Cape Town, Wellington, London (9/11 – 27)

South Africa has become the unequalled rugby world champion after winning the World Cup for a record fourth time on 28 October 2023. Before the 2023 edition, The Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, 2007, and 2019. Their closest rival is New Zealand, who has won the title on three occasions (1987, 2011, and 2015). Australia has two titles (1991 and 1999) and England has one (2003).

There are some interesting statistics about The Springboks’ success as the only team to have won the Rugby World Cup four times. South Africa has a 100% winning record in World Cup finals. They bested New Zealand twice (15-12 in 1995 and 12-11 in 2023) and England twice (15-6 in 2007 and 32-12 in 2019).

South Africa has won those finals despite only scoring two tries in total. Both of those tries came in the 32-12 win over England in 2019. The other 22 points for South Africa in the 2019 final came from two conversions (4) and six penalties (18).

In 1995, all of their points in the 15-12 win over New Zealand came from penalties (9) and drop goals (6). In 2007, The Springboks scored 15 points in the final against England only with five penalties. In their most recent triumph in 2023, four penalties from Handre Pollard ensured the narrow victory over New Zealand.

On the other side of the play, South Africa also does not allow their opponents to score many tries in the final. Beauden Barrett’s score in Paris on 28 October 2023 was the first time the Springboks had conceded a try in a World Cup final. Defense and set-pieces basically are South Africa’s main weapons.

“South Africa plays a certain style,” said former New Zealand player, Jeff Wilson. “Ultimately, when it comes down to it, defenses are still winning in the big games. Defenses are standing out, the set-piece is still the be-all and end-all. When push comes to shove, South Africa went to the front eight and just kept going. That’s how they win games and allows them to dominate in areas.”

South Africa could inspire other teams to do the same. The problem is that could as well be the killer of an entertaining rugby. Worth noting that New Zealand is arguably the most entertaining team in the last two World Cups because they always made the most tries.

The All Blacks always fell short in those two tournaments. A try in rugby is the primary way for teams to score points when playing the game. The strategies and maneuvers to execute a try are the main treat for fans.

When it is more and more difficult to score a try, potentially that would make rugby not fun to watch anymore. Fans will be seeing more kicks and one-pass carries with little action.

Another former New Zealand player, John Kirwan, says that the Springboks are boring to watch and insists that the governing body needs to enforce some changes. “I was bored during their game because it was stop-start. Now, the game needs to change. It’s an anaerobic game; we need to be an aerobic game,” Kirwan said.

The post South Africa, The Unequalled World Champion and A Potential Rugby Killer appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.

London, Delhi, Mumbai (28/10 – 10)

England’s title defense in the 2023 Cricket World Cup is practically over, after their fourth defeat in five group-stage matches. Jos Buttler and Co. are coming to the tournament in India as the defending champions, having won their first title in history with the 2019 edition. The 2023 Cricket World Cup turns out to be a disaster for Matthew Mott’s team.

From day one onwards, England’s show in the tournament has been painfully dismal, losing by 9 wickets at the hand of New Zealand in the 5 October opening match. They seemed to have gotten back on track after a 137-run win over Bangladesh, in their second match on 10 October.

Alas, the world number three got humiliated by Afghanistan, who won by 69 runs in their third match on 15 October. England put in another poor performance on 21 October when South Africa won by 229 runs over them – marking one of England’s all-time worst defeats.

“It is a real low point for us. It felt like a bad dream,” said England coach Matthew Mott after the record loss. “It’s really clear for us now. We just need to win every game we’re in. We’ve got a lot of work to do; we know that. We are not happy with where we are at, but we’re going to have to turn it around.”

Instead, England’s World Cup is all but over after an 8-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka on 26 October. England is not mathematically out but now must win all of their remaining games. – facing unbeaten host India on Sunday, in the fond hope an unlikely set of results go their way.

“It’s incredibly tough, an incredibly disappointing tournament. As captain, you feel that a lot,” said Jos Buttler. “We’ve been short of our best by a very long way. I’m disappointed for myself and the boys that we’ve not shown a good account of ourselves. I can’t fault the guys’ efforts; we’re just a long way short of our best. A captain must lead from the front and play well. I’ve been a long way short of my best and that’s filtered through the rest.”

While a full half of the 2023 team are veterans of the 2019 winning squad, the likes of Buttler, Mark Wood, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, and Moeen Ali could not save England from their first-ever loss to Afghanistan, their biggest-ever defeat by runs to South Africa, and an 8-wicket hammering by Sri Lanka. Note that England has an ageing team, with 11 of its 15 players in their 30s.

Former Captain Nasser Hussain called it “the end of an era” – an appraisal hard to argue, given all the signs. “I wouldn’t have changed the side before this tournament but I would definitely be thinking about changing it now, because it does feel like the end of an era,” said Hussain.

Interestingly, England did win the 2019 Cricket World Cup after overhauling their team from the 2015 edition, which they got knocked out in the group stage. Is it not time to repeat that shuffle, changing players ahead of the next World Cup?

The post The End of An Era: England is All but Out of The 2023 Cricket World Cup, after a Dismal Defeat by Sri Lanka appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.