Lawes reviews England’s Rugby World Cup semi-final loss to South Africa
A mammoth Rugby World Cup final awaits us between reigning champions South Africa and previous dominant force New Zealand tonight at the Stade de France in Paris. The two giants go head-to-head in the showpiece event with very little separating them following the brutal knockout stage.
South Africa scraped through to the final by the skin of their teeth with a last-gasp win over England thanks to Handre Pollard’s penalty, while New Zealand cruised past Argentina – which was the second biggest margin of victory ever at the semi-final stage.
So one of rugby’s greatest rivalries will play out its next chapter tonight in Paris, and it’s impossible to predict who will come out on top with both sides not seen as the favourites heading into the global competition.
It’s set to be a fascinatingly close encounter, and ahead of the eagerly-anticipated showdown, Express Sport has even had a look at what will happen if the 80 minutes ends in a draw…
The same rules apply for the quarters, semis and the final if the match ends in a draw. Following a brief five-minute break to regroup, two halves of ten minutes will be played out with another five-minute gap in between. On top of that, there will be a coin toss to decide who kicks first while the other side gets to chose what half they want to play into.
However, if after 20 minutes of extra-time New Zealand and South Africa can’t be separated, there will be another break for five before 10 minutes of sudden death action – just like there was in the 2003 World Cup final between England and Australia, which Sir Clive Woodward’s side heroically won 20-17 thanks to Jonny Wilkinson’s famous drop goal.
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However, the final could still remarkably go on if both teams don’t score first in sudden death. Just like in football, there will be a kicking competition to determine the World Cup winners. Again, a toin coss will decide who goes first with only players on at the end of the match able to kick.
Five players from both sides will line up, with three different positions to kick from, all on the 22-metre line. Another sudden death process will take place if the scores remain level, with the same team order as before. And that rolls on until there’s eventually a winner in what would be an agonisingly cruel way to determine the World Cup champions.
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