England had no answer to South Africa’s power as the Springboks clinched the their third Rugby World Cup with a 32-12 victory. Joe Harvey delivers his verdict as Eddie Jones’s side fall at the final hurdle.
Tense. Uncomfortable. Memorable?
Whilst England were the favourites coming into this game, it was South Africa that took home the Webb Ellis trophy by dominating England in Yokohama.
The Game
As World Cup finals tend to be, it was a cagey affair. The first half was symptomatic of this with South Africa taking full advantage of England early on, leading 12-6 when Jerome Garces blew the halftime whistle.
Things looked like they could have been in England’s favour when South Africa’s fly-half Handre Pollard missed a penalty within two minutes, giving English fans some hope that it would be their day. Less than a minute later England’s Kyle Sinckler was removed from play after a collision with the hip of Makazole Mapimpi knocked the tighthead out.
Dan Cole replaced his former understudy and was then put to work against Tendai Mtawarira. Owen Farrell then gave the advantage to South Africa after holding on at the ruck, giving Pollard an easier kick to make it 3-0. It would be 3-3 some moments later after Cheslin Kolbe went off his feet to give Farrell three points to kick-start his evening.
South Africa’s dominance at the scrum continued when Cole was pinged, allowing Pollard to nudge his side in front once more. England then had some consistent pressure, carrying the ball over 20 times in the South African 22, yielding no reward other than a penalty. Honours even once more.
South Africa then got a clear advantage at the break. Pollard kicked two successive penalties after English mistakes, giving the Rainbow Nation one hand on the Webb Ellis at the interval with a 12-6 lead.
After the restart, England made a change with George Kruis replacing Courtney Lawes. Several minutes into the second half, Rassie Erasmus replaced his starting props. Some seconds later that move had reward, with a penalty being won and kicked by South Africa to give them breathing space.
