Paris, Wellington, Cape Town (29/10 – 18)

South Africa has produced another magnificent defensive performance, to win the 2023 World Rugby Cup final. The Springboks beat New Zealand 12-11 in a Saturday thriller at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, thus becoming the first nation to win four Rugby World Cup titles – after their previous triumphs in 1995, 2007, and 2019. Four Handre Pollard penalties gave the Springboks a 12-6 lead in the first half. By that time, New Zealand already lost captain Sam Cane, red-carded for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel in the 32^nd minute.

The All Blacks only managed to score two penalties in the first half, via Richie Mo’unga. Beauden Barrett touched down, to bring New Zealand to within a point, just before the hour mark. South Africa held firm under huge pressure, with an impressive defensive display. Over 80 minutes of play, The Springboks made 209 tackles, with an 81% success percentage.

The New Zealand is the one with the most tries throughout the tournament, with 47 in 6 matches before the final. That’s nearly 8 per game on average. The All Blacks made just one valiant try against The Springboks.

“They just know their game. They are strong and experienced. They’ve got the ability to play the game at their pace,” admitted All Blacks coach Ian Foster. “For us, it’s heart-breaking, and I look at the effort of our team. We gave ourselves a really good chance in that second half, especially after the damage that red card created.”

Since day one of the tournament, a masterclass defense has been South Africa’s best weapon. On 10 September, The Springboks took Scotland with an 18-3 first game win; their opponent, humiliated, could not register a single try point. With another shutout on 17 September, Jacques Nienaber’s team destroyed Romania, 76-0, in the second game.

World number one South Africa lost to Ireland by a shameful 8-13 in the third match, on 23 September, only scoring once from many tries. In the last match of the pool stage, on 1 October, while Tonga made three tries, South Africa bested them 49-18.

In the quarter-finals and semifinals, The Springboks eliminated two former champions, France (29-28) and England (16-15), scraping through with the smallest of margins. England did not score a single try in the semifinals. In the final, The Springboks won their third consecutive game by a single point. Those three results show their skill at edging out close encounters.

“I think the main thing was just the strength of the squad,” South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber said. “They’re experienced, they’ve been in a final before, and some of them were playing a third World Cup. So I think the experience just pulled it through. They’re an amazing bunch of guys, all warriors. We’ve come a long way with these players; we’ve planned for this since 2018,” added Nienaber.

“The last three games were really rough. Each one we played like a final,” said South Africa flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit, named “Man of the Match” with 28 tackles in the game. “Each one we won by one point, so it was quite tough for us,” he concluded.

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Paris, Wellington, Cape Town (23/10 – 33)

History is arising on the horizon, as New Zealand and South Africa, two ancient foes, clash in the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final on Saturday 28 October. New Zealand smartly swept Argentina aside, 44-6, in the first semifinal on 20 October. After their embarrassing defeat 13-27 at the hands of France in the first pool match, The All Blacks are now on a fantastic run.

Will Jordan and Co. destroyed Namibia 71-3, Italy 96-17, and Uruguay 73-0 in the remaining pool matches to the knock-out phase. Ian Foster’s team overcame the world number one Ireland 28-24, smacking them with a scintillating performance in the quarterfinals before dismantling Argentina in the last four. “We came here wanting to be in the final and then we obviously want to go and win it,” said Foster, who will leave his job after the World Cup.

New Zealand are under immense pressure after an underwhelming run of form last year. But, The All Blacks are now aiming to become only the second side after South Africa to win the World Cup after losing a pool match.

South Africa are a worthy adversary for New Zealand in the final. The Springbok definitely have a champion-seeking mentality.

The defending champion triumphed over Scotland 18-3 and Romania 76-0 in the first two pool games. They responded to an 8-13 loss to Ireland with a 49-18 win over Tonga in the last pool match. And then came the exhibition of South Africa’s mental power in the first two knock-out matches. They won those two matches by the narrowest of margins.

In the quarter-final, in a battle that could well turn out to be the best match in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, The Springboks defeated the world number two – and host – France, in a thrilling 29-28. In the semifinal, Jacques Nienaber’s team rallied to win 16-15 over England.

“One has to commend the strength of this team for the way they find a way to get a result,” said Nienaber. “It took us 70 minutes to get a foothold in the match, and the players refused to give up and fought until the end. I’m very proud of them for that.”

