Izuchukwu OkosiSouth Africa Sunday night beat France 29-28 in an intense quarterfinal match in Paris to knock the hosts out of the Rugby World Cup and set up a semifinal clash against England, who were victorious against Fiji.
The South African team, the Springboks, are gunning for a fourth title in the competition.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn a thrilling atmosphere at the Stade de France, Les Bleus’ supporters were vociferous which spurred their team on and culminated in a 22-19 lead at halftime.
However, a resolute South African team scored the only try of the second half through forward Eben Etzebeth to hit the front with 13 minutes left.
Etzebeth had earlier been yellow-carded, putting his team under intense pressure, but the French only managed a solitary penalty goal while he was off the field.
An exchange of penalties in the final minutes left France needing another score to stay alive.
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The home side roared forward in the final seconds, but as they tried to keep the move going the ball was spilled forward, leaving the defending champions South Africa to kick the ball to touch to end the game.
The result marked a brutal blow for France’s new generation, who came into the tournament with the self-belief to claim a first World Cup title.
Meanwhile, Centres Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant scored twice as England led 24-10 early in the second half and looked in control.
However, in classic style, Fiji scored two tries in four minutes to change the mood, only for England, thanks to surging runs by number eight Ben Earl, to regain the lead, which they held during a gripping finale.
England reached their sixth World Cup semi-final and will go in search of a fifth final appearance when they meet France.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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