Wednesday, October 17, 2007
South Africa beat Argentina in 2007 RWC semi final
In a game that was touted to possibly throw up another upset, the Springboks performed well to brush aside Argentina and reach only their second World Cup Final since 1995, the year they won it.
Scoring four tries in total, the South African side absorbed the tremendous pressure of the Argentinian scrum to take control of the game and lead 24-6 at half time.
The Argentinian backs weren't threatening enough, with star player Juan Martin Hernandez having a below par game. One of his dropped balls actually led to a flowing string of Springbok passing that saw Danie Roussouw, eventual man of the match, dive over for the try.
Bryan Habana scored a brace, with his first being an absolute gem. Getting the ball from some quick passing from the Boks, Habana had his opposite number as well as the cover defence to get passed. He chipped it in an instant and flew past them, colliding with one and being held back by another, his determination got him through the traffic and he collected the ball from the perfect bounce to score one of the better individual efforts of the tournament. He equalled the great Jonah Lomu's World Cup try scoring record of eight, and now stands a chance to better that in Saturday's final.
Habana scored again from a well timed intercept and flew away, similar to Fourie Du Preez who also scored from an intercept.
Argentina scored one try, which was awarded extremely quickly by the ageing TMO 'Spreaders' despite the fact that neither of the two angles he looked at were conclusive.
The underdogs just weren't good enough on the day, despite the huge strides they've made in world rugby. They've gained a huge amount of respect though and on a few occasions looked dangerous, more than proving that they deserve to be there.
The Sprinboks weren't as clinical and error free as they would have hoped, but by putting pressure on the opposition and finishing off the chances they got, they did the job required on the day. They still have a lot more in the tank, and if they come out firing and play to their strengths against England, we may well see them being crowned as champions of the world for the second time.
Final Score: 37-13 to South Africa
Posted at 8:36 am | 75 comments
|
|
|
Viewing 75 comments
Anonymous October 15, 2007 3:37 pm
juan martin fernandez lobbe is the best number 7 of all the world cup
Anonymous October 15, 2007 3:40 pm
I'm an England fan, but watching this, they must be shitting themselves! These Boks really are an awsome team, and absolutely deadly in physicallity, defense and broken play. I personally don't see England beating them, as much as I would love it to happen.
Anonymous October 15, 2007 3:56 pm
I dont see England beating the boks.But then again I would never have believed that they could put Australia or France out of the tournament so... Maybe I should put some money on them!I can only hope for a good quality game of rugby. With some massive tackles to finish it all off!
Anonymous October 15, 2007 3:59 pm
Saying that the Boks weren't clinical and error free as they would have hoped is very subjective, since Argentina gave away in this game much more errors than in the rest of the Cup. It was South Africa's great game and shape that let them take advantage of the knock on and the interceptions and made them try.Personally I didn't see the greatest physical battle ever, not even the most little glance of submission as the Boks like to talk about. Instead I saw SA standing very much into their own half and waiting for Argentina to make mistakes in order to turn them into points by rush defense.There wasn't any equity between SA's before match's speech and game. They played fair better rugby, but couldn't run over Argentina as they would like to (and promised to).
Anonymous October 15, 2007 4:06 pm
And promised to? Where were you last week?The coach and the players said that this was going to be their toughest game so far and knew it was going to be close, all the south africans wanted to do was to win, they never wanted to run over the pumas, for me the pumas is the better than french and the english, but in a final it doenst matter against who you play, anyone can win.
Anonymous October 15, 2007 4:08 pm
I put a tenner on england at 33-1 before start of RWC. I don't belive I might win. Amazing stuff Come on England!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Proppie October 15, 2007 4:19 pm
Ofcourse everyone's happy that Argentina didn't win this, because they are lame.
Anonymous October 15, 2007 6:17 pm
I wanted any of the 3 semi finalists other than South Africa to win, they all look like a product of the Hitler youth (barring their quota). Thet're dirty and smug. Even though I'm welsh, I'd love to see Engand smash them to pieces
Anonymous October 15, 2007 7:10 pm
Actually the Argentina "try" was not grounded properly so it should not have been a try..
