Despite captain Owen Farrell’s spectacular kicking, the Springboks steal the World Cup semi-final victory, sending England to their knees in agony.
More than twenty thousand supporters donning Red Rose shirts sat down in the rainy State of France earlier today.
The team led by Steve Borthwick entered the match as the underdog, with bookmakers offering them as little as 5/1 to defeat the reigning world champions.
The men in red led at halftime, and despite the odds, England’s army of supporters was optimistic, with former England fly-half Paul Grayson calling it a “dream start.”
In an incredible first half, Farrell scored four penalties and a drop goal; but, the Springboks pulled off a fantastic comeback in the second half, winning in the closing minutes.
The Springboks were behind the entire semifinal match against England until Handre Pollard, the replacement flyhalf, scored a spectacular penalty kick from close to halfway in the 78th minute to put them ahead.
From that point on, following their one-point victory over host France in the quarterfinals, the Boks held on and finished off a second thrilling comeback match.
After the final whistle, there was a confrontation between South Africa’s Willie Le Roux and Farrell, which escalated the already high tensions in the game.
Many of his team’s greatest moments featured Farrell, and even though the captain received the typical jeers when his name was spoken over the PA system prior to the game, he responded by taking the lead with a penalty.
Ben Earl’s explosive run off the base of the scrum, the breakdown and line-out victories were further early victories before Farrell’s second penalty kick sealed a promising drive downfield.
England gave up a penalty on the third of three consecutive South African line-out efforts that they turned over, relieving pressure on their line.
England was winning every facet of the battle, but they were also their own worst enemies as they gave up three unnecessary penalties, one of which was for a furious moment from Farrell that let Manie Libbok score three points.
With his eyes bulging, Farrell was playing dangerously and needed to be helped away from referee Ben O’Keeffe.
However, he collected himself and restored the six-point advantage.
When Pollard replaced Libbok in the 32nd minute, South Africa’s problems were attributed on him, as it was thought that the winner of the 2019 World Cup would have more influence.
After Pollard’s first action, which was to boot a penalty, there was a noticeable increase in tension as both teams continued to make mistakes.
However, when Farrell scored for the fourth time, England took a well-earned 12-point lead into halftime.
In the 69th minute, replacement lock RG Snyman’s try ignited South Africa’s comeback.
They trailed by two points at 15–13 after the conversion.
With two minutes remaining, world champions were still two points behind, but man of the match Pollard struck again, this time from just inside England’s half for a penalty.
Novice Leicester shut-out With his brutal tackling, George Martin had led the red rose resistance, and with the rain still coming down, there was no chance that the game would open up.
South Africa, with Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux already on the pitch, took off scrum-half Cobus Reinach and full-back Damian Willemse next, with Eben Etzebeth trailing them into the dugout.
The adjustments reflected England’s dominance, and Farrell scored a spectacular drop goal just as the Springboks seemed to be battling for a spot.
Kurt-Lee Arendse was fumbling after a clever crossfield grubber, but South Africa were starting to rack up penalties at the scrum, and England’s skipper was scoring points with every play.
At the end, when the Springboks celebrated, head coach Jacques Nienaber, who is leaving after the World Cup and may have felt his tenure was ended, buried his face in a desk in the coaches box and covered it with his hands.
Anticipating the game, optimistic supporters talked about their forecasts.”It’s not impossible for us to accomplish,” stated 43-year-old Tony Brett of Bath.
“This will be an amazing game, no matter what happens.”
Mr. Brett was among the hordes of British supporters who travelled to the French capital in anticipation of the Saturday night match.
Although we may be the underdogs, England can definitely win, stated 43-year-old Bath resident Simon Goss.
Toby and Nick Walter, a father and son from Sevenoaks, Kent, who are 19 and 51 years old, respectively, thought England had a chance.
“I predict England to win by three points,” Mr. Walter, donning a British & Irish Lions uniform, stated.
He declared, ‘We’re England first and Lions second.’
We’ll be wearing our white England kit at the game.
In Sheffield, 52-year-old Richard and 25-year-old Ben Summers were among the father and son who watched the New Zealand team defeat Argentina on Friday night in preparation for the England match.
