South Africa edge past England to set up World Cup final with New Zealand

For the second week running South Africa edged past their opponents at the rugby union World Cup by a solitary point. Last Saturday they held off France's late flurry to reach the semi-final. And on Saturday night, they racked up 10 points from a converted try and a penalty in the last 11 minutes to beat England 16-15 and advance to a fourth final.

"England had an amazing game plan which we took too long to adapt to," said South Africa skipper Siya Kolisi.

"The thing that I take out of this game is the fact that we're able to dig deep and fight to get that victory. And we we're so grateful that we can be in a position to defend the the cup again.

"I know a lot of teams wouldn't be able to get out of that and get and get a win like that."

England's intention to avoid the running game was obvious from the outset. Scrum-half Alex Mitchell repeatedly opted to miss out his three-quarter line to kick high and bank on recuperating the ball from dropped catches in the driving rain.

Not the prettiest of ploys but effective.
England skipper Owen Farrell converted two penalties against a South Africa team who had been elevated to number one in the world rankings following their victory over France and Ireland's defeat to New Zealand in the quarter-finals.

But they belied their new status. Fly-half Manie Libbok embodied the diffidence unsure whether to match England's ugliness or impose a running game.

"I have to pay a lot of credit to England," said South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber.

"I thought they were outstanding on the night. They had a very good tactical plan and they really put us under a lot of pressure.

"It took us some time to get to grips with it."
South Africa opened their account after 20 minutes with the game's third penalty. Libbok converted confidently but 10 minutes later he was substituted.

Change

"It's for South Africa," Nienaber explained. "It's not for the individual. It's not for the ego so we can't put our egos in front of that. South Africa is more important. The Springboks are more important than anything else."

His replacement, Handré Pollard, who kicked 22 points during the 32-12 victory in the final in Yokohama four years ago, returned to haunt England.

His first contribution was to kick a penalty to reduce England's lead to 12-6.

And though Farrell's drop goal 12 minutes into the secon- half extended it to 15-6, his side fluffed a chance six minutes later on the left wing to push for a try from a line out.

South Africa survived and Pollard took over. 
His kick for touch led to RG Snyman's try in the 68th minute which he converted to reduce England's lead to 15-13 and three minutes from time he smacked over a penalty to nudge his side ahead for the first time in the match.

"I had no doubts that Handré would score," said Kolisi.

South Africa will face New Zealand next Saturday night at the Stade de France to vie for the Webb Ellis trophy.