Anonymous October 15, 2007 7:15 pm
Yo te dar,te dar una cosa,te dar nia hermosa,una cosa que empieza con "p":PUMAS!!!!Felicitaciones a todos los Pumas, estamos todos con tremenda emocin por sus ganas de ganar, siempre para adelante. Saludos desde Resitencia Chaco.
Smidy October 15, 2007 7:33 pm
HABANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thats all I say.......And you will hear it twise again in the Final..
Anonymous October 15, 2007 7:42 pm
That welsh player said that SA is dirty and smug? You should really take a look at the world cup games this year, SA has had many shots thrown at them this world cup (and i mean fist shots) and did not retaliate once! Show me a clip where SA punches a guy in this world cup and i'l shutup.
Anonymous October 15, 2007 8:01 pm
i for one, would like to see england win the cup again, consecutive cup wins would be cool.Normally I hate england.
Anonymous October 15, 2007 8:06 pm
springbokke!!!i don't think the final will be as easy as 36 - 0 in the poule stage, but still think we'll win the final!!Must say, great come-back by england...
Anonymous October 15, 2007 8:09 pm
Def wanna see the fights and also habana being pushed into the boards!! that silly fast knob would be a world number 1 if he put in more chips, he is so quick and deadly if he gets space.....but no space....no habana....(unless ofcourse he chips more)
Anonymous October 15, 2007 10:03 pm
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the Line-Out's and Turnovers, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the Scrums, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the Rucks, we shall fight on the Mauls, we shall fight in Marseille and in the Stade de France, we shall fight in the RWC 2007 Final; we shall never surrender - Sir Winston Churchill.Come on England!!!Swing Low Sweet Chariot!!!
Anonymous October 15, 2007 10:14 pm
England are gonna fuckin punish the springbok wannabes.wilkinson is the best fly half ever. fact.and our pack will destroy the shitboks.CMON ENGLAND.
Anonymous October 15, 2007 10:26 pm
Well.. what to say about this, it was los pumas who gave away the match, they did enough for our country they have my admiration and need a well deserved restOur well played world cups have just begun...
Anonymous October 15, 2007 10:56 pm
south africa look awesome powerful in the pack, dynamic in the back row speed of habanna and the best scrum half in the world, but england have that knack of makin something of nothing it will be an awesome physical final...comin from a welsh man i'm supporting the boks come on the boks
Anonymous October 15, 2007 11:05 pm
As thian says "you ugly bokkie buggers buggers are gonna get fucked up!" hopefully........
Hendrick October 16, 2007 1:46 am
I from the USA, and we might not have the best winger in Rugby, but we do have the fastest!
G-unit October 16, 2007 2:06 am
Judging previous finals...especially the last 3! it's come down to kicking! I hope Monty's got his kicking boots on, because you can guarantee that Johnny will! I think its 50/50 who's going to win! I believe the Boks will have to have enough points 10 ahead in the last 10mins to avoid the english trying to get 3 3pointers to win.... because from what the english have shown in the last couple of games...they'll tackle all day, destroy the scrum, and try to take you out at the ruck! Run them of their feet SA!!!!
tomas October 16, 2007 4:19 am
I am proud of what argentia did this year. coming from a country where rugby is an amateur sport and being excluded from international tournaments (even thought we have proven to be good enough to be there)we still defeated the british lions, france, ireland, scotland, italy, whales and I'm sure we would kick england'S ass... watch out for the PUMAS ARE COMING
Anonymous October 16, 2007 5:48 am
France played (against England) much like I reckon the Saffers will on Saturday (and not too dissimilar to the way they played against England in the pool game) - it'll be another (largely) kicking game.England'll dominate the scrum (like they did a month ago) AND the breakdown, which'll leave the Boks room to move about only on the counterattack. For all the commentators/pundits climbing over other commentators/pundits to wax lyrical about SA this world cup, they looked poor against Fiji (a side Australia pasted) and the other day Argentina basically gave SA the ball. Would I put money on the Boks doing it? Probably, but that's only 'cos i'm a risk-averse kinda bloke. Can England clinch it? They certainly can, and they know it (after defying the odds against Australia and France).
