Jacques van der Westhuyzen

By Jacques van der Westhuyzen

Head of Sport


World Cup semi-final result: South Africa 16 England 15

The Boks rallied late on with a converted try and penalty to edge England, who'd dominated much of the game.


The Springboks beat England 16-15 in another thrilling World Cup clash at Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night to qualify for the final against the All Blacks next Saturday.

The Boks scored a late converted try by RG Snyman and then Handre Pollard slotted a 50m penalty with three minutes to go to seal an enthralling match.

Replacement prop Ox Nche delivered a stunning performance in the scrums in the second half, winning the Boks several penalties.

England dominated most of the match and just about every department and lead comfortably with 10 minutes to go, before the Boks rallied to steal the win.

The All Blacks qualified for the final by beating Argentina on Friday night.

For the second week in a row the Boks won by a point, after edging France 29-28 in the quarter-finals.

Below is how The Citizen covered the match.

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South Africa’s coaches have picked the same 23 players who did duty in the quarter-final against France last weekend, while England’s team shows three changes from the side that got the better of Fiji.

Teams

South Africa: Damian Willemse, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Manie Libbok, Cobus Reinach, Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (capt), Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff. Bench: Deon Fourie, Ox Nche, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Faf de Klerk, Handre Pollard, Willie le Roux

England: Freddie Steward; Jonny May, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi, Elliot Daly; Owen Farrell (capt), Alex Mitchell; Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes; George Martin, Maro Itoje; Dan Cole, Jamie George, Joe Marler. Bench: Theo Dan, Ellis Genge, Kyle Sinckler, Ollie Chessum, Billy Vunipola, Danny Care, George Ford, Ollie Lawrence