The prophecy of an England pummeling came to pass when South Africa secured a 36-0 whitewash in St Denis.

With only two pool matches remaining against the USA and Tonga, the Boks are certain to top Pool A. By beating England, they have secured an easier path to the semi-finals.

The way South Africa began it appeared as if a 50-pointer was on the cards. After the initial exchanges, JP Pietersen broke down the blindside off a line-out and found Fourie du Preez in good support. The Bok scrumhalf lost his footing but was still able to set up flanker Juan Smith for a well worked try.

What followed was an all out assault on the England back three. South Africa dominated the line-outs and the ball never went further than first-receiver, where one of Butch James, Frans Steyn or Du Preez would send it into orbit. Their accuracy was telling, with the likes of Jason Robinson often caught out by the Bok chasers. Du Preez also showed some great vision when kicking infield off a penalty, finding space and Jaque Fourie collecting off the run. Unfortunately, the centre lost the ball just before he tried to place the ball over the line.

England were rudderless without Jonny Wilkinson, with Andy Farrell and Mike Catt producing poor efforts in clearing from the flyhalf channel. The number of mistakes the duo made in this position was also unacceptable, be it through a misdirected kick or spilled ball, it just served to heap more pressure on an already battered English defence.

Victor Matfield provided the platform from the line-out, while his second row partner Bakkies Botha got through an exemplary amount of work around the park. The South African scrum were also strong at scrumtime even though they received little opportunity to attack.

Wikus van Heerden was a worthy understudy to Schalk Burger, carrying the ball up strongly and pilfering a few balls off the deck. His cleaning around the rucks was also integral to quick ball, as this enabled the South African kickers to drive the English back into their own half.

Du Preez was in masterful form from the base, be it with ball in hand or with his formidable boot. He created the first try for Smith and then sparked the second just before half-time, stepping past a rushing defender and surging upfield. He drew the last man superbly before freeing up Pietersen, who raced in unopposed and ensured the Boks went to the break with a 20-0 advantage.

England persisted with their tight tactics but the poor attack evident in the World Cup warm ups was once again the inhibitor. Catt never challenged the Bok defence and Farrell was equally impotent. Anybody who expected a surprise in the department would have been bitterly disappointed. But conventional wisdom would suggest this group wasn’t numerous.

England scrapped, but South Africa never allowed the play to become scrappy. They continued to pin the Poms back in their own half, and the killer blow was delivered in the 64th minute through Pietersen’s second try. Du Preez was the orchestrator once again, benefitting from a great forward platform to race round the blindside and direct a simple run in for the South African right winger.

The gap between the two sides was gigantic, but South Afirca never shifted from third gear. They cruised to this win and at the same time ensured England suffered the ultimate humiliation by never securing a point.

For all his magic, Du Preez will be a concern for the Boks after clutching his troublesome shoulder late in the second half. He was duly substituted and the South Africans will hope there is not further damage.

England may not be so lucky, with Robinson pulling up with looked to be a serious hamstring injury. Although Wilkinson and Olly Barkley should be fit for the playoffs, the loss of the veteran should hit England just as hard. Jamie Noon was also stretchered from the field in the dying minutes and could also miss the deciding game against Samoa.

If this game confirmed anything it was that the Webb Ellis Trophy will change hands by the end of this tournament. The big question for England is whether they can surpass Samoa and qualify for the playoffs. On this sort of effort, even the most ardent English fan may be in doubt.

South Africa – Tries: Juan Smith, JP Pietersen (2). Conversions: Percy Montgomery (3). Penalties: Francois Steyn, Montgomery (4).
England – None.

By Jon Cardinelli

This entry was posted on Friday, September 14th, 2007 at 10:30 am and is filed under Live Reports, Rugby World Cup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.