Anonymous October 16, 2007 8:44 am
Reading these comments Im suddently aware of that english cockiness I despise.The cockiness that makes them think before any football World or Euro Cup that they are the best in the business, only to be trashed out by some small country.I hope England loose... by a landslide, if the BOKS can oull it off. And I hope Burger could crack 3 of Wilkos ribs in the process.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 8:50 am
argentina gave them the game. 3 tries were from argentinian mistakes! Im not sure england will give that many away!
Anonymous October 16, 2007 9:01 am
This is going to be very tight, England is very strong and can score anywhere in other opposition's half through penalties and drop doals, but i think the one major weakness of the english is their defence out wide. i watched the semi between them and france and every time france passed wide they made a whole lot of ground, but then kicked it away (don't know why), so where i think the boks can beat the english is the backline, that is if we get enough ball. But just wanna give a big shout out to all the pool A teams, we're the strongest pool in the world cup!
Anonymous October 16, 2007 9:07 am
Holy shit, your talking about apartheid that was 17 years ago! And if you knew what was going on in our country maybe we would listen to you, but stop talking shit! and just accept that the puma's lost to a better team.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 9:19 am
WTF has Apartheid got to do with a bloody game of rugby??? Argentina did well getting to where they got SA and England as well. RWC isn't a F***ing lottery the two teams that get to the final deserve to get there through hard work and good rugby - End of Story! Frankly i'm disgusted that people are mixing politics with rugger, not just here but in other Forums as well. What's next bringing up the Falklands War and the 100 years war with France?. F***ing grow up the lot of you, enjoy the sport, F*** politics.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 9:24 am
I think most of the people who are talking shit of SA or England isnt South African nor English, its people's who's country is already out of the world cup and is being sore losers and is talking crap about any country that is still in the world cup.Going to be a great game thou!
Anonymous October 16, 2007 9:49 am
Yeh, let's just hope its a decent match. Finals can be so tense that teams go quite conservative (understandably). I'd definitely take a repeat of 2003, whether either team wins. Let's just focus on the rugby. And well done to the Pumas, they really have been a shining example for everyone to follow.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 11:21 am
Is it just me or everytime the springboks score a try(except the last intercept the puma's tried to kick/trip the player?
Anonymous October 16, 2007 12:26 pm
Point 1. Whoever said the Boks are dirty and smugg didnt watch any of the games the boks had to endure in their buildup, Fiji tried to decap us and Tonga and Samoa the same. Point 2. Dirty and Smug... hay dude, at least we have the HOT chicks.... not our fault your mothers picture hangs in restaurants to scare off flies.Point 3. I was in England and the English have serious delusions of grandeur when it comes to fist fights, So I double dare you poms to bring your Barmy Army to pretoria on a Friday night... You wouldnt last 5 minutes.As for rugby, England are the most boring team ever. And I seriously shant want a WC based on these kind of crowd snoozing performances. French supporters, get behind the green.... Remember, England has been screwing you for years....
Anonymous October 16, 2007 12:27 pm
who wants to see teams who just drop kick from half way to win a match without even attempting to breach the try line which is what rugby should be about.. exciting running trying to breach the try line... bbboooorrrrriiiinnnnggggg
Anonymous October 16, 2007 12:30 pm
Actually i think english cockyness is not as big as NZ, AUS, RSA, FRA, so at the end of the day shut up.im happy england made it to the finals, i will back them, im not expecting them to win, but at least the World Champions are in the final, which is more than i can say for last world cups runners up!
