Rugby World Cup: Five things we learned from the semi-final weekend

Pedigree counts

No team has ever beaten both New Zealand and South Africa in the same World Cup and that will remain the case for at least another four years. France and Ireland both came within a whisker of doing so, as with the semi-finals, both will find a final between teams they beat and lost narrowly to, a hard watch. The margins have been tiny and that was also true of Saturday’s second semi-final. South Africa trailed England for all but five minutes of the match, and never led until two minutes from the end. Yet, in utterly contrasting fashion to their thrilling quarter-final win, the holders found a way and secured a one-point win for the second game running to reach their fourth final. For the All Blacks it will be a fifth.

Handre Pollard gets his kicks when pressure is highest

In the semi-finals four years ago, Handre Pollard landed five from five, including a 77th-minute penalty to seal a turgid 19-16 win over Wales, before kicking 22 points in the final. Surprisingly omitted from the original Boks’ squad, and unsurprisingly added to it after one run-out with Leicester, he is a man who knows how to make an impact – and when he teed up his near 50-metre penalty against England in the 77th minute, few had any doubt what would happen next.

“I had no doubt at all,” said Siya Kolisi, laughing when asked afterwards. “He has done it for us before.”

Afterwards Pollard gave an insight into his ice-cool attitude. “It was a big moment but it is what you want as a player, to be on this stage,” he said. "To have moments like that as a fly-half is what you live for. It was fun.”

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Will Jordan could be in a class of his own

Nothing we didn’t know already, but this World Cup has confirmed it. Like so many New Zealand wingers through the generations, Will “Air” Jordan has the capacity to veer either way when at full tilt. Witness his long-range finish against the Pumas. While any prop could have finished his first two walk-ins, Jordan’s hat-trick takes his tally to eight tries for this World Cup. He is three clear of others still involved, so seems sure to finish as the tournament’s leading try scorer, and having levelled the record held by Jonah Lomu, Bryan Habana and Julian Savea, Jordan needs one more in the final to set a new RWC landmark.

Farewells will inspire players to go hard in final

The All Blacks vintage of 2015 proved that the last dance can be a powerful spur, and eight years on the Springboks have the oldest squad in the tournament, with 17 30-somethings, while New Zealand are facing a flight of wild geese proportions to Japan.

After Saturday’s semi-final, Steve Borthwick stressed that England had more players aged 25 or under than any of the other semi-finalists. But Courtney Lawes has already confirmed his retirement from Test rugby, and conceivably Joe Marler, Dan Cole, Billy Vunipola, Ben Youngs and Jonny May won’t be around for even this season’s Six Nations, and Henry Arundel, Joe Marchant and Dave Ribbans are joining Ben Willis in the Top 14.

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The Bomb Squad are still the best

The Springboks’ 6-2 splits in 2019, aka the Bomb Squad, played a telling part in their triumph. Four years on Rassie Erasmus opted for a 7-1 split against Ireland, when all the replacement forwards were on by the 64th minute, before reverting to 5-3 splits to accommodate Faf de Klerk, Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux against France and England. In both games, all but one of the bench were on by the 51st minute. Although they left it late against England, their impact was pronounced, Ox Nche winning scrum penalties, RG Snyman scoring the decisive try and Pollard the decisive kicks, before de Klerk won the final turnover for the second match running.