South Africa won the Rugby World Cup for the second time with an exceptional defensive effort by beating England 15-6 in the 2007 Final at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night. Just as in 1995 no tries were scored, the Springboks scored 15 points and their victory was built on unrelenting and deadly tackling. As has too often been the case in this World Cup the match was an exhibition of kicking rather than a spectacle but the Springboks, even though conceding a lopsided advantage to the English in possession and territorial situation in the second half, with grit and some luck managed to keep their line intact. Against a side with more skill the Springboks might have succumbed but England simply did not have the nous to break down the Boks and when referee Alan Rolland’s final whistle sounded it was John Smit who moments later stepped up to receive the golden Webb Ellis Cup from Nicolas Sarkozy – the French president calling South Africa’s president Thabo Mbeki into the circle to share in the Boks’ triumph. With this victory South Africa joins Australia as the only country to have won the World Cup twice. It was a win built on the wonderful lineout work of Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Juan Smith; the concentration and application in the scrums of CJ van der Linde, John Smit and Os du Randt, who stayed on the field for all of the 80 minutes of his swansong; the relentless pressure of loose forwards Smith, Schalk Burger and Danie Rossouw; the kicking under severe pressure of Percy Montgomery, Butch James and Fourie du Preez; but most of all the TACKLE. There were times one felt England must break through, especially when they started to move the ball around in the final quarter, but somehow one of the Boks was able to pull off a crucial stop; giving the others the time to swarm back into position and start the unyielding process all over again. A mighty effort throughout by the England forwards caused South Africa’s maul to disintegrate, which meant the Boks were unable to get any rhythm going in the backs, and ended up in a narrow wrestling match which they probably wanted to avoid. Initially the England attack consisted of nothing else but kicks but unlike Australia and France the Springboks were able to soak up the threat and beat them at their own game. In the post mortems a massive piece of luck, which went the way of the Springboks, will be held up as the moment that cost England their chance of victory. And it certainly was a touch-and-go decision by television match official Stuart Dickinson. The one piece of sloppy defence by the Boks had allowed Mathew Tait to break through Francois Steyn and when Percy Montgomery also missed him badly the Boks were scrambling. The ball was moved to Mark Cueto wide on the left and the winger burst through Danie Rossouw’s tackle for what appeared a try – until referee Rolland called time out and for the help of the TMO. Although replays were inconclusive it appeared Cueto had touched the chalk and the try was disallowed. A successful conversion at that point would have given England a 10-9 lead and might have changed the course of the match; especially as one has often seen tries given in similar circumstances. Tait’s break and Cueto’s miss had the effect, however, of galvanizing the English as there had been signs just before halftime that that Boks were getting on top. A break up the middle by Steyn developed into the Boks’ best attacking move of the game as the strung together six phases. John Smit was furious when a knock on was called in a seething maul on England’s line, but a penalty for an earlier infringement enabled the ultra-reliable Mongomery to put the Boks 9-3 in front at the break. With CJ van der Linde working hard to close down the gap on Andrew Sheridan the Boks had done well in the scrums and there were signs that they were starting to find their attacking range. Tait’s break, after Steyn and Jaque Fourie appeared to get in each other’s way, however reversed the momentum early in the second half and from then it appeared the Boks did nothing but defend and scramble the ball back for one of the kickers to hoof to touch. A spectator invaded the field and had himself a good look at the back of an England maul, Montgomery was sent hurtling into a TV camera behind the advertising hoardings when he was shoved in the back by Toby Flood (an infringement which went unpunished) and the threat of a Wilkinson drop was ever present. Britain’s most talked about sportsman tried two drops but neither found their mark and the Boks, just as their predecessors had done against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in 1995, were able to tackle their way to victory. Montgomery opened the scoring with a penalty in the 7th minute, which was cancelled out by Wilkinson in the 13th. ‘Monty’ slotted his second in the 16th minute, his third on the stroke of halftime, before Wilkinson made it 9-6 in the 44th minute. It was nip-and-tuck from then on but Montgomery knocked over his fourth penalty in the 51st minute (12-6), after Martin Corry was penalised for hands-in, and Francois Steyn, from just inside the England half, gave the Boks a crucial nine-point buffer in the 62nd minute. The most telling statistics told a story. In the lineouts the Springboks stole seven balls off the English while in three outings at the Stade de France Montgomery achieved a remarkable record of being successful with all 18 place-kicks he attempted at the at the stadium. Finally it was the crowning glory on the remarkable partnership between John Smit and Jake White that started with winning the under 21 World Cup in Buenos Aires in 1999 and culminated with world champion status in France. White delivered on his plan and Smit, who had to be injured before his true worth was recognized, stood out as arguably the outstanding captain at the tournament. Seven down. Seven won. Mission accomplished. Scorers were: South Africa (9) 15: Percy Montgomery kicked four penalties (7 min, 16 min, 40 min, 51 min) and Francois Steyn a penalty (62 min). England (3) 6: Jonny Wilkinson kicked two penalties (13 min, 44 min).
