South Africa progressed to the rugby World Cup semi-finals yesterday by eking out a hard-fought 37-20 victory over Fiji in a brutal but enthralling game in which no quarter was given.
With some monumental hits exchanged between two immensely physical sides, it was the Springboks' superior forward nous and power that finally ground down a Fiji side that were only 13-3 behind at the interval.
South Africa were given the fright of their lives when Fiji scored two tries in two minutes when down to 14 men halfway through the second half.
But while the Fiji team all seemed capable of beating the first-up Springbok tackles, they were also guilty of losing the ball in the contact area when the second wave of defense arrived.
In a cracking start, Montgomery missed an easy penalty after the Fiji scrum buckled under the experience of the 'Bok front row of Os du Randt, captain Smith and Jannie du Plessis, a late call-up for the injured CJ van der Linde.
But Steyn made amends with a 53m penalty.
The 'Boks spurned their next kickable penalty chance and kicked to touch. From the ensuing ruck, Fourie du Preez fired out an inch-perfect pass for center Jacque Fourie to cross in the corner.
John Smith was the beneficiary of South Africa's powerful driving maul when he was driven over for a try in the 35th minute.
Bai kicked his second penalty early in the second-half after Bryan Habana was caught in possession, but the 'Boks responded immediately.
Lock Victor Matfield held off a tackler to offload to Pietersen for a simple run-in. To make matters worse for Fiji, center Seru Rabeni saw yellow for a high tackle on Butch James.
But Fiji were far from out of it. Just as they seemed to lose their shape, Delasau spotted a half-chance, chipped and pounced on his own kick for a try.
Two minutes later, the irrepressible Rauluni broke the line to find Sireli Bobo steaming up in support and the winger had enough power to ride Fourie's tackle for a try that Bai again converted to draw the scores level at 20-20.
Despite Montgomery hitting a penalty, Fiji had the chance to take the game from South Africa, but Seru Rabeni knocked on over the line and Pietersen made a magnificent try-saving tackle on Rawaqa.
The 'Boks made sure of the win with two late tries from Smit and Butch James.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS