A late penalty by Handre Pollard helped South Africa book their place in the Rugby World Cup final as they edged England 16-15 at the Stade de France on Saturday.

In the first half, England was smart and committed. They threw a lot of kicks into South Africa’s backfield, which led to a lot of penalties.

In the first half, Owen Farrell scored four goals to give his team a 12–6 lead.

After halftime, the Springboks changed their lineup a few times, but a Farrell drop goal put England even further ahead and on the verge of a seismic shock.

But a try by RG Snyman in the last 10 minutes cut the underdogs’ lead to 15–13. In the 77th minute, Handre Pollard’s strong scrum gave the Boks the penalty that won the game.

The English team had been ahead from the third minute until three minutes left, but the end was very harsh.

White shirts sagged on the soggy Stade de France pitch, and in other places, the aggression and tension of the game led to groups of players facing off against each other.

That’s how England always played—they never backed down and fought their favourite opponents.

The performance also proved coach Steve Borthwick right. In 18 months, he turned Leicester from relegation candidates to Premiership champions, and now he has done another amazing job to get England so close to a final.

After narrowly beating hosts France last weekend on the same stage, South Africa will play New Zealand in the championship match. Both teams are trying to win a record fourth title.

They will play Argentina on Friday in the third-place play-off.

The Springboks were smarter and stronger than England in the last Rugby World Cup final and at Twickenham in the fall, but England came into the game as the favourite, with confidence and a clear plan.

English split their forward chase to keep the Boks guessing, and Joe Marchant almost caught Farrell’s first drop-out.

Elliot Daly jumped over Kurt-Lee Arendse to touch back an Alex Mitchell corner kick. Courtney Lawes picked up a loose ball on the ground, and Freddie Steward, who was brought back into the starting lineup just for this game, snatched up any ball that was kicked into England’s backfield.

England’s barrage seemed to scare South Africa.

Referee Ben O’Keeffe was under a lot of scrutiny after the Boks’ controversial win over France in the round of 16. He then slapped Pieter-Steph Du Toit and Siya Kolisi very quickly.

In the first 10 minutes, Farrell kicked two penalties that gave his team a 6-0 lead.

One-out runners, driven line-outs, scrum pressure, and low-risk percentages were some of the things South Africa tried to fall back on. But England wouldn’t let them get a foothold.

It turned a Springbok rolling maul around. George Martin, who was known for being rough, hit Franco Mostert so hard that he had to knock him off.

To make things even, Manie Libbok scored three points for South Africa. But Farrell made it six points clear from the tee after full-back Damian Willemse threw a loose ball that put his team under pressure.

At 32 minutes, South Africa was down 9–3 and making a lot of mistakes, so they switched Libbok to Pollard at fly-half.

It took a while for the momentum switch to happen. After another round of penalties, England went into the tunnel 12–6, which was the same lead South Africa had at halftime in Yokohama four years before.

The replacements South Africa used a week ago helped them beat the hosts, and they kept emptying their bench as they looked for a solution.

As soon as the game started again, Faf de Klerk, Willie le Roux, and Snyman were brought on. Eben Etzebeth, who was a symbol, was one of the players who had to leave.

At first, though, England’s own replacements made a bigger difference. Ellis Genge slammed into the ball, making it easy for Farrell to score. This put his team 15-6 ahead and out of reach after 53 minutes, even with a converted score.

Before the game, England’s fans seemed to be outnumbered in the stadium. Suddenly, though, the champions’ fans started singing louder, with Swing Low filling the stands.

But in the end, Springbok fans were the ones who cheered the loudest and last.

South Africa in the second row England’s lead was cut to two points when Snyman scampered over close to the posts. In the end, his team’s depth won them a nail-biting finish.

Getting new props Ox Nche and Vincent Koch used the set piece to get a penalty, and Pollard was just as steady as he was in 2019.