South Africa crush England to lift Rugby World Cup
November 2, 2019
South Africa's wingers Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe — along with the goalkicking of flyhalf Handre Pollard — ensured a Springbok victory over an error-prone England on Saturday.
The sides finished the first half in Yokohama with the scoreline at 12-6 in South Africa's favor.
Read more: Siya Kolisi: South Africa's unlikely captain and inspirational leader
The Springboks scored four first-half penalties in a brutal half characterized by mistakes from England, who answered with two successful penalty kicks of their own.
The slip-ups continued into the second half with Pollard and England captain Owen Farrell exchanging a series of penalty kicks.
The match only saw its first try in the 66th minute, when Makazole Mapimpi became the first Springbok to score a try in a Rugby World Cup final, bringing the score to 25-12.
The South Africans only rubbed salt into the English wounds in the 73rd minute, when Cheslin Kolbe landed a try that was converted by Pollard to stretch the lead to 32-12.
It was an emotional Springbok captain Siya Kolisi who appeared before cameras after the match.
"We have so many problems in our country but a team like this, we come from different backgrounds, different races but we came together with one goal and we wanted to achieve it," Kolisi said.
"I really hope we've done that for South Africa," he added. "Just shows that we can pull together if we want to achieve something."
South Africa won on both previous occasions it reached the final, beating New Zealand in 1995 and England in 2007.