Boks play down edge over England
The Springboks were carrying a noticeable air of confidence after Sunday’s semi final win over Argentina. They are certainly entitled to, given the Boks will take on an opponent they slaughtered only weeks ago. However the official line is rather predictable.
“Whatever happened earlier in the tournament is irrelevant. It’s a new ball game,” said coach Jake White.
“They have proved they are a different team with Jonny Wilkinson at Number 10.”
A fact England will be banking on. Not only were the English annihilated 36-0 by the Boks in the World Cup group stage, but also went down to South Africa 55-22 and 58-10 earlier this year, with Wilkinson missing.
“It counts for nothing when you play in a World Cup final. France have been dominated by New Zealand in recent times and ended up beating them in the quarter final,” White opined.
Captain John Smit was equally as giving.
“They’ve proved a lot of people wrong. They’ve been playing World Cup winning rugby in their last two games,” said Smit.
“They seem to have got the formula right and there seems to be a good spirit amongst the players. They have done well to get respect and they all work for each other.”
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