Monday 15 October 2007

RWC: The final is set. South Africa vs England

There we have it, the teams to play the final next Saturday are determined and we will see a rematch of the pool game in which the Springboks crushed England 36-0. England went through against a very strong French team who were leading until the end of the 2nd half. That was when Jonny Wilkinson finally got into his rhythm, scoring a penalty and a drop goal and by doing so beating Les Bleues 14-9. It was a very tense and close game and it was even harder to get a place to watch this match. Me and some friends tried our luck at an Irish pub in the old part of Cologne, but that place was so packed they wouldn't even let anyone in anymore. So we took a taxi to some other Irish pub in the inner city only to find the same picture. So we ended up watching the game from the outside trying to get at least a glimpse of the screen inside the bar. And it wasn't only us, there were lots of French and English people waiting for the match. The atmosphere was way more relaxed than any football match I'd seen before.
The next day I preferred to watch the second semifinal at home. I wasn't sure what to expect since the Springboks were struggling against Fiji, although the scoreline was rather distracting (37-20). The Pumas on the other hand came through against Scotland and played some pretty impressive rugby in their pool matches. But yesterday they were simply making way too many mistakes. Which is why it was too easy for South Africa to score. They quickly went up with a try and Argentina was never able to bounce back from that. The Boks on easily 37-13 and will now face an English side who didn't play very beautiful rugby but who look very threatening when they face their opponents. Thsi will be something to look forward to. The best World Cup so far. England have the chance to make history by becoming the first team to win back to back championships. Something noone expected before the start of the tournament.

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