Rugby World Cup 2023 Semi-Final: England v South Africa

South Africa have pipped England to advance to the final of the Rugby World Cup, where they'll face New Zealand's powerful All Blacks. I notice England fans are criticising the New Zealand referee, and claiming their side was better.

That's not how I saw the match. England lacked creativity and relied on their defense while on attack they were kicking all the time. Their defense held well, but they ended up giving away possession, so while they often held field position, they were unable to capitalise on it.

South Africa were clearly the better team, but they were their own worst enemy at times. When in possession they'd often cough the ball up, giving England the ball. Thus, when you look at the game stats, you'll see England had more possession, but South Africa made the clean breaks, and beat defenders.

Crucially, South Africa scored the only try. This came after they brought on replacements which actually improved their team performance. They got better with replacements, while England got worse with theirs.

Another factor must be fatigue. It has been a long tournament with many days between games. South Africa have had tougher games, while England have had an easier run. South Africa looked tired.

Will this matter in the final? New Zealand have an extra day's rest, and their semi-final was a stroll in the park. They should be fresher and have had the advantage of seeing what South Africa bring. Clearly, the final will be a tough encounter, but NZ must go in as favorites given they don't appear so tired.

South Africa 16 v England 15

Rugby World Cup 2019

The Rugby World Cup is under way, exciting times indeed. I'm a supporter of the All Blacks, a team I never want to see lose. Just as well, as in fact, they rarely lose. Yay.

But even I can see this world cup is heavily stacked in favour of the All Blacks, and South Africa. That comes down to the structure of the tournament and what amounts to a very weak pool New Zealand and South Africa find themselves in. Not only that, but the pool's first and second place was essentially decided by the first game between the All Blacks and South Africa. 

Both teams are guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals where they're almost certain to advance as they'll play teams they'll probably beat. New Zealand will likely be playing Scotland, a team it has never lost to. South Africa will likely play Ireland, a team you'd fancy South Africa beating.

Across the competition you can find other situations that are less than ideal. For instance England are slated to win their pool, but then they'll either play Australia or Wales in their quarter-final. England could easily be out at that stage, not even making the semi-final.

What's the problem? As I see it the problem is with the way the game is structured globally, not just with the structure of this tournament which follows a familiar and popular pattern; pools, then knock-outs leading to a final.

Structurally, Rugby is not like Soccer (Association Football), the lesser teams are locked out and cannot develop. Unlike Soccer, where any team can beat any other team on the day, Rugby is an elitist game and the powerful countries entrench their position at the top. 

Solving this problem requires grassroots reform. That means international competitions with promotion and relegation. In this scenario Russia, Georgia and Japan would be able to qualify for the Six Nations; or Tonga, Fiji and Samoa qualifying to play in the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship. Then when these teams get to the world cup, have a structure where losing a game may end up losing a life, not immediate elimination. This also allows pathways for lesser teams to advance. Whatever, the obvious bias has to be addressed as Rugby will stall in terms of global following if not corrected.