Where the Rugby World Cup semis will be won and lost
There are many who believe this weekend’s semi-finals are merely formalities ahead of a Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and South Africa in Paris on Saturday week.
Argentina and England would beg to differ, as both have achieved significant victories over their semi-final opponents in recent years.
Argentina have won two of their last seven against the All Blacks, including their first win in New Zealand in 2022. England have beaten South Africa in three of their last seven, including a home victory in Cape Town in 2018.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, congratulates an England team that only just scraped past Fiji to be the only northern hemisphere nation to reach the Rugby World Cup semi-finals. Getty
Argentina were outstanding in the quarter-final against Wales, bravely fighting back in Marseille.
England have been the quiet achievers of this Rugby World Cup and are still smarting after being whacked by South Africa in the 2019 final in Tokyo. Let’s have a look in more detail.
Argentina v New Zealand – Stade de France, 9pm Friday (6am Saturday AEDT)
The All Blacks have been on a rampage since their heavy loss to France in the opening game of the tournament on September 9. The Kiwis don’t take losses well and currently lead the tournament for points scored, tries scored, conversions and clean breaks.
The key factors in their quarter-final win against favourites Ireland were accuracy and discipline. They survived 37 phases in the minutes before full-time without conceding a penalty and scored 26 points in their entries into the Irish 22-metre line against 21 for Ireland, arguably the most accurate team in the world.
So where can Argentina get them?
Emiliano Boffelli of Argentina has an enviable kicking
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