.
After kicking a penalty to the corner, replacement Deon Fourie collected the line-out ball before Snyman powered through three England tacklers and crashed over for the try.
Pollard, who had been brought on after just 30 minutes for a misfiring Manie Libbok, made no mistake to reduce the gap to just two points with 10 minutes to play.
Three minutes from time, England were penalised by New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe, who also whistled the Boks’ win last week over France, for collapsing the scrum.
From just in front of halfway Pollard coolly fired the ball between the posts to put the Boks in front for the first time.
Victory takes the holders through to their fourth final where either they or the All Blacks will become the first team to notch up four World Cup wins.
In a repeat of the 2019 final, England appeared to have turned the tables on the Boks with a superb performance in the wet and windy conditions.
England began brightly with Farrell getting his first chance off the tee after just two minutes when lock Franco Mostert was called for preventing the ball coming out of the ruck. From 35 metres Farrell made no mistake.
Eight minutes later, Farrell was again on target, this time after Bok captain Siya Kolisi was penalised in the ruck.
Leading into the game, South African coach Jacques Nienaber had talked about England’s ability to ‘strangle’ teams and that is precisely what they were trying to do here, the high kicks putting South Africa on to the back foot and the quick follow-up ‘offensive’ defence forcing Springbok errors and turnovers.
The Boks finally got on the board from 40 metres through Libbok but his game, more suited to a dry, flat deck, was off key and he was replaced by Pollard.
The 2019 World Cup winner nailed the first penalty chance he had but two up the other end from Farrell meant England turned around with a 12-6 advantage.
South Africa returned to the field for the second half two minutes before the English and 90 seconds later brought on Faf de Klerk for Cobus Reinach, restoring the halfback partnership that won the Webb Ellis Cup in 2019.
Willie Le Roux, another veteran replacement, came close to scoring the first try 11 minutes into the second half. Cheslin Kolbe on the left wing collected a neat cross-kick from Pollard before chipping the ball through for Le Roux to chase. His boot was a touch too heavy, however, and the ball rolled through the deadball line.
Almost immediately, Farrell slapped them hard with a stunning 48-metre drop goal to stretch the England lead to 15-6. But the South Africans are known for never giving up a lost cause and so Pollard proved.
Man of the match: England’s flyhalf and captain Owen Farrell deserve a mention for his performance. The flyhalf kicked all his team’s points and his drop goal could’ve been the highlight. Springboks loose forward Deon Fourie was also impressive when he was introduced, setting up the Springboks’ only try. However our nod goes to Handre Pollard for his long-range penalty which handed the Boks the win.
The scorers:
For England:
Pens: Farrell 4
Drop Goal: Farrell
For South Africa:
Try: Snyman
Con: Pollard
Pens: Libbok, Pollard
Teams
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Jonny May, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell (captain), 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence.
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
*Additional source: AFP