Chaz October 16, 2007 12:34 pm
The anonymous above with steps 1,2,3....WTF!!!whats with the fist fight comments, who wants to fight, fights happen on the pitch occasionally and thats where they stay, we arent footballers fans shouldnt go looking for fights. and as for your hot women, yeh we know, they all come looking for everyone else, cos you ugly buggers arent good enough.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 12:37 pm
All England have is a powerful scrum and a good flyhalf.S.A have the upper hand in the lineouts, there are always more lineouts than scrums so 1-0 to the boks.Let's credit Wilko with 9 points so long because he should slot at least 3 of the 15 drop kicks he atttempts on saturday.Habana gets an automatic 2 tries and percy slots both.14 to SA.Percy also slots 3 out of 3 penalties that england concede for being ugly.9 to SA.Wilkinson runs on the outside of the field down the line and scored from the outside of the flag inwards. T.V (obviously a northern hemisphere idiot) awards the try. Wilko kicks it from the middle of the field because he felt like it. 7 to England.Steyn drop kicks from behind his own poles.3 to SAFinal ScoreSouth Africa 28-16 England
NZCrazy October 16, 2007 12:49 pm
Yeah we can really see that all the poms are real mature by the way they post. Get some manners and stop cursing, bloody disgrace to your whole nation. For the final, I just dont see eng winning this one, they have depended on Jonno for too long, the Springboks by 10
Anonymous October 16, 2007 1:04 pm
"Steyn drop kicks from behind his own poles."Probably the most hilarious rugby comment evrr, congrats!
molly October 16, 2007 1:08 pm
As a South African I'm embarrassed by the immature responses from other South Africans above. But I also note that most of them are using the anonymous alias and shouldn't be taken seriously.Its going to be a great game this weekend and I can't wait.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 1:38 pm
I'm also embarrassed by my countrymen, fighting in Pretoria? How would the english stand a chance? Their fans don't fight or own guns, don't be an idiot. I wish the match would hurry up so we didn't have time for all this bullshit
Anonymous October 16, 2007 2:00 pm
"Reading these comments Im suddently aware of that english cockiness I despise."Who the hell is this idiot? Don't mistake patriotism for cockiness. If you want cockiness look no firther than the All Blacks. They had trouble getting flights home as they were certain they were going to stay in the cup longer. There are also the Aussies who think they're the best at everything, the Saffers who think they've already won the World Cup and the French who think they play the most beautiful rugby.And what's all this boring crap? In a tournament you play to win. Otherwise whats the point of competing. If you want to play attractive rugby then turn up to a game fling some long range passes about and enjoy your early flight home surrounded by NZ, Aus and FRA!(FRA would not be on a flight home, possibly a connecting flight!)
Anonymous October 16, 2007 2:09 pm
This blog was actually quite attractive when I first visited, a common place where lovers of the sport could congregate and discuss the technical and entertaining side of Rugger. But it sadly seems that it has turned into a pissing contest. I mean WTF it saddens me to see things like Apartheid mentioned by one Argy and fights in Pratoria by a 'Boks fan. For Christ sakes we're not hooligans lads.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 4:05 pm
England to win by 40 points. Sheridan is going to make the SA front row his bitches.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 4:12 pm
"French supporters, get behind the green.... Remember, England has been screwing you for years...." hahaha. what a loser. whos won a grand slam between the world cups? it certainly wasnt england. keep up the work SA, the more you say its a foregone conclusion, the more itll hurt when the final whistle goes and we get to see eddie the traitor jones's smacked arse of a face recieving his second runner up medal. and to all you kiwis and aussies, grow some balls, you might be two of the best teams between world cups, but you only need to win seven or six matches every four years to make it count. 5/6 playoff for a world cup, whats it called? thats right bledisloe cup. now pipe down! come on england, and south africa, good luck. itll be a good match whatever. every final is.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 4:21 pm
damn how bad is the SPRINGBOKS gonna demolish England......GO BOKKE
aaron October 16, 2007 4:28 pm
It was disappointing to see Argentina play so poorly. One dubious try and plenty of unforced errors do not do justice to how they've played in the tournament so far. South Africa on the other hand looked very aware. Nothing wrong with scoring off unforced errors; it means you're actually paying attention. The SA forward pack played much better than Argentina's. I didn't see what all the hype was about with regard to the pumas forwards.It will be close, since England has gained so much form since the pools, but in the end, SA will take it by a close margin.The nice thing about Oz going home early is that I can now just enjoy some good unbiased rugby.
