Relive the Rugby World Cup: Glory again in 2007

In 2003, France was awarded the right to host the 2007 World Cup, beating a bid from England, with four of the 48 matches to be played in Wales and two in Scotland.

The Springboks had finished last in the 2007 Tri-Nations, but rested first-choice players for their two away matches with the World Cup in mind.

Comfortable warm-up Test wins against Namibia and Scotland gave captain John Smit’s team some confidence going into their first World Cup Pool A match, against Samoa at the Parc des Princes. The Boks scored eight tries, including four from wing Bryan Habana, in a convincing 59-7 win, but it came at a cost as centre Jean de Villiers suffered a tournament-ending bicep injury.

Twenty-year-old Frans Steyn was therefore selected at No 12 for the Boks’ big pool match against England at the Stade de France in Paris. The English had regressed since winning the 2003 World Cup, but the 36-0 hiding they suffered still came as a surprise.

Anything can happen?🧐@mark_keohane and Zels expect a different Bok side to rock up at the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/sfFAsdBTpg

— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) August 11, 2023

Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez had a hand in all three of the Boks’ first-half tries, which saw them lead 20-0 at the break, and wing JP Pietersen grabbed his second try in the 63rd minute to complete the rout.

Coach Jake White selected a second-string team for the Boks’ next match, against Tonga in Lens, but loaded his bench with first-choice players. That insurance policy paid off when South Africa trailed 10-7 after 44 minutes.

The Boks’ big guns came on in a rush and helped clinch a 30-25 win, although only the bounce of the ball prevented Tonga from scoring a stoppage-time try.

A full-strength Bok side then thrashed the USA 64-15 in Montpellier, with Habana scoring two of their nine tries.

Meanwhile, the Wallabies topped Pool B after beating Wales and Fiji, with the Fijians shocking the Welsh 38-34 to set up a quarter-final meeting with the Boks.

The All Blacks scored a total of 309 points in their four big Pool C wins and were joined in the play-offs by Scotland, who edged Italy 18-16.

Argentina upset France 17-12 in the tournament opener and a 30-15 victory against Ireland secured them top spot in Pool D. The hosts finished second thanks to a 25-3 win against the Irish.

In the first quarter-final, in Marseille, England’s scrum and breakdown dominance saw them upset the Wallabies 12-10, but the biggest surprise of the tournament came that night in Cardiff.

France had won just one of their 11 matches against the All Blacks since famously knocking them out of the 1999 World Cup and looked set for another defeat when they trailed 13-0.

But two second-half tries gave Les Bleus a 20-18 lead – the officials missed a clear forward pass in the build-up to Yannick Jauzion’s five-pointer – and they were able to defend their line for the last five minutes as the All Blacks pushed for a try instead of taking a drop goal from close range.

The Boks survived a big scare against Fiji in Marseille the following day. The Islanders fought back from 20-6 down to make it 20-20 after 59 minutes, but two more tries gave South Africa a 37-20 win. In the last quarter-final, in Paris, Argentina held their nerve to beat Scotland 19-13.

France came into their semi-final as slight favourites, but never recovered from a bad start as England wing Josh Lewsey scored an early try. The English defence was excellent and flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson’s boot secured a 14-9 win.

In the second semi-final, the Boks ended Argentina’s fairytale run with a comfortable 37-13 victory, with Habana scoring two of his side’s four tries to equal Jonah Lomu’s World Cup tournament record of eight.

The Pumas would finish their campaign on a high, though, with a 34-10 win against France in the third-place playoff.

The final was a tense, tryless affair as four penalties from fullback Percy Montgomery and a crucial long-range effort in the 62nd minute from Steyn gave the Boks a 15-6 victory.

South Africa stole seven of England’s lineouts – lock Victor Matfield was named man of the match. The Boks were solid in the scrums and defended superbly, with No eight Danie Rossouw’s try-saving grab at Mark Cueto early in the second half nudging the England wing’s left foot on to the touchline.

The Boks always appeared to have a gear in hand, though, and were deserved winners.

2007 Player of the Tournament

Bryan Habana began his 2007 World Cup campaign with four tries against Samoa and would score another four – two against the USA and two in the semi-final against Argentina – to equal Jonah Lomu’s World Cup tournament record of eight.

The 24-year-old’s first try against Samoa saw him receive possession from just inside his half, step inside past three defenders, change direction, throw a dummy and dart away to score. Against Argentina, he regathered his kick ahead to score his first try of the semi-final and then ran 80m after intercepting a Pumas’ pass to grab his second.

Habana capped off a memorable 2007 (he also scored the Bulls’ match-winning try in the Super Rugby final against the Sharks in Durban) by being named the IRB Player of the Year.

2007 Play-off results

Quarter-finals
England 12 Australia 10
France 20 New Zealand 18
South Africa 37 Fiji 20
Argentina 19 Scotland 13

Semi-finals
England 14 France 9
South Africa 37 Argentina 13

Third-place play-off
Argentina 34 France 10

Final
South Africa 15 England 6