“Yes, we can succeed if every player plays to the best of their abilities and South Africa makes a few errors,” Mr. Summer senior stated.
We keep up with England, Sheffield, and Knottingley rugby clubs, so we are aware of the unexpected nature of the sport.
Whatever transpires, this should be an amazing evening.
Swing Low was being sung at the pubs by supporters who arrived on the Eurostar.
Thirty-year-old Chloe Wells predicts that England will defeat the Springboks and win the World Cup.
After having red flowers painted on her nails, Ms. Wells from Surrey exclaimed, “Of course we’re going to do it.”
We intend to proceed until the end.
Josh Ervin, 31, Augusto Burtolome, 28, and George Jones, 28, her friends, accompanied her on the trip.
“We’re hoping for the best, but we’re expecting the worst,” Mr. Ervin stated.
Everything is being crossed-checked.
From the beginning of the tournament, Warwick residents David Jackson,59, and Chris Allen,55, of Buxton, have been following England.
“I just bought tickets for the final, and I think we’re going to do it tonight,” stated Mr. Allen.
France has humiliated South Africa; if we show up, we have a genuine chance.
“This is the same team that beat New Zealand in the semi-final at the last tournament, I think we can be confident,” Mr. Jackson, who paid £400 for his tickets, added.
Twickenham residents Mike Parker, 62, and Kevin Watt, 59, of Barnett, received samurai Hats created in England for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Mr. Watt declared: “The biggest deception on French soil since the D Day landings has been England reaching the semi-finals.”
From the beginning, we have remained under the radar.
We didn’t think they would go past the group stages, and now we are just one march away from the championship.
“If we win this, Steve Borthwick needs to be knighted,” Mr. Parker stated.
He is really intelligent.
We’re in with a shout, and I think it’s going to be an amazing night.
Tyran Saayman, 38, of Oxford, South Africa, and 39-year-old Aylesbury resident Adam Dodkins travelled over.
Tyran exudes more confidence than I do, but I think we can pull this off, Mr. Dodkins stated.
We must kick everything and limit the game to ten men.
“I won’t let him forget it if we win this.”
Since 2007, Mr. Dodkins and his father attended every World Cup game together until the latter’s untimely death from COVID two years ago.”
As soon as I saw it was South Africa England,” Mr. Saayman stated.
We are heading, I said.
Though it’s amazing to be here, I believe England’s run in the tournament will come to an end tonight.
52-year-old Bristolian Gavin Howard travelled over on the Eurostar with his 18-year-old daughter Holly for the game.
“I think if we keep it a tight game we might have a chance, but we’ll have to get lucky,” Ms. Howard stated.
In September of last year, the Howars purchased their tickets.
“I’m quite surprised we’ve made it this far,” Mr. Howard remarked.
We probably won’t go very far, but I hope I’m mistaken.
The match takes place on the anniversary of two significant British military triumphs, which supporters hope will inspire confidence in England.
At the Battle of Trafalgar, on October 21, 1805, British military hero Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson led the Royal Navy to one of its most well-known triumphs.
When Lord Nelson’s 27-ship fleet faced and beat the 33-ship combined French-Spanish armada, they were outnumbered.
English soldiers from the Devonshire and Manchester regiments were among those who prevailed in the Battle of Elandslaagte in South Africa precisely ninety-four years later, in 1899.
During the Second Boer War, South African forces led by General Johannes Kock were soundly defeated in the town of Elandslaagte, north of Ladysmith.
Once again, an incredible display from England’s warriors was necessary to have any chance of defeating South Africa, the reigning Rugby World Cup champions.
A massive security effort was put in place to keep the fans safe when they came by car, rail and aeroplane.
After a self-described ISIS terrorist killed a school teacher in Arras, north of Paris, a week ago, and after many bomb alerts, France is currently on maximum terror alert.
Due to erroneous alerts, the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre Museum, and the Eiffel Tower have all been closed at different points during the last week.
François Hollande, the French president at the time, was present at an international football match between France and Germany in 2015 when three ISIS suicide bombers targeted the Stade de France.
The most recent worries coincide with rising global tensions brought on by the Middle East’s Israel-Hamas conflict.
England’s World Cup match against South Africa is scheduled for today as well.
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