- England 15-16 South Africa
- Springboks recover from 15-6 down to set up All Blacks final
So near and yet so far. South Africa are into the Rugby World Cup final but this was the night when English rugby was finally reborn. They were denied at the very last by a nerveless long-range penalty from Handré Pollard which took the Springboks through to a final against New Zealand next Saturday but in every other category this was one of the great English sporting nights.
Because these white tornados were utterly unrecognisable from the England who stuttered into this tournament. They flew into everything, harried ceaselessly and played the tricky wet conditions perfectly. At times South Africa barely seemed to know what had hit them as their opponents, spearheaded by Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, the youthful George Martin and Ben Earl, inflicted varying degrees of pain and suffering.
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