France 28-29 South Africa: The Springboks will play England in the World Cup semi-finals after winning an epic clash against the hosts in Paris
“What could be better” – France on quarter-final v South Africa
England will play South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals after the Springboks defeated hosts France in an epic clash in Paris.
Defending champions South Africa edged a titanic contest 29-28, with Eben Etzebeth’s powerful try in the 67th minute earning the Springboks victory in a match that delivered drama and intensity of the highest order.
Handre Pollard then extended South Africa’s lead with a penalty and although Thomas Ramos cut their lead back to one point, the holders broke France hearts as they held on to a thrilling victory.
The first half will go down as one of the greatest ever seen, with three tries apiece amid an unbelievable display of pace, physicality and skill from both sides.
But it was the Springboks who held their nerve in what was a battle for the ages, and they will now play England next Saturday after they edged Fiji in another dramatic quarter-final contest.
Follow all the reaction from Paris after South Africa knocked the hosts out of the Rugby World Cup
France suffer painful symmetry with Ireland as Springboks continue southern dominance
It may not have been quite 37 phases, but France’s own final stand – desperately, fruitlessly searching for that decisive score to overcome the inevitable as the clock turns red – ended the same, heartbreaking way. French bodies dropped to the turf in despair, almost exactly mirroring their Irish counterparts from 24 hours earlier, and a southern hemisphere nation celebrated the ongoing World Cup domination over a northern hemisphere titan.
It’s safe to say that no stadium in history has hosted two better games of rugby in the space of one weekend than we’ve been treated to at the Stade de France. It’s also highly likely that no venue has ever witnessed two such incredible occasions, regardless of the sport, in as many days.
The history books will show that the Springboks triumphed 29-28 to seal a semi-final spot but the 8src,srcsrcsrc people here will never forget the visceral thrill of watching perhaps as great a match of rugby as it’s possible for there to be. Nor will the majority forget the complete and utter devastation they felt as their home nation heroes came up agonisingly, excruciatingly short on the biggest stage.
Read Luke Baker’s full match report from the Stade de France below:
Ben Fleming15 October 2src23 22:34
FULL-TIME: France 28-29 South Africa
Conflicting emotions at full-time:
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Raphael Ibanez, French team manager, speaking after the game
“We are very sad tonight. I think we gave everything to win that game. We knew it would be a very tight game and we had to score every opportunity. We had some good opportunities, but unfortunately we couldn’t convert them into points.”
“We had our ch
…. to be continued
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