SOUTH AFRICA WIN RUGBY WORLD CUP: Heartbreak for England as Handre Pollard’s kicking masterclass and late tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe earn 32-12 victory for Springboks
- South Africa have won the 2019 Rugby World Cup after beating England in a bruising final in Yokohama
- Handre Pollard delivered a kicking masterclass for Springboks, scoring six penalties and two conversions
- England’s Owen Farrell was also impressive from the tee, scoring all of his side’s points with four penalties
- South Africa struck a fatal blow to England when Makazole Mapimpi finished off a sensational attack with a try
- Things went from bad to worse for Eddie Jones and his team when Cheslin Kolbe scored another late on
Cancel the victory parade. Cancel the endorsements. Cancel the party. England were battered in the Rugby World Cup final as Springbok captain Siya Kolisi lifted the Webb Ellis Cup.
South Africa’s name was already being etched onto the trophy with three minutes left to play, but in reality the engraver could have started the job even earlier.
England were strangled and suffocated in Yokohama.
England suffered heartbreak in the Rugby World Cup final as they were beaten by South Africa in a brutal contest in Japan
South African captain Siya Kolisi lifts the Web Ellis Cup aloft as Springbok players go wild after becoming world champions
South Africa players spray champagne other each other with their celebrations now expected to go long into the night
South Africa’s Makazole Mapimpi touched down to complete a sensational attack and put his side on the brink of victory
Cheslin Kolbe then danced through England’s defence to ensure South Africa won their first World Cup title for 12 years
Handre Pollard was in sensational form off the tee, scoring six penalties to keep his side in the lead throughout the contest
England suffered heartbreak in a Rugby World Cup final once again after losing to South Africa back in France in 2007 as well
England coach Eddie Jones watches South Africa lift the trophy after losing his second Rugby World Cup final as a coach
England: Daly; Watson, Tuilagi, Farrell, May (Joseph), Ford (Slade), Youngs (Spencer); M Vunipola (Marler), George (Cowan-Dickie), Sinckler (Cole), Itoje, Lawes (Kruis), Curry, Underhill (Wilson), B Vunipola.
Tries: None
Conversions: None
Penalties: Farrell (x4)
South Africa: Le Roux (Steyn); Kolbe, Am, De Allende, Mapimpi; Pollard, De Klerk (Jantjies); Mtawarira (Kitshoff), Mbonambi (Marx), Malherbe (Koch), Etzebeth (Snyman), De Jager (Mostert), Kolisi (Louw), Du Toit, Vermeulen.
Tries: Mapimpi, Kolbe
Conversions: Pollard (x2)
Penalties: Pollard (x6)
They knew South Africa’s power game was coming but they could not stop it. They were dominated at the scrum and battered in the contact area. Their white shirts were stained with blood as their fairy-tale run in Japan came to a painful end.
Perhaps Warren Gatland was right after all. England played their best game against the All Blacks in the semi-final and here they were unable to rediscover the magic touch.
Side by side, Owen Farrell and Kolisi led out their teams before kick off. Two captains, two entirely different backgrounds. Farrell, the son of globe-trotting rugby league great Andy, has always been rugby royalty. Kolisi grew up in a township. He watched his grandmother die and his favourite toy as a child was a brick.
Here, his father had left South Africa for the first time in his life to watch his son beat the world. One day, by which time some of the English heartbreak will have eased, it could be turned into a movie.
Many of South Africa’s team grew up surrounded by tragedy, and they tapped into the country’s psyche of violence on the pitch. Physicality and pain is the name of the game and prop Kyle Sinckler was on the end of that inside three minutes.
Both teams stood to sing their respective national anthems before the action got underway on Saturday in Yokohama
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, flew into Japan specifically for the final and was exchanging pleasantries beforehand
South Africa’s fly-half Handre Pollard missed the first penalty of the game, pushing his effort from distance right of the posts
Things didn’t go to plan for Eddie Jones early on as prop Kyle Sinckler appeared to be knocked out after a head collision
Sinckler received treatment from a number of medics on the sideline but wasn’t cleared to return to the pitch
Manu Tuilagi tried to break through the rigid South African defence as England struggled to get on the front foot early on
After Handre Pollard missed an early penalty, Sinckler went in with Maro Itoje to tackle Makazole Mapimpi. The prop was knocked out cold. His armed locked into position – the medical term is ‘fencing’ – as a motor response to force to the brain stem.