Now a historical final awaits New Zealand and South Africa. Only one of them will seize a record fourth World Cup title. This match is a rerun of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, also the first meeting for The All Blacks and The Springbok in The World Cup.

South Africa won 15-12 in the 1995 final. The two teams went on to meet – four more times – in the World Cup. New Zealand had the upper hand in the last three meeting in the World Cup, with a 29-9 win in the 2003 quarterfinal, 20-18 in the 2015 semifinal, and 23-13 in the 2019 pool stage. But at the last meeting in the World Cup warm-up match on 25 August 2023, South Africa knocked them sideways with a 35-7.

Overall, New Zealand collected 62 wins in their 105 meetings with South Africa. The Springbok won 39 times and 4 other matches ended in a draw. After their narrow wins in the quarterfinal and semifinal, South Africa know that their work is cut out for them in the effort to prepare themselves.

“New Zealand are really playing an explosive game, punishing teams from all over the park,” said The Springbok’s fly-half, Handre Pollard. “We’ll have to do homework for that.”

On the other hand, The All Blacks are aiming for another defensive masterclass. “History shows often a team that is defensively one of the best will end up winning the World Cup,” New Zealand captain Sam Cane confidently stated. “There are a few guys in our team who are incredibly passionate about it. We have a system we really believe in.”

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Paris, Wellington, London (16/10 – 45)

Two former champions are showing their strength, as New Zealand and South Africa are through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup semifinals, at the expense of the two best teams in the world. New Zealand and South Africa – the pair ruining Ireland and France’s dreams of becoming a new champion in this tournament. Ireland and France tried their best, but the pedigree of New Zealand and South Africa as former champions could not be denied.

On Saturday at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, three-time champions New Zealand prolonged Ireland’s quarter-finals curse. Before this year’s tournament, Ireland had never been able to get through to the semifinals. Andy Farrell’s team looked unbeatable as they cruised past the pool stage with a total of 17 successive victories since last year. The world number one must be thinking that 2023 would be their year.

On the other hand, New Zealand suffered humiliation in their first pool stage match when they were defeated 13-27 by France. But, New Zealand regrouped after that defeat and they showed what they were made of. In the quarter-finals, The All Blacks withstood three comebacks from Ireland.

The Irish, always on the backfoot, trailed 0-13 and 10-18 in the first half, and by 17-25 in the second half, before a penalty try made it a one-point contest with a little more than 15 minutes left. The All Blacks held out for an astonishing 37 phases in defence in a thrilling finale to their victory. The game ended 28-24 with New Zealand’s triumph.

“This was a special day for us. I’ve lost my voice. I think the world’s been talking about these two quarter-finals for two years,” said New Zealand’s Coach Ian Foster, mentioning the clash of the titans between France and South Africa in the other quarter-finals.

“Sometimes the sweetest victories are those when your opponent tests you to the limit. What an incredible finish to a Test match. It’s pretty clear defence won us the Test match,” said New Zealand’s Captain Sam Cane.

In the semifinal on 20 October also at Saint-Denis, New Zealand will face Argentina, who eliminated Wales 29-17 in the other quarter-finals on Saturday.

On Sunday, another blockbuster match that was worthy of the Final itself was contested between the world number two France and defending champion South Africa. The hosts’ hopes of winning a maiden Rugby World Cup title were crushed as South Africa won 29-28, in a nail-biting and spectacular contest at the Stade de France. None of them deserved to get knocked out, given the breathtaking display of rugby.

The Springboks withstood a Paris storm and trailed 19-22 at half-time. They twice came from behind with a try by Eben Etzebeth, as a Handre Pollard penalty sealed the narrowest of wins for the title holders.

“It was a hard game. We knew how tough it was going to be with the French team at home and honestly, I just want to say well done to them for what they’ve achieved and how hard they’ve worked,” said The Springboks captain Siya Kolisi.

“Credit to the French. We knew it was going to be this tight. I think everybody knew it was going to be a big battle. Two good teams and unfortunately, or fortunately for us, we were on the right side of things,” added Jacques Nienaber, South Africa’s Head Coach. In the last four on 21 October at the Stade de France, The Springboks will meet another former champion, England. England through to the semifinals, after a 30-24 win over Fiji.

The post The Pedigree of Champions; New Zealand and South Africa Through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup Semifinals, with Blockbuster Performance appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.