Springboks to meet England in final

NAMPA / AFP South Africa's Faf de Klerk may have been the smallest man on the pitch but that did not stop the scrum-half making his presence felt as the Springboks edged out Wales 19-16 in Yokohama on Sunday to secure a place in next week's World Cup final against England. Before kick-off, much had been made of the sheer physical threat posed by South Africa's forwards but de Klerk, not for the first time this tournament, demonstrated that even modern rugby union can still be a game for all shapes and sizes. Amid a dire first half that ended with the Springboks 9-6 ahead after Handre Pollard kicked three penalties to two from Dan Biggar, de Klerk provided a few moments of wit and invention. The 28-year-old, who credits his time with English Premiership side Sale for sharpening his game, was a buzzing figure in both attack and defence. He caught Wales napping with a blindside break off a scrum before kicking into open space and then chasing up his own punt ahead, and then made light of a considerable size difference to tap-tackle George North as the powerhouse Wales wing looked to counter-attack. One of de Klerk's better box kicks was then just inches away from being re-gathered by wing Makazole Mapimpi. De Klerk proved his defensive worth again with another fine tap-tackle on North that snuffed out the threat of a rare Welsh visit to the Springboks' 22. He did, however, make a rare error early in the second half when, under no pressure, he dropped a high Wales kick and knocked the ball into touch to concede a line-out. De Klerk then also found himself involved in a confrontation with towering Wales lock Jake Ball, the Springbok number nine grinning broadly as they grabbed each other's shirts despite the huge physical disparity between the pair. He also marshalled the backline, linking well with fly-half Pollard, in the build-up to centre Damian de Allende's converted try that saw the Springboks into a 16-9 lead in the 57th minute. At the other end of the pitch, de Klerk was on hand to cover a Rhys Patchell kick into the in-goal area as Wales pressed for a try. And with just a couple of minutes left to play, de Klerk kept his composure superbly to produce a chip behind the defence that bounced into touch to set up a line-out deep into Wales' 22 that helped the Springboks close out the game.SATURDAYAll Blacks coach Steve Hansen admitted that a restless night's sleep had done little to numb the pain of their “gut-wrenching” 19-7 World Cup semi-final defeat by England. The treble-chasing All Blacks suffered only their second defeat in 17 matches against England as their astonishing 18-match unbeaten run at the World Cup came to a shuddering halt in Yokohama on Saturday. “Nothing will alleviate the pain,” said Hansen, whose seven-year reign as coach ends after next week's third-place playoff. “You've got to bank that. We're still hurting as you'd expect, I'm sure the whole country's hurting. It's gut-wrenching, but when you lose you need to show humility - bite down on your gum shield and suck it up,” he added. “You measure your character on how you deal with adversity.” Hansen, who has been linked with the director of rugby role at Japanese club Toyota Verblitz, paid tribute to England after they beat the All Blacks for the first time in four attempts at the World Cup, revealing he had shared a beer with his old rival Eddie Jones after the game. “England didn't sneak up and hit us in the face,” he said, noting how desperate England have been to exorcise the demons of their 2015 flop when they became the first host side to crash out in the pool stage. “They were a team coming into this tournament with a massive amount of pain themselves; not making the playoffs in their home tournament hurt them. “They worked their butts off. They don't play a sophisticated game: win the ball, give it to a big bloke and run hard. It's simplistic but it's beautiful,” added Hansen. “We were beaten by a better team.”For regular updates on the Japan Rugby World Cup please log onto http://rwc.my.na

Springboks to meet England in final

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Springboks to meet England in final

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