Handre Pollard heroics breaks English hearts in thrilling World Cup semi
SAINT-DENIS – Defending champions South Africa are off to their second-consecutive Rugby World Cup final after beating England 16-15 on a rainy night north of Paris.
It came down to one moment. Handre Pollard was the hero for the Springboks on a heartbreaking night for England and their fans.
On a frigid, wet and gloomy night in Saint-Denis, the bright lights of Stade de France illuminated the French sky as a palpable sense of anticipation continued to build ahead of a blockbuster semi-final.
With rain trickling down from the heavens, the crowd let out a deafening cheer as England captain Owen Farrell kicked off the Test.
Centre Joe Marchant won the race to the ball, but couldn’t quite batter the ball back towards his English teammates. It was an unforced error after mere seconds, but it was far from a bad omen for what was to come.
England tripped at the first hurdle against the reigning world champions but the rest of the half was forcefully theirs as they strategically bested their favoured opponents.
To the delight of the fans who made the trip across the English Channel, captain Farrell nailed a penalty goal after just two minutes to give the so-called ‘underdogs’ a slender lead.
Moments later, halfback Alex Mitchell caught the Springboks on the back foot once again with a clever box kick that dribbled into touch. Parked inside their own 22, hooker Bongi Mbonambi failed to throw the lineout straight.
England were gifted an attacking scrum about 10 metres out from the try line, and why they couldn’t force their way over, the English wouldn’t walk away empty handed.
Farrell converted his second penalty of the night to give England a 6-nil lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
England continued to dominate the ariel battle, and Maro Itoje was especially impactful as they thwarted the Boks’ trademark maul time and time again.
But the Boks did score next.
After giving away a penalty, and then being marched 10 metres, England conceded their first points of the semi-final as flyhalf Manie Libbok knocked over a penalty.
England regained their six-point lead with Farrell converting another shot at goal midway through the half. South Africa looked worried – genuinely, you could see it in the stands.
Libbok made way for Rugby World Cup-winning playmaker Handre Pollard in an eye-catching substitution in the 32nd minute, but that proved to be a masterstroke.
Pollard added three to the score, but Farrell cancelled that out shortly after. Following a pretty uneventful opening half, England went into the sheds with a hard-fought 12-6 advantage.
The first 10 minutes of the second-half were tense. It felt like a key period for the world champion Boks as they looked to mount a comeback against their inspired rivals.
But their efforts were in vain. England continued to control the Test on the back of their superior kicking game, and they eventually added to their lead through a monstrous Farrell drop goal.
England fans let out another passionate cry of support as memories of their famous semi-final win over the All Blacks four years ago began to resurface.
With 15 minutes to play, England were in control. Time waits for no man, and that was a pressing concern for a helpless Springboks outfit who looked lost for answers.
But the Springboks aren’t the defending world champions for no reason. With their best opportunity of the half, the Boks scored through RG Snyman with just over 10 minutes to play.
Almost suddenly, it was a two-point game, and the Boks had a wealth of momentum spurring them on. Thousands watched on in awe as the clock continued to tick by.
But it came down to one kick. After being awarded a scrum penalty, replacement Handre Pollard was the hero as the playmaker knocked over a long-range penalty in tough conditions.
With the eyes of the rugby world watching on, Pollard had delivered. While England fought valiantly for a comeback, the Boks’ defnece held strong.
South Africa will play southern hemisphere rivals New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup final for the first time since 1995. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.
Comments on RugbyPass
wel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
4 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
4 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
4 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
238 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments