All the talk of a Northern Hemisphere whitewash came to nothing. In the end it was the usual story, a tantalising clash between two Southern Hemisphere giants, both seeking a record fourth final victory. English presence will be from Wayne Barnes, Matthew Carley and Karl Dixon, with Tom Foley the TMO, amazingly the first final to be officiated by four from the same nation. Well done to them.
The unwanted Third Place play off had gone to England 26-23, which they just about deserved, tailing off somewhat after seventy minutes. The game in fairness was way better than many anticipated, with Ben Earl quite outstanding again.
Would the pre-tournament game between these two rugby superpowers, when SA had earlier demolished NZ 37-5 at Twickenham, be repeated? The pundits said it would be tight, maybe a classic. I so wanted a Kiwi win, largely because of their style over power philosophy. SA signalled their intention by naming a 7-1 forwards/backs players on the bench.
Expectations were high and the atmosphere electric at the start and what a start it was. 2 mins in and Frizzell is Yellow Carded, the SA hooker is injured and already out of the game and Fourie, now a flanker, took over and played a blinder. Pollard kicked, in off the post, 3-0. SA were well on top and 12 mins in, more SA sustained pressure saw Pollard kick another goal, 6-0. Then NZ got into the game and won a penalty close to the posts. Mouanga scored, 6-3 SA. Then Pollard made it 9-3 with another goal. The defensive reads by SA were so good, thwarting every NZ back ploy, it was impressive. Then came the crunch action in the 27th minute. Sam Cane got a Yellow Card, upgraded to Red on Bunker Review, not called by Barnes but by Tom Foley the TMO. Like Martin Johnson, I thought it was harsh, no intent to hurt, no malice, just a clumsy, instinctive rugby collision that hit the head and warranted yellow. The NZ back row could no longer allow either of them to break off the back of the scrum, being a man down, and SA took full advantage, opening up far more. Another pen from Pollard and one from Mouanga saw a half time lead of 12-6 to SA. It was a ding dong affair, hardly a classic but a compelling watch. The physicality from both teams was amazing in its intensity. But no tries.
Early in the second half a slick SA counter move saw Kolbe drop the ball as he slid over in the corner and then came controversy number two. Siyo Kolisi, the SA skipper was cited by Tom Foley. Barnes gave him a yellow card yet Johnson, Andrew Mehrtens and other pundits could not see any real difference between the Kolisi and Cane tackles. On 53 minutes at last we saw some All Black magic, great hands from a lineout, with Barnes shouting, “No knock on, no knock on,” and Aaron Smith going over in the corner. Wow! 11-12, or was it? Foley again, “Barnesy there was a penalty and a knock on at the lineout, take a look please?” He was right. However, soon after, sustained Kiwi pressure near the SA try line eventually saw Beauden Barrett go over in the corner, Mouanga missed the conversion, 11-12. It was game on and NZ threw everything at the Boks, Foley again informed Wayne Barnes that Kolbe had deliberately knocked on. 8 mins to go, Yellow Card given and up stepped Jordi Barrett from a long way back, and wide out. His kick just went wide of the posts. Now it was 14 v 14 player-wise and SA strained every muscle to keep the Kiwis at bay and they succeeded. 12-11 was the final score. Congrats to the Springboks, the first nation to win four World Cups. They played a good game with their usual power but also with some flair on the counter attacks. Tactically they were astute. Pieter Steph Du Toit made a staggering 28 bone crunching tackles and stood out for me. Interestingly SA won three KO games by a single point. Also England kicked away 93% of possession and Coaches Foster and Chieka both remarked that rugby has to change, More ball in hands, quicker set pieces and reward for running play. One try finals don’t quite fit the bill. Couldn’t agree more.
I like the trialled 20 mins in the bin for a high tackle red card that has no intent or malice, used in Super Rugby this past season. Then you can bring on a replacement and it doesn’t kill the game, especially early on.
Quizzers who were in with a winning shout overall should note that the Tie Break Total of points scored from the Q/F onwards totalled 362 points. I was way off.
Quizzers should note the excellent “Around The World In Eighty Minutes,” by Robert Kitson, if they want a pressie for anyone at Christmas. It is so well written.
Good luck with the quiz next year. Bob Brewer
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