Anonymous October 16, 2007 5:49 pm
Congradulations to Argentia on a stunning world cup - and making known to all what idiots run world rugby at the moment. Yes a lot of the tries were created by argentian errors yet most of those can be credited to the rush defence and being aware of the space after the turnover occurs eg steyn throwing a 30 meter pass to set up habana. The fact of the matter is defences win world cups and they are most vulnerable immidiatly after turnovers.As a South African living in England I hope we sneak it yet I feel it will be a close game with both sides refusing to give an inch. Whoever dominats the breakdown area will win the game.
matt and Northy October 16, 2007 5:57 pm
Check out the insightful comment made by northy and mat on the Josh Lewsey try scoring video! Those guys are clearly well informed 21st century philosophers!xxx
Anonymous October 16, 2007 6:05 pm
Couldn't agree more northy and matt! It really is getting tiresome when various contries in the world especially the antipodean variety actually expect you to feel guilty for giving them a decent start in life!Everyone wanted to conquer the world 300 years ago. It just so happened that the British were the best at it!No need for sour grapes, the past is the past, but dont expect this generation to give a fook.Stephaine and MathosCape Town Universityxxx
Anonymous October 17, 2007 2:13 am
Boys, stop being stupid with your posts. This is about rugby and the awesome spectacle that awaits. I am really ashamed at some of these posts (as a Saffer). But I geuss some people would say anything under the Anonymous tag (the irony is not lost that my comment is also under Anonymous).Boks out thought and out played the Argies. With Francois Steyn storming onto Contepomi, he didnt know where to cover (hence the mistakes and tries). A 20 year old made a superstar look avergare.For the first time in this tournament the Argies came up against someone who is not as easily dominated upfront as Ireland and Scotland. As for France, they were caught a little off guard in the opening match.BOKKE!
Anonymous October 17, 2007 9:54 am
This is to the rugby boys. Go out on Saturday and do what you do best. Rugby is part of growing up in SA not in England. I think Habana is an outstanding wing and hopr there will be many more Habana's in the future. Rugby rules and South Africa will take the cup home. Percy dont worry about the english slating you about your hair and how to win the world cup. They soar loosers.
Anonymous October 17, 2007 10:08 am
Argentina did very well - hats off to them.England also did very well, and they deserve respect, but I do believe, and hope, that SA will take this.To all you scum mouthing off about race in SA - I'm a proud black South African - and I'm behind my team; find some other ammo - that powder keg is wet. As to the idiot comment about "Hitler Youth"; get therapy.
Just a Fan October 17, 2007 10:54 am
Argentina deserved their place in the semi's no doubt about that. but if the Springboks weren't on the field they Argies would not have made any mistakes...the Argies made mistakes because of pressure from the Boks and the Boks capitalised on them -good for them! When playing the Argies the Bok came up against the best foward pack in the RWC - and they had a hard time against it - BUT they STILL came out victorious... therefore as good as the English pack might be - "Been there, done that!"GOOOOO BOKKE!!!!And for all those people who are seem to have lost the use of their brain cells and have had to result in using foul langusge - please remember that children use this website too.
Anonymous October 17, 2007 1:34 pm
I'm an England fan and hope that our boy's go out on Saturday and do the double! However, South Africa deserve to be in the final and have looked extremely handy at punishing opposition mistakes. Excited/nervous about the final! But as an England fan proud that the boy's have turned around what looked to be one of our worst world cups ever! Enjoy the game guy's!
Cheyanqu October 17, 2007 2:17 pm
In SA, if you are a sport which doesn't reflect on 90% of its population, you will be eventually be seen as a niche sport by the large corporate sponsors.If black kids cannot aspire to the Boks, then they won't watch. If they don't watch, sponsors won't put in as much money. They'll put their money into other sports.So regardless of the political and moral stances which anyone might take, economics rules sponsorship.
Anonymous October 17, 2007 3:07 pm
And why would you say black kids dont aspirew to the boks, bcuz their white? Sounds a bit racist to me.
