Old age is not for sissies, they say.
At Twickenham Stadium on Saturday youth will not be for sissies, as those men will fling themselves body and soul into the Rugby World Cup semifinal between New Zealand’s All Blacks and the South African Springboks, still the game’s greatest rivalry.
Those 46 men, in peak fitness, will risk everything in a sport that is as near as it can be to battle.
They will risk sinew, muscle, bone, heart and mind – everything short of life itself and, who knows, if it were asked of them would life be too big a sacrifice?
And then 80 minutes later they will shake hands and even hug the men they battled against – despite the fury of their effort and despite even the disappointment of defeat.
The match will not be a hate-filled war.
The 2 sides have met 3 times before in Rugby World Cups.
South Africa just won the Final in 1995 and then won the 3rd place play-off in 1999. New Zealand walloped South Africa in the quarterfinal of 2003.
The people of both countries will know about this match and experience their own level of tension in the hopes and fears of the day.
It is a part of the culture of those countries.
In days when matches between the 2 countries were few and far between, as travel dictated (and there were racial hamstrings in 3 New Zealand sides to South Africa till 1970), South Africa led New Zealand in the winning tally.
Those days ended when the world was an easier place for travel.
Then New Zealand pulled ahead and are now 17 matches ahead, with the Springboks still closer in the rivaly than all other sides against New Zealand, which also means that they are more likely to beat the All Blacks than other teams would be.
More than ever before in the sport’s history, the All Blacks rule.
The way they massacred the French in the quarterfinal was an example of that. France have beaten them in the past but not this time.
South Africa have beaten them in the past – what about this time?
The Springboks know full well the lesson of this Rugby World Cup – nothing is impossible. The Japanese taught them that, all right.
There is no divine right to victory.
But for the All Blacks to lose, they will need to be unnerved into error.
For the Springboks to win they will need bodies and minds of steel.
And in victory and defeat there is always the luck of the bounce – the awkward shape of the ball, the surprising refereeing decision, the opportunity grabbed or missed.
It is a game after all.
And rain is likely.
The All Blacks are more used to the wet than the Springboks are, but the wet can often offer or deny opportunities of victory to either side.
On show at Twickenham Stadium will be some of the greatest players in rugby history, many to watch and admire.
Players to watch:
New Zealand:
Of the All Blacks you will want to see several players. You will want to see Richie McCaw, the most capped Test player ever and – who knows – perhaps in his last Test. Then there is action-man Ma’a Nonu who may just be in his best form ever, and the 3 unrelated Smiths. There is buzzing Ben, clever Conrad and artful Aaron. Those 3 mean so much to their side, Conrad perhaps less obviously but then the greatness of his skill is perhaps underestimated, for he is the clever player who gives his fullback and his wings the freedom for run while protecting them in tight situations. Those wings are so worth watching – big bursting Julian Savea and deceptively strong and deceptively fast Nehe Milner-Skudder, a 100% man. And we have not yet reached Dan Carter, to many with long memories the best flyhalf ever in the history of the game. The backs are always more obvious than the grafting forwards but both New Zealand locks, Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick, do what locks do with exceptional skill and determination. These All Blacks are a frightening prospect and yet every 1 of them is human – flesh, bone and weakness. Even the bench players are exciting, with players like Sonny Bill Williams, speedy Beauden Barrett and ubiquitous Victor Vito on the New Zealand bench.
South Africa:
Amongst the Springboks there is that intuitive, skilful scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, one of rugby’s best, and outside of him young Handré Pollard (21) of immense talent who just over a year ago scored 2 tries against the All Blacks on the day of Pat Lambie’s calm, long penalty. Outside of Pollard is young Damian de Allende who can do all an inside centre needs to do – pass immaculately, burst with strength, clever footwork and speed, tackle efficiently and kick if necessary. There is power in the pack – Duane Vermeulen, Eben Etzebeth, Schalk Burger, Bismarck du Plessis and Frans Malherbe, and then there is the find of 2015 – Lood de Jager, the 2015 Rugby World Cup’s leading tackler, who is the most productive Springbok in the lineout and a strong runner with the ball. Every player in this match is worth watching. Patriarchal Victor Matfield, burly Willem Alberts, effective Adriaan Strauss and talented young Pat Lambie on the South African bench.
Head to Head:
Obviously it’s team against team, the more direct and cohesive the better. Then there are units – the front rows, where South Africa (Frans Malherbe, Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira) look stronger than the New Zealand front row (Owen Franks, Dane Coles and Joe Moody). The least experienced players in the front row will be up against each other – Joe Moody of New Zealand against Frans Malherbe of South Africa, 9 Test caps against 10. One would assume the money is on Malherbe to come out tops. Amongst the locks South Africa has greater youth and inexperience with Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager up against Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick (who knows all the shortcuts and how to get in the way). The All Blacks could well do better at lineouts and kick-offs than their younger opponents, not that the younger opponents will yield without a full-time fight. The post-tackle area has been highlighted and it is here that South Africa will need to be hard and cohesive to live with the All Blacks, for whom winning the tackle ball is an ancient art. There are several battles amongst the backs – calm Fourie du Preez against effervescent Aaron Smith at scrumhalf; smooth, experienced (110 caps) Dan Carter against young, strong, 18-caps Handré Pollard. There will be 2 big Old Bull vs Young Bull clashes amongst the backs – strong Ma’a Nonu against strong, fearless Damien de Allende at inside centre and on the wings Bryan Habana with 115 caps and joint most World Cup tries over all against Julian Savea with 39 caps and most tries at this Rugby World Cup.
Kicking? The main kickers are Handré Pollard and Dan Carter, and there is not much to choose between them. Both can kick the really hard one and miss the easier one, but Carter kicks off better. Carter and other New Zealand kickers kick much better out of hand in that their kicks are more retrievable and meaningful than Pollard and other South African kickers. There are so many points of interest in this semifinal, which has the feel of a Final.
Recent results:
- 2015: New Zealand won 27 / 20, Johannesburg
- 2014: South Africa won 27 / 25, Johannesburg
- 2014: New Zealand won 14 / 10, Wellington
- 2013: New Zealand won 38 / 27, Johannesburg
- 2013: New Zealand won 29 / 15, Auckland
- 2012: New Zealand won 32 / 16, Soweto
- 2012: New Zealand won 21 / 11, Dunedin
- 2011: South Africa won 18 / 5, Port Elizabeth
- 2011: New Zealand won 40 / 7, Wellington
- 2010: New Zealand won 29 / 22, Soweto
- 2010: New Zealand won 31 / 17, Wellington
- 2010: New Zealand won 32 / 12, Auckland
Previous Rugby World Cup results:
- 1995: South Africa won 15 / 12, Johannesburg (Final)
- 1999: South Africa 22 / 18, Cardiff (3rd place play-off)
- 2003: New Zealand won 29 / 9, Melbourne (Quarterfinal)
Teams:
All Blacks: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (Captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.
Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez (Captain), 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Victor Matfield, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.
Date: Saturday 24 October 2015
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-Off: 17:00 SA Time (16:00 UK Time, 15:00 GMT, Sunday 04:00 NZ Time)
Expected weather: Rain expected (3mm), which affects Twickenham as it does not have a closed roof, with a high of 14°C, dropping to 4°C.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Johnny Lacey (Ireland)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
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