A late Handre Pollard penalty sees South Africa defeat England 16-15 in their Rugby World Cup semi-final to set up a showpiece encounter with New Zealand.
England‘s dreams of a fifth Rugby World Cup final were crushed in the most excruciating circumstances as South Africa continued the defence of their crown with a 16-15 win at the Stade de France.
Steve Borthwick‘s inspired side led the below-par holders right up until the 78th minute, where Handre Pollard‘s emphatic penalty saw the Springboks prevail by a single point, as was the case in their quarter-final battle against France.
A pair of Owen Farrell penalties inside the opening 1src minutes got England off to a dream start at the Stade de France, while South Africa passed up a couple of chances of their own to kick for three and fell to their opponents’ superiority at the maul.
Early Springboks frustrations boiled over during a 15th-minute fracas, as Borthwick’s defence continued to answer every question presented to them, although Manie Libbok would belatedly fire through the posts to get the champions on the board in the 21st minute thanks to Farrell’s transgression.
However, Libbo
…. to be continued
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