Rugby World Cup: Springboks shock Wales, New Zealand trounces France
LONDON— As his rival coach Heyneke Meyer was jumping around and delightedly punching the air, Warren Gatland shook his head mournfully at another one that got away for Wales.
Despite an injury toll that would have rendered many other backlines useless, Wales was leading two-time champion South Africa with five minutes to go in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final Saturday.
One scrum changed it all. Springboks winger Bryan Habana forced the scrum, racing out of a ruck deep in the Welsh quarter and forcing a turnover. No. 8 Duane Vermeulen picked up the ball at the base of a wheeling scrum, drew in the Welsh scrumhalf and right winger on the blindside and unloaded to his skipper Fourie du Preez, who took off on an arching run before diving into the left corner to give South Africa the 23-19 win.
“Going out now seems very premature,” Wales captain Sam Warburton said. “The changing room at the end was very quiet. It’s difficult to find the words.”
In the other quarter-final in Cardiff, defending champion New Zealand answered any lingering questions about its apparent lack of form by scoring nine tries in a record 62-13 win over France.
Warburton’s squad reached the semifinals in 2011 and emerged from the toughest group this time with a comeback 28-25 win over host England and a narrow defeat to two-time champion Australia.
Wales had only once beaten South Africa before a victory in Cardiff last November, a victory that gave Warburton immense confidence.
Injuries took a toll, however, with a host of backline stars ruled out of the tournament, including influential fullback and goalkicker Leigh Halfpenny.
Flyhalf Dan Biggar stepped into the breach as goalkicker, and was accurate and reliable right through the tournament, and against South Africa.
He landed a penalty, kicked an up-and-under and re-gathered to set up a try for his halves partner Gareth Davies, which he converted, and then slotted a dropped goal to give Wales a 13-12 lead at halftime.
In Cardiff, left winger Julian Savea led the way with a superb hat-trick as the All Blacks secured the biggest winning margin in a World Cup quarter-final, eclipsing the mark set by South Africa in 1995 with a 42-14 win over Samoa.
New Zealand will play a semifinal next weekend against the Springboks and will be the favourite.