Dan Cole replaced him in the third minute and his first job was a scrum. Not for the first time, England were shunted back. Outgunned and out muscled at the set piece. A painful sight for English eyes
If last week’s semi-final against the All Blacks was a start from the Gods, this was the start from hell. It was not helped by the fact that England were 15 minutes late to the stadium.
Willie Le Roux ghosted outside George Ford, before England dropped the ball trying to run from their dead-ball area. Pollard beat Ford in the air, before Billy Vunipola’s pass hit the deck and Owen Farrell conceded a penalty. Error after error, before Pollard kicked his side ahead.
Jones issues some instructions through his microphone as he watches on from the stands at the Yokohama Stadium
England forward Maro Itoje launches himself towards Faf de Klerk’s kick at the back of the ruck but couldn’t block it
England struggled to put their stamp on the game but finally put together an attack that ended with Farrell kicking a penalty
The Red Roses weren’t level for long though as Pollard struck another penalty just minutes later to restore South Africa’s lead
South Africa’s Lood De Jager suffered a nasty injury to his left shoulder and had to come off midway through the first half
Maro Itoje stretches for a line-out but the Saracens man couldn’t quite reach the ball as England continued to struggle
On Friday night, Farrell addressed his team at the hotel. One of his constant messages is about doing the basics to perfection. That message went out of the window. At the first attacking lineout, Farrell joined the forwards in the lineout, before Ben Youngs was spooked and threw a pass straight into touch.
The set piece fell to pieces. Eben Etzebeth stole lineouts, while Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira utterly was dominant at the scrum. ‘There’s three necks on the floor… it’s health and safety,’ Mako Vunipola told the referee at a scrum. No one was safe.
Whenever England tried to attack, they ran into a wall that seemed to be built out of South African steel. They banged on the Springbok door but could not break through.
They tried to match the Boks for physicality – as Mbongeni Mbonambi was knocked out and Lood de Jager sent walking from the pitch with his left arm hanging out the socket resembling a Halloween character. England won the odd penalty but they failed to score a single try.
Winger Jonny May very rarely had the ball in hand during the first half but the winger looked his menacing best when he did
England were struggling at the scrum and another penalty just after half-time allowed South Africa to make it 15-6
Joe Marler came on and briefly halted the momentum, helping England win two penalties of which they could only take one
The kicking duel continued between Pollard and Farrell, exchanging penalties again to make it 18-12 with 20 minutes to play
Mapimpi kicked the ball down the wing before exchanging passes with a team-mate and sprinting across the line for the try
It was South Africa’s first-ever try in a Rugby World Cup final and gave them an unassailable lead England could not recover
The errors continued. A kick off slipped through the fingers of Maro Ioje, Ford kicked straight into touch and England were imploding. At least, after 34 minutes, they strung together 26 phases in the red zone, but bodies were thrown backwards. Even Vunipola was dumped onto his backside.
Daly failed to field two kicks and Pollard added two more penalties to the scoreboard before half time. England sent on reinforcements. They had no choice. But so did the Boks. George Kruis came on to help out the lineout and, after another Pollard penalty, Joe Marler came on to shore up the scrum. Ben Youngs rallied up the players before, out of nowhere, Marler won England’s first scrum penalty of the match.
Throughout sporting history, England have always made hard work of finals. In 1966, Geoff Hurst scored the winning goals in extra time. In 2003, Jonny Wilkinson kicked his drop goal in extra time. Earlier in 2019, it took a Super Over for Jason Roy to finally run out New Zealand.
As England tried to make some sort of recovery Kolbe picked the ball up and ran through their defence to score another try
The winger roars in delight after securing his country’s third Rugby World Cup title and first since beating England in 2007
There was pure delight among the South Africa players after they were confirmed as winners of their third World Cup title
Former New Zealand captain Richie McCaw holds the Webb Ellis Cup as he prepares to hand it over to the South Africans
England players look miserable as they collect their runners up medals from World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont (R)
Kolisi beams with delight as he lifts the trophy with his team-mates in the centre of the pitch as England watch on
Momentarily, England found some of that life, before the door was slammed back in their face.
Pollard and Farrell continued to exchange kicks but, after 67 minutes, South Africa scored the try they had been threatening for so long.
After Faf De Klerk spotted space down the blindside, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi linked up with slick chips and offloads to score down the left wing.
Nothing was sticking for England. Anthony Watson fumbled the ball in attack. Then Henry Slade knocked on running out of his own 22 and Cheslin Kolbe – South Africa’s very own Jason Robinson – sent a troubled nation into raptures with the try that sealed the World Cup.
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article