The Gare du Nord was awash with Red Rose jerseys, home counties accents and hard-headed pessimism throughout Friday, as England fans arrived in their droves for the Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa. Around 20,000 of them will be at Saturday evening’s match in Paris, but they come more in hope than expectation. They know that form, recent history and the bookmakers’ odds all point to the same painful outcome: the world champion Springboks winning, and winning well.
Robin Randall, an England fan who runs an electrical contracting company in Nottingham, perhaps summed it up best. “I don’t think England have much of a chance,” he told the Guardian. “It’s just one game, so I suppose anything can happen. But our team is struggling to find its identity, our coach is inexperienced, and we are facing many of the same players that thrashed us 32-12 in the World Cup final four years ago.”
It is hard to argue. So far England’s performances under their coach, Steve Borthwick, have been largely lumpen and uninspiring, with many fans unhappy with his emphasis on a kicking gameplan and reliance on Owen Farrell, the fly-half and captain. Yet the peculiarities of the draw have allowed a side that were well beaten by Ireland, France and Scotland in this year’s Six Nations to sneak into the last four almost by stealth, having avoided any of the world’s best teams.
That, though, will certainly change on Saturday. South Africa are the odds-on favourites for the tournament for a reason, having squeezed past the hosts, France, in the quarter-finals in a match widely regarded as one of the greatest in the tournament’s 36-year history. And in Siya Kolisi, his country’s first black rugby captain, they also have an inspirational figurehead who has helped unite all parts of South Africa behind the team.
That has been evident in “Bok Friday” – a nationwide initiative to get every schoolkid to dress up in green to support the national team during the Rugby World Cup – that has proved wildly successful. “The mood back home has been incredible,” Donna Cocks, a housing executive from Durban, said. “You see Bok Friday being taken up everywhere, in townships and rural areas, in offices and in schools, and it has been impossible to get a replica jersey now for weeks. England are not just taking on a team but a nation.”
Her husband, Paul, noted that 15 of the 23-strong South Africa match-day squad that would be facing England were also in the 2019 World Cup final squad, and their appetite for success had shown no sign of abating. “Kolisi and our director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, have made massive strides in bringing the country together and continued to push the team on,” he added. “Both are inspirational men, and leaders. I think the match against England will be a very tough one. But I can’t see us losing.”
While the gap between the two teams appears as wide as the Seine, England will hope the heavens come to their aid. Rain and high winds are expected in Paris. A slippery ball and blustery conditions may favour Farrell’s kicking game and sprinkle more uncertainty into the contest.
If England’s players need further inspiration, they only have to look back four years when they defeated New Zealand in their 2019 semi-final after largely being written off. But there was always a sense then that the side could find fifth gear. Borthwick’s men have been struggling to get out of second.
And while England might initially keep it close, most expect South Africa’s power to tell eventually – especially when the so-called “bomb squad” of forwards on the bench comes on in the second half.
“When we play England it’s always a grudge game,” said David Yusuf, a financial manager who had travelled from Cape Town. “They are the old enemy, the old rival. England play very similar to us in terms of the forward battles, and I think the first 60 minutes is going to be brutal and tight. But the fact we have depth in our bench with the bomb squad will make all the difference.
“England won’t have the legs. They’ll be tired towards the end. And in the last 20 minutes the bomb squad will blow them away.”
Meanwhile plenty of tickets were still available on the official resale site on Friday, with some as low as £80 – under face value. That is largely because some locals no longer want to go, given France are out. But perhaps it is also partly indicative of the indifference towards this England side.
Those going will have enhanced security checks, World Rugby has confirmed, including extra bag checks and patting down. Such measures have been introduced in the past week after the security level was raised by the French government. However organisers have insisted that the extra protection will not significantly slow down fans getting into the Stade de France.
