Where: Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, England
When: Sunday, 25th October, 2:00am AEDT
A BLOCKBUSTER match-up for the first place in the 2015 Rugby World Cup sees the last two Cup winners pitted against each other.
South Africa face New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium in a cut-throat match that will hand one team a shot at Rugby immortality while leaving the loser left to lick their wounds and wait a further four years.
In World Cup finals, the South Africans have had terrific form against the world number one ranked All-Blacks.
The two teams met in the 1995 World Cup final, which South Africa won 15-12, and the rivals met again in the 1999 third place playoff; with the Springboks reigning supreme over New Zealand 22-18.
A success in England this year will see the All-Blacks become the first team in Rugby World Cup history to secure back-to-back titles.
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Recent head-to-head form
Even though the Springboks have had success over the All-Blacks towards the business end of World Cup tournaments, New Zealand have experienced a strong period of dominance over their counterparts.
Dating back to 2012, the All-Blacks have lost just one match against the Springboks, with their most recent meeting in Johannesburg going the way of New Zealand 27-20.
Form leading into the semi-final
Both teams have had a clean run into their semi-final match up, with only one loss conceded between the two teams for the entirety of the tournament.
South Africa Form:
Sat Sep 19th, Pool B, South Africa 32-34 Japan, Brighton
Sat Sep 26th, Pool B, South Africa 46-6 Samoa, Birmingham
Sat Oct 3rd, Pool B, South Africa 34-16 Scotland, Newcastle
Wed Oct 7th, Pool B, South Africa 64-0 USA, Olympic Stadium
Sat 17th Oct Quarter Final South Africa 23-19 Wales, Twickenham
It was panic stations in the South African camp after a shock loss to Japan in their opening RWC match, but the Springboks have since steadied and gone on to record some impressive victories and, despite the loss, they have still topped pool B.
The Boks made heavy weather of their quarter final match up against Wales, scoring only one try late in the match to put a margin between them and the Welsh that the UK team failed to overturn.
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer believes their semi-final opponent, New Zealand is the best side in rugby history.
Despite this, Meyer says his side has what it takes to make it through to the 2015 RWC final.
“This is probably the best team that’s ever played the game,’ Meyer said.
“If you look at their run after the World Cup, they’ve just got better after the previous World Cup, and that doesn’t happen in world rugby.”
Meyers believes the Springboks will have to produce a once in a lifetime performance for a shot at a third RWC crown.
“It will need our best performance probably ever to beat them, because they are the best team that there’s ever been. In saying that, you have to believe you can beat them.” Meyer said.
“We know we have to be at our best. Every single game against them has gone right to the wire. They know how to take the pressure.”
New Zealand form:
Sun Sep 20th, Pool C, New Zealand 26-16 Argentina, Wembley
Thu Sep 24th, Pool C, New Zealand 58-14 Namibia, Olympic Stadium
Fri Oct 2nd, Pool C, New Zealand 43-10 Georgia, Cardiff
Fri Oct 9th, Pool C, New Zealand 47-9 Tonga, Newcastle
Sat 17th Oct Quarter Final New Zealand 62-13 France, Cardiff
The defending champions have been utterly brilliant thus far in the 2015.
The All-Blacks have gone through to the Semi-final undefeated, with only Argentina ending up within 10 points of New Zealand.
New Zealand left their best performance of the tournament for the final though, coming out of the blocks hard and fast to destroy France in emphatic fashion, 62-13.
The All-Blacks ran in nine tries in the rout of France in a display that will send shivers down the spine of the three teams remaining in the tournament.
Despite their strong showing against the French, New Zealand centre Conrad Smith said the All-Blacks will need to be at their very best to progress through to the 2015 Rugby World Cup final.
“South Africa are a special opponent, one we have never met before in a semi-final so that makes it extra special too.” Smith said
“Other teams might have an off night but with South Africa there is that consistent level of physicality and performance.
“In the last five or six years, games between us have been tight, and I’m struggling to remember one that had more than a seven or eight-point margin. That is one reason alone we have to be better than against France. And that is going to take a lot of hard work.”
Smith went as far as saying the New Zealand/South African rivalry supersedes even the bitter battles the All-Blacks have with the Australians.
“They are a special opponent, and it’s a very special rivalry,” Smith said.
“I grew up during the apartheid era, when Australia were the traditional foes, but now South Africa have come back into it and I think it’s got back to where it was and they are our ultimate rival.”
The match up against the South Africans will be the All-Blacks’ first visit to Twickenham this tournament.
Who will win and why:
Winner: New Zealand $1.26 with Sportsbet.com.au
Line bet:New Zealand -8.5 $1.92
First try scorer: Julian Savea $7.50
Winning margin: New Zealand to win by 12 or more points $2.30
Traditional rivals South Africa and New Zealand clash in a semi-final match up at Twickenham for the right to play for a third RWC crown.
The New Zealand All-Blacks have been in scintillating form, going through the tournament undefeated and are amongst the most impressive sporting teams in history across all forms.
The All-Blacks’ all-time winning percentage of 78.45 speaks for itself.
The Springboks have had a strange tournament thus far.
South Africa fell to Japan in their opening World Cup contest, but have since gone on to win every other match up, topping their pool.
While their win against Wales only yielded one try for the victors, the Springboks will need to improve their scoring power considerably to match the number one ranked All-Blacks.
New Zealand are far too strong across the board in all facets of the game.
While South Africa have been impressive since falling to Japan in the first match of the RWC, the opponents they have faced since have not been close to the strength of New Zealand.
Expect the All-Blacks to record a comfortable victory en route to a second consecutive World Cup final and a shot at Rugby immortality.
