PREVIEW: South Africa vs England

THE road to this point couldn’t be more different for the two sides.

The Springboks have planned and practised, creeping inch by inch towards the final. England have had none of that – instead, a coach pulling a rabbit from his makeshift hat.It matters not.Eighty minutes is what now stands between a small group of individuals and rugby immortality.Second is the first loser.So humiliating was South Africa’s defeat of England just weeks ago, that some are fogging it off as irrelevant.Perhaps it is too significant to comprehend.The Springboks controlled that game from the very first touch of the ball to the closing whistle, without ever rolling out of second gear.So good was Fourie du Preez on that September night, that he banished Shaun Perry to the England scrap heap.The win had been plotted and planned for months.The Boks knew England would only score in increments of three and so kicked into the corners, kept them playing deep and pounced when the pressure told.Kicking like that takes skill.Percy Montgomery, Frans Steyn and Butch James seem to have the ball on a string.Not so with England.Wilkinson and Robinson have failed with their timing out of hand.No more vividly illustrated than in the semi-final against France.One journalist joked that what the game needed was a petulant schoolboy to storm the pitch and invent a new game by picking up the ball and running with it.Robinson – and perhaps Sackey – provide England’s only attacking weapons.They will miss the injured Josh Lewsey.Matt Tait, who shot to life for a few brief seconds against Australia, has been retained in the midfield, with coach Ashton opting instead to draft Mark Cueto onto the wing as Lewsey’s replacement.Of course, Wilkinson’s contribution to this England team is immense, and well documented.But he is not the Wilkinson of old.Besides his kicking troubles, he has shanked the odd points opportunity and is hardly the defensive Rottweiler of 2003.What he has done is provide his substantial pack with a target.He’s taken the ball to the line and sent runners over it.Shaw, Sheridan and Easter have suddenly come into the game.But South Africa’s pack will not be out-muscled, so Argentina discovered.Man for man, the Boks are more mobile, better all-round players.England outweighed France by some 100 kilograms last weekend.Tomorrow, they will have no such advantage.It is farcical to suggest that CJ van der Linde, Os du Randt and Bakkies Botha could all slot into the England backrow, farcical but not far off.England didn’t have a Wilkinson a month ago.How badly they missed him! Even so, they seem still to be scoring largely in increments of three.Vast hope is pinned to the substantial shoulders of Andrew Sheridan, a former bricklayer, whose performance against Australia has ‘cemented’ his place in rugby folklore.Could England’s fascination with the scrum prove their downfall? As defending champs, England enjoy a host of players with World Cup Final experience.South Africa have just two.Os du Randt deserves to bring the curtain down like this, while Eddie Jones will be hoping to rewrite the events of 2003.Jake White is always at pains to emphasise the importance of experience – an unwitting boost to the England cause.But these Springboks have walked through the valleys to reach this peak.They have learnt – often the hard way – how to close out a Test match.Against Fiji in the quarter-finals, there was no sign of panic, just a calm determination and belief to succeed.Never before has such an experienced Springbok side appeared in the Test arena – planned and practised, creeping inch by inch towards the Final.No team has ever lost during a World Cup and gone on to triumph.Maybe rules are made to be broken? And if a drop-goal is going to win it… let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.The squads: England v. South Africa Andrew Sheridan 1 Os du Randt Mark Regan 2 John Smit Phil Vickery 3 CJ van der Linde Simon Shaw 4 Bakkies Botha Ben Kay 5 Victor Matfield Martin Corry 6 Schalk Burger Lewis Moody 7 Juan Smith Nick Easter 8 Danie Rossouw Andy Gomarsall 9 Fourie du Preez Jonny Wilkinson 10 Butch James Mark Cueto 11 Bryan Habana Mike Catt 12 Francois Steyn Mathew Tait 13 Jaque Fourie Paul Sackey 14 JP Pietersen Jason Robinson 15 Percy Montgomery George Chuter 16 Bismarck du Plessis Matt Stevens 17 Jannie Du Plessis Joe Worsley 18 Johann Muller Lawrence Dallaglio 19 Wikus van Heerden Peter Richards 20 Ruan Pienaar Toby Flood 21 Andre Pretorius Dan Hipkiss 22 Wynand Olivier Prediction: The Springboks have too many tricks to be caught chasing a one-trick pony.As long as they hold their nerves, South Africa