Semi-final/ South Africa v Argentina: No need for late drop-kicks here. And, as if a reminder were necessary, a lesson to England that this World Cup is far from won.
South Africa are the big cat burglars of world rugby, utterly ruthless in seizing on half-chances or fractional misjudgments. They were away into the night with the swag long before the end, leaving the Pumas to rue their recurring failure to keep the ball under lock and key.
At this level turnover ball is the ultimate luxury. The difference between South Africa and England is what they do with it. The Springboks scored all their three first-half tries courtesy of the scavengers' holy trinity: interception, turnover and fumble. Bryan Habana's second try was also a long-range interception.
When England get a turnover they tend to kick it to the outside lavatory. There will come a time, possibly this weekend, when that won't be good enough
But all is not yet lost. Far from it.
"This is our cup final," pronounced a South African journalist, clearly unbothered by the progress of Brian Ashton's side in recent weeks. Confidence and arrogance are not a million miles apart, and there seemed a sense among Bok supporters that the winners last night would be rather more than halfway to paradise. Could it be that losing 36-0 here four weeks ago was the best thing England have ever done?
Do not draw too many conclusions from this scoreline either. Argentina fought back valiantly but had already smoothed South Africa's passage to an unexpected degree. Admittedly Felipe Contepomi was trying to exploit a prime attacking position in the seventh minute, but the miss-pass he threw into a congested midfield was asking for trouble.
It was duly snaffled by the ever-alert Fourie du Preez, comfortably the most impressive scrum-half at this tournament. His toughest task was weaving past the Puma physios who had rushed on to treat Rodrigo Roncero, suddenly materialising in Du Preez's eyeline like loose horses in the Grand National.
There are, even so, a few reasons for England to be optimistic. They have an extra day's rest and recuperation. The evening kick-off this Saturday will mean a greasy ball, more dropped balls and, potentially, more scrums. England love scrummaging, even against the Boks. And while Francois Steyn is a wonderful talent in the making, the young centre remains headstrong.
When Steyn took on two Puma defenders on his 22 the romantics started purring, only to be silenced by the pragmatists when he conceded a penalty for holding on. In the second half he tried the same trick again on the halfway line and knocked on. England's defensive coach, Mike Ford, will have taken due note.
South Africa, furthermore, play in fits and starts. When they are good they are very good. When they stick the ball up in the air and run after it they look as one-dimensional as anyone else.
They are also prone to switching off in the third quarter. Fiji almost made them pay in the quarter-final and, for a second or two after Manuel Contepomi's try, they wobbled again. This South African side is not a totally impervious force of nature.
Nor are they squeaky clean; there were at least a couple of incidents which may attract some interest from the citing commissioner. Danie Rossouw could also be seen remonstrating with Roncero following an off-the-ball exchange in the 24th minute.
It would be a shame if the Pumas do excite disciplinary attention this week because they have given the tournament so much. Hopefully they will continue to delight us but, for now, it is the Boks who dominate England's thoughts.
- Guardian Service
