England suffered defeat in the most agonising circumstances as world champions South Africa emerged victorious at the Stade de France to set up a colossal Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand. Steve Borthwick’s men performed admirably and executed a sublime game plan, backing up their quarter-final victory over Fiji behind the magnificent kicking of Owen Farrell.
But the Springboks showed their resilience and rallied late in the second half, also relying on kicking, with Handre Pollard, on after half an hour following a ruthless move to hook the struggling Manie Libbok, shining and subsequently hitting the match-winning penalty. South Africa scored the only try of the match, with RG Snyman bundling over with 12 minutes remaining, cutting the deficit to just two points and allowing Pollard to snatch victory and ensure a mouthwatering encounter with the All Blacks.
Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi admitted the contest was a tough watch at times: "It was ugly today, really ugly, but that's what champions are made of. England, credit to them, they were written off. They showed who they are. All credit to them, my team, it was ugly, but we found a way to fight and get back into the game. I'm really proud of them, especially the guys who came off the bench.
“England did so well in the kicking game, they outplayed us in that, our discipline was awful. But we showed who we are and what we can do. The All Blacks are playing really well, but we want to thank the South Africans who stuck with us and travelled over, next week will be tough, it'll be special, hopefully we can defend it.” Follow all the reaction and analysis from a pulsating semi-final below.
