Monty burns English hopes

Rugby World Cup

South Africa's players Bryan Habana, left, and Percy Montgomery celebrate after the Rugby World Cup final

South Africa 15 England 6

Monday, October 22, 2007

By Gavin Mairs

Finals often fail to live up to the fire-cracking tournament that has preceded them.

And so it proved at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night as South Africa's victory to clinch the World Cup crown for the second time in their history in a fraught affair that lacked the creative genius or thrilling ride that the 80,432 supporters in the stadium had craved.

As Jon Smit lifted up the Webb Ellis Cup and a pyrotechnic show from the roof of the stadium in Saint Denis lit up the chilly Paris night, the 20,000-odd Springboks supporters did not care about the manner of their side's triumph however.

We must never forget in this game, that winning is everything, the means to that end only a secondary concern. And the best side won.

That South Africa played so little rugby, with such devastating runners as Bryan Habana, Steyn and JP Pietersen in their backline division, was a disappointment for the neutral hoping to see the Springboks at full tilt for the first time in this tournament.

Yet on the night they didn't have to get out of third gear against an England side whose only tactic was to kick the cover off the ball in exchange for territory that they hoped would provide goal-kicking opportunities for Jonny Wilkinson.

Such tactics have yielded rich rewards in victories over Australia and France in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, but came unstuck against the Bok, who had both the firepower up front and kicking game out behind to nullify England's threats.

As it was, it was South Africa who were more than happy just to kick their goals, four from the excellent Percy Montgomery and a long-range effort by young gun Steyn, with Wilkinson only landing two in reply.

The Springboks weren't even forced to land a killer blow on the night, a death by a thousands cuts was enough to drain the life out of a committed and courageous English side whose limitations were finally laid bare again.

The key to the Springboks' superiority was their brilliant line-out, which deprived England of 10 of their own throws; their ability to disrupt the previously imperious English scrum and a aggressive counter-rucking which yielded a number of big turnovers.

Gaining yards was a war of attrition and when England finally worked an attacking platform, it was snatched away from them, with Springbok lock Victor Matfield deservedly awarded the man-of-the-match award. He even threw in a sumptuous kick to the corner in England's 22 to highlight his footballing skills.

That England had even reached the final was a monumental achievement by Brian Ashton and his team and they were hugely more competitive than they had been against the same opposition in the pool match 36 days earlier when the holders went down 36-0 in humiliating fashion.

For England to have stood any chance of becoming the first nation to have successfully defended their crown, everything had to go their way on Saturday. They had to build pressure on Springboks, rattle their cage and make them come out of their comfort zone.

But lady luck wasn't smiling while England also guilty of being masters of their own downfall.

Montgomery's opening two penalties were gifted to him, first when Wilkinson, of all people, decided to run a ball out of his 22 and Matthew Tait was caught in possession; then a stupid trip by Lewis Moody on Butch James enabled the Springbok full-back to restore his side's lead after Wilkinson had briefly levelled the scores.

England's kicking game wasn't accurate enough to put the Springbok back three under enough pressure and when Montgomery's slotted a third penalty on the stroke of half-time for a 9-3 lead after a rare sizzling break by Steyn, it already felt like too much of a gap to make up for England.

Yet England refused to lie down and were desperately unlucky not to get themselves right back into the contest when TMO Stuart Dickinson, after an eternity, adjudged that England wing Mark Cueto had made the slightest contact with the touchline as he grounded the ball for what looked like a good try following Tait's side-stepping 40-metre break from a wild pass by Andy Gomarsall.

It was the right call, and although Wilkinson slotted a penalty instead to cut the deficit to three points again, it felt like England's last chance and their game was increasingly marked by desperation and frustration.

Within six minutes, Montgomery had slotted his fourth penalty and crucially, just on the hour mark, another tough call on England allowed Steyn to extend the lead beyond a converted try with his first penalty after Irish referee Alain Rolland called obstruction as Dan Hipkiss launched a counter-attack.

The Springboks now had the cushion they craved and could just sit back and soak up the pressure as England moved the ball with little effect or penetration.

This fantastic tournament deserved a more entertaining finale, but South Africa are worthy champions.

ENGLAND: J Robinson (unattached, D Hipkiss (Leicester) 47min); P Sackey (Wasps), M Tait (Newcastle), M Catt (London Irish, T Flood (Newcastle) 51min), M Cueto (Sale); J Wilkinson (Newcastle), A Gomarsall (Harlequins); A Sheridan (Sale), M Regan (Bristol, G Chuter (Leicester) 63min), P Vickery (capt, Wasps, M Stevens (Bath) h-t), S Shaw (Wasps), B Kay (Leicester), M Corry (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins, L Dallaglio (Wasps) 65min), L Moody (Leicester, J Worsley (Wasps) 63min, P Richards (London Irish) 71min)

SOUTH AFRICA: P Montgomery (Sharks); JP Pietersen (Sharks), J Fourie (Lions), F Steyn (Sharks), B Habana (Bulls); B James (Sharks), F du Preez (Bulls); O du Randt (Cheetahs), J Smit (capt, Sharks, B du Plessis (Cheetahs) 72-77min), CJ van der Linde (Cheetahs), B Botha (Bulls), V Matfield (Bulls), S Burger (Stormers), D Rossouw (Bulls, W van Heerden (Bulls) 72min), J Smith (Cheetahs)