Boks happy for England to be favourites

What hasn’t taken long since the final whistle sounded on South Africa’s win over Wales to become apparent is the Springbok willingness to let England be the favourites in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final at the Yokohama International Stadium.

England’s comprehensive win over the All Blacks in the first semifinal on Saturday sent shock-waves through world rugby, and while the behemoth Bok lock Lood de Jager always felt England had what he called a 50/50 chance, he said the ease with which they had won came as a surprise.

“The margin of victory surprised us. I always thought it would be a 50/50 game because although a lot of people thought the All Blacks would win I rate England as a really good side, but the way they beat them was very comprehensive,” said De Jager.

However, in the same breath as rating England highly, De Jager made it clear that there would be no lack of belief in the Bok camp that they could win the game.

“If you have watched the finals down the years you will note that they are almost always tough. No-one gave France a chance of winning against New Zealand in New Zealand in 2011 and they came very close. I would make England the favourites but we have a foot in the door and anything can happen.”

It could indeed, particularly as the Boks have what few other teams do not have - a pack and a physical game that can match England’s.

“They were very physical and it was actually their defence that won them that game. They have a really physical defence. We pride ourselves on our physicality too, so it is going to be an interesting one to watch,” said De Jager.

While there was surprise among some South Africans that the Boks left it so late against Wales, De Jager felt that it was always going to take a huge amount of effort to grind Wales down and it was always going to be a really close game given the nature of finals rugby.

“We were surprised at how easily England won, but usually the semifinals are very close, with not much more than a score in it at the end. So we knew what to expect in the semifinal, and it went no differently to what we expected. We knew it would come down to a few big moments and the fact we won like that could hold us in good stead for the final.

“It (the semifinal) was always going to be a tight game. Wales are a very structured side, they have great systems. But the guys who came on from the bench for us made a massive impact. The plan was for the starting guys to soften them up a bit and then the big impacts to come on and get the win and that is what happened. We are very pleased to be in the final.

“Winning was a big relief. We lost in the semifinal last time, 2015, and playing for third and fourth place is horrible. Now we have one game to go and it is all on the line. If we can win it will be amazing.”