England vs South Africa Preview - Rugby World Cup 2023
Date: 21/10/23
Time: 9 PM CET
Venue: Stade de France
England will face South Africa in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup 2023 World Cup at Stade de France on October 21.
Defending champions South Africa twice came from behind to beat France and secure a semi-final date with England next Saturday. France started strong with a try from prop Cyril Baille, but South Africa responded with tries from Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian de Allende, taking a 12-7 lead.
Then the hosts leveled with a try from Peato Mauvaka, but Cheslin Kolbe and Cyril Baille scored again for their respective teams, giving France a 22-19 halftime lead. Thomas Ramos extended their lead with a penalty, but Eben Etzebeth scored for South Africa, and Handre Pollard's conversion and penalty secured the win, despite a late reply from Ramos.
Meanwhile, England clinched victory against Fiji in a closely contested match, with Owen Farrell's late drop-goal and penalty securing the win. In the first half, England scored through Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant, and Owen Farrell contributed 20 points through penalties.
Despite Fiji mounting a remarkable comeback, England's strong performance under coach Steve Borthwick was evident, with their set-piece, defense, and aerial play impressively executed. They successfully held off Fiji's skillful attack until the last 20 minutes when Fiji launched a fierce offensive.
This Sunday's match at the Stade de France promises to be highly competitive.
England vs South Africa Prediction - Rugby World Cup 2023
South Africa won four out of five pool games, suffering their sole defeat in a closely fought match against Ireland, which was arguably the standout game of the tournament. Despite losing, South Africa's physical prowess was evident, as they made 30 dominant tackles in that match, the most in a Tier 1 game since Opta began recording such data in 2010.
Reinach, a standout player for Springboks, is the highest-scoring scrum-half in this year's Rugby World Cup, with four tries to his name. His remarkable performance includes scoring three tries within the first 24 minutes against Romania, marking the second-quickest hat-trick in World Cup history. The only player to score a quicker hat-trick is Reinach himself, achieved in just 21 minutes against Canada in 2019. He is not only an exceptional runner but also an excellent passer, boasting a remarkable 99% pass accuracy rate, which is the second-best among players who have attempted over 40 passes in the tournament.
England's wealth of experience at this stage of the tournament could be a decisive factor, as many members of Borthwick's squad played pivotal roles in their dominant victories over Australia in the 2019 quarter-finals (40-16) and their subsequent semi-final triumph against New Zealand. In contrast, Fiji has never reached the semi-finals, encountering defeat in their two previous quarter-final appearances against France in 1987 (16-31) and South Africa in 2007 (20-37).
While Maro Itoje is a significant threat that South Africa will contend with, England also possesses other formidable weapons. George Ford's kicking prowess was evident in their emphatic victory over Argentina, where he scored all 27 of England's points, setting a Rugby World Cup record for the most points scored by a team without a try. Ford's nine points from drop goals in that game were the most by any player since Namibia's Theuns Kotze achieved the same feat against Fiji in 2011. Furthermore, Owen Farrell made history by surpassing Jonny Wilkinson as England's all-time leading points scorer with a total of 1,181 points.
Latest Odds
Match winner
England - 4.90
South Africa - 1.14
Match result
England - 5.00
Draw - 29.00
South Africa - 1.16