2007 Rugby World Cup Final
Match Review of South Africa v England, Saturday 20 October
South Africa are the new World Cup champions after defeating England 15 to 6 in a dour struggle dominated by kicking and defence.
Five weeks after embarrassing the reigning champions at this very ground, South Africa have joined Australia as the only dual-winners of the William Webb Ellis trophy. The South African pack was too strong, their defence too tight and their kicking too accurate for the English to overcome.
The Boks were expected to dominate the set pieces, in particular the lineout where they had pinched an astonishing 30% of opposition ball throughout the tournament. This was an expectation that was duly produced as locks Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield upset the English jumpers time after time.
This possession was rewarded with lots of territory from the boots of Percy Montgomery and Butch James. One of these kicks saw English centre Matthew Tait slip and become isolated when returning the ball, which led to a Springbok penalty and Montgomery opening the scoring.
Not long after, a big tackle from Bok winger Bryan Habana on opposite number Paul Sackey repelled an English raid. Habana was penalised for lying on the tackled player and Jonny Wilkinson calmly kicked England level at 3-3. Montgomery landed another penalty shortly afterwards and down 6-3, the English were looking shaky. A missed drop goal by Wilkinson was followed by attacking raids from the South Africans, who were twice stopped just short of the try line. The second occasion saw a penalty given however, and Montgomery took the South Africans into the rooms ahead 9-3.
A tight match like the one that was developing just begs for some individual brilliance. It is a stage for someone to step into the spotlight and cement himself into rugby folklore. The start of the second half saw Tait do almost that with a scintillating run through the heart of the Bok defence. After receiving the ball from a loose Andy Gomersall pass, Tait stepped, jinked and swerved his way through the South Africans showing flair and true pace. He was pulled down short of the line but the ball was quickly sent wide to wing Mark Cueto, a late call up into the team for the injured Josh Lewsey.
Cueto made a desperate lunge for the corner as Bok scrumhalf Fourie du Preez crashed him over the sideline. The ball was grounded and the Third Match Official was called on to adjudicate. After many viewings of the various angles, the decision was made that Cueto’s trailing leg had scraped the touchline prior to the ball being placed down and the try was disallowed. A penalty from the advantage being played was given but to go from 9-8 down with a kick to come to 9-6 down after Wilkinson landed the penalty was a crushing blow to the English and their fans. It was indeed a turning point for the match.
Further penalties to Montgomery (51 minutes) and young gun Francois Steyn (62 minutes) put the game out of reach for England making the final score 15-6. The smart money on the South Africans had won through in the end however, although they relinquish their title, the English can hold their heads high after a fine comeback throughout the Cup.
Matfield was named man of the match for his constant pilfering of English ball and strong performances were also put in by Montgomery and Steyn. Tait was impressive for the English but all too often, the South Africans had their number.
For South Africa it is a time to celebrate. They were undoubtedly the best team on the night and thoroughly deserve to bathe in the glory that accompanies the world cup champion. England will head home and start to prepare for the Six Nations. The rest of the rugby world will need to take stock of what went wrong (or be heartened by what went right in the case of minnow nations) and begin the four yearly cycle again, building towards New Zealand in 2011 and another shot at the holy grail.
Sidenote: Argentina again put the hosts France to the sword in the 3rd place playoff finishing the match 34-10 victors.
Full coverage of the knockout stages of the 2007 Rugby World Cup can be found at Suite101's rugby union page.
Further information regarding the Rugby World Cup including lineups, results and stats can be found at the official site for the tournament.