will become only the second team in rugby history to be crowned champions for the second time.England have had none of that – instead, a coach pulling a rabbit from his makeshift hat.It matters not.Eighty minutes is what now stands between a small group of individuals and rugby immortality.Second is the first loser.So humiliating was South Africa’s defeat of England just weeks ago, that some are fogging it off as irrelevant.Perhaps it is too significant to comprehend.The Springboks controlled that game from the very first touch of the ball to the closing whistle, without ever rolling out of second gear.So good was Fourie du Preez on that September night, that he banished Shaun Perry to the England scrap heap.The win had been plotted and planned for months.The Boks knew England would only score in increments of three and so kicked into the corners, kept them playing deep and pounced when the pressure told.Kicking like that takes skill.Percy Montgomery, Frans Steyn and Butch James seem to have the ball on a string.Not so with England.Wilkinson and Robinson have failed with their timing out of hand.No more vividly illustrated than in the semi-final against France.One journalist joked that what the game needed was a petulant schoolboy to storm the pitch and invent a new game by picking up the ball and running with it.Robinson – and perhaps Sackey – provide England’s only attacking weapons.They will miss the injured Josh Lewsey.Matt Tait, who shot to life for a few brief seconds against Australia, has been retained in the midfield, with coach Ashton opting instead to draft Mark Cueto onto the wing as Lewsey’s replacement.Of course, Wilkinson’s contribution to this England team is immense, and well documented.But he is not the Wilkinson of old.Besides his kicking troubles, he has shanked the odd points opportunity and is hardly the defensive Rottweiler of 2003.What he has done is provide his substantial pack with a target.He’s taken the ball to the line and sent runners over it.Shaw, Sheridan and Easter have suddenly come into the game.But South Africa’s pack will not be out-muscled, so Argentina discovered.Man for man, the Boks are more mobile, better all-round players.England outweighed France by some 100 kilograms last weekend.Tomorrow, they will have no such advantage.It is farcical to suggest that CJ van der Linde, Os du Randt and Bakkies Botha could all slot into the England backrow, farcical but not far off.England didn’t have a Wilkinson a month ago.How badly they missed him! Even so, they seem still to be scoring largely in increments of three.Vast hope is pinned to the substantial shoulders of Andrew Sheridan, a former bricklayer, whose performance against Australia has ‘cemented’ his place in rugby folklore.Could England’s fascination with the scrum prove their downfall? As defending champs, England enjoy a host of players with World Cup Final experience.South Africa have just two.Os du Randt deserves to bring the curtain down like this, while Eddie Jones will be hoping to rewrite the events of 2003.Jake White is always at pains to emphasise the importance of experience – an unwitting boost to the England cause.But these Springboks have walked through the valleys to reach this peak.They have learnt – often the hard way – how to close out a Test match.Against Fiji in the quarter-finals, there was no sign of panic, just a calm determination and belief to succeed.Never before has such an experienced Springbok side appeared in the Test arena – planned and practised, creeping inch by inch towards the Final.No team has ever lost during a World Cup and gone on to triumph.Maybe rules are made to be broken? And if a drop-goal is going to win it… let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.The squads: England v. South Africa Andrew Sheridan 1 Os du Randt Mark Regan 2 John Smit Phil Vickery 3 CJ van der Linde Simon Shaw 4 Bakkies Botha Ben Kay 5 Victor Matfield Martin Corry 6 Schalk Burger Lewis Moody 7 Juan Smith Nick Easter 8 Danie Rossouw Andy Gomarsall 9 Fourie du Preez Jonny Wilkinson 10 Butch James Mark Cueto 11 Bryan Habana Mike Catt 12 Francois Steyn Mathew Tait 13 Jaque Fourie Paul Sackey 14 JP Pietersen Jason Robinson 15 Percy Montgomery George Chuter 16 Bismarck du Plessis Matt Stevens 17 Jannie Du Plessis Joe Worsley 18 Johann Muller Lawrence Dallaglio 19 Wikus van Heerden Peter Richards 20 Ruan Pienaar Toby Flood 21 Andre Pretorius Dan Hipkiss 22 Wynand Olivier Prediction: The Springboks have too many tricks to be caught chasing a one-trick pony.As long as they hold their nerves, South Africa will become only the second team in rugby history to be crowned champions for the second time.