Bosh October 17, 2007 3:47 pm
cheyanqui is absolutely right - very little rugby is played in the districts. A lot of the black kids aspire to be footballers because that's where they see the money and the fame. It's not a race thing... I really hope that if the boks win this year it can encourage a lot more underpriveleged kids to take the time to learn how to play the more complicated game of rugby, and that they are not carried away with the 2010 pansyball preparations for the next 3 years.All credit to Argentina - they came out and showed what they could do but in the end looked rather tired against an energetic and powerful S Africa side. They MUST be included into a 4 Nations ASAP.Finally, I for one will be cheering like a lunatic on Saturday for the men in white. My head says Boks but my heart is very very red. Fervently supporting England - I will be crying if we do win...The Bosh Man, So Paulo, Brazil
Anonymous October 17, 2007 8:48 pm
For me argentina played like the argentina before the world cup. Full of mistakes not exciting, mostly forward battles. And i was disapointed not 2 see the performance like the ones against ireland n france
Zakk October 17, 2007 8:59 pm
"Anonymous said... This is to the rugby boys. Go out on Saturday and do what you do best. Rugby is part of growing up in SA not in England. I think Habana is an outstanding wing and hopr there will be many more Habana's in the future. Rugby rules and South Africa will take the cup home. Percy dont worry about the english slating you about your hair and how to win the world cup. They soar loosers."Firstly, learn to spell. Secondly, Rugby is actually a very big part of growing up in english schools, more so in private schools but also in public. i for one went to a private school (having left only 3-4 years ago) where the only sports were rugby and cricket, then eventually hockey, and seeing as our hockey team took a tour to SA im pretty sure you guys have a team too! and thirdly, england hasnt lost the cup yet, dont get too confident, i will not be all that surprised if they do, but you have to give credit to the ENGLISH RUGBY TEAM, for getting into the finals!!!
tomas October 17, 2007 10:16 pm
all SA has to do is break a johny's ribs with a tackle and they'll have a landslide victory. eng falls down without their worshiped hero
Anonymous October 17, 2007 11:15 pm
And we all know that kind of tactic is what South Africa is all about. You tried it once at Twickenham
Just a Fan October 18, 2007 6:32 am
Yeah we learned it from the Poms... The English Bully Boys are definitely no angels - not even close!
Anonymous October 18, 2007 8:27 am
is this a rugby blog or a politics blog.. hope the final is a great exciting one!! GO BOKS
shizl October 18, 2007 12:33 pm
argentina handed SA the game by being too nervous on the night. otherwise it would have been a close call, had they played like they did against france. the argentina try was indeed shady but it kept the game alive for a while. hernandez had a dreadful game and the rest of the argies seemed stricken by stagefright. the boks, though, are a great team with fantastic individuals. being english, i hope for the best - but if johnny is off par we may not win. its funny how the whole english game is dependant on his golden boot (no disrespect to the rest of the team) and if he loses the game we wont mind - he has given us so much glory already - but he is a born winner so dont be surprised if he kicks us through the gates of heaven. looking forward to a great and grueling showdown that we all can enjoy. thx for the clips and great site webmaster!
Anonymous October 18, 2007 2:21 pm
Yes Arg made many mistakes, but it takes a alot of skill to capitlise on those mistakes.Every try the boks scored they had to show great skill (except the first intercept, but you could argue that interception takes skill aswell) Habana's chip in the second try, great offloading in the third. To me the last intercept try was brilliant, look at where Habana is when the argentian passes the ball. How Habana got from where he was to intercepting the ball is pure lightningfast acceleration.Think for yourself, if you were the guy passing the ball and you saw where Habana was, would you have thought he could intercept it?
Richard October 22, 2007 9:53 am
Personally felt that South Africa did what was needed on the day, and the history books will say that we have two stars on our sleeves ... 1995 and 2007. A job well done, but tell you something ... cannot believe what bad losers the Poms are ... basically no mention of the Boks great performance in their Sunday newspapers and only 20 minutes of post match action. When they won the Webb Ellis trophy against Australia in 2003, Supersport covered the entire post match action. Really a pity for our Boks brothers and sisters residing in the UK.Well done boys, you make us all very very proud!
Anonymous November 23, 2007 5:18 am
yes i agree with richard i live in south africa and the ppl went wild when south africa wonand i herd from a friend in england that they hardly said anything about the final the red necks r bad losers
david January 01, 2008 10:54 am
your wrong, im not english, but i do live in england, everyone was very respectful of the springboks winning, to be honest no one expected england to do as well as they did to reach the final. dunno where the anti english comes from...
Anonymous March 28, 2008 10:44 pm
bryan habana is the quickest rugby player on the planet and one of rugby`s best wingers
Commenting as Guest | Register or Login