South Africa crush England in Rugby Union World Cup Final in Japan
Kanako Mita and Sawako Uchida
Modern Tokyo Times
The final of the 2019 Rugby Union World Cup witnessed a potent display by South Africa who crushed England. In the end, the final whistle provided mercy for England. Thus, the mighty Springboks demolished England 32-12 in a very one-sided final.
At times, it was difficult to recognize the England team that defeated Australia and New Zealand. Instead, from the whistle, South Africa was on the front foot and making England look bereft of ideas.
Despite this, England only trailed 12-6 at half time. Thus, surely England would change tactics. Yet, nothing materialized. Instead, too many players underperformed for England. This notably applies to George Ford and Owen Farrell who made little impact.
Meanwhile, Jonny May and others were starved of any meaningful opportunities upfront. However, players like Tom Curry, Maro Itoje, Joe Marler (a replacement), Sam Underhill, and Billy Vunipola all played exceptionally well despite the difficult situation they faced.
In contrast, for South Africa, the whole team was a well-oiled machine that would ultimately break free in the final stages. Like usual, Faf de Klerk was exceptional. He was always looking for new opportunities to pressurize England. Similarly, Lukhanyo Am, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Tendai Mtawarira, and Pieter-Steph du Toit crushed the spirit of England. While Willie le Roux and Siya Kolisi calmed any nerves when England ventured forward.
Equally, despite a nervous start, Handré Pollard would ultimately convert 22 points for South Africa. This would break the hearts of England. Thus, once South Africa had stifled England and sucked the life out of them, the forward line would ultimately breakthrough near the end.
Hence, the entire rugby union world witnessed the amazing skill of Cheslin Kolbe who scored a lovely try. Likewise, the try that broke England witnessed Makazole Mapimpi finishing a lovely move. Also, the carries by Duane Vermeulen summed up the entire South African team who played exceptionally well in all departments.
Even the replacements by South Africa shone brightly. For example, Franco Mostert and Steven Kitshoff shored up the scrum. Meanwhile, Malcolm Marx played strongly and Vincent Koch and François Louw brooked no quarters.
The head coach of England, Eddie Jones, uttered, “We just couldn’t get on the front foot. We were dominated in the scrum particularly in the first 50 minutes. When you’re in a tight, penalty-driven game, it’s difficult to get any sort of advantage.”
Former England player, Matt Dawson, reported arrogantly for the BBC. He said, “If you could choose a combined XV from England and South Africa at this World Cup, you would choose all England players.”
Lee Jay Walker, at Modern Tokyo Times, reports, “Individuals like Matt Dawson showed complete arrogance in their reporting about South Africa. Similarly, it appeared that some English players believed too much in their abilities. However, they froze once South Africa took the game to England. Therefore, while some English players performed highly under trying conditions, others were overwhelmed by a superior South African team after their over-confidence hit a superb machine.”
Overall, South Africa was too strong on the day and England wilted to a heavy loss.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50246735
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