Springboks 80 minutes away from immortality

Few rivalries in sport come anywhere near matching the sheer intensity of the Springboks vs the All Blacks. Sure, there will be some out there pointing to the Calcutta Cup or the Bledisloe Cup, but nothing really comes close.

Think back to Kapa O Pango’s debut back in 2005 at Dunedin’s House of Pain, so brilliantly led by Tana Umaga. Or the outpouring of emotion by the normally unflappable Pieter-Steph du Toit following that famous 2018 win in Wellington. This fixture means so much more than anything else for these teams. A bit of added spice? Both teams have claimed three pots each with each looking to become the first nation to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for a fourth time. 

From no-hopers to the top of the world

For all of the pre-tournament chat around Ireland and France and the rise of the Northern Hemisphere, the Boks and All Blacks – both of whom lost a Pool game – remain the apex predators of world rugby.

Nobody thought the All Blacks had a sniff after being dismantled by the Boks at Twickenham pre-tournament. Equally so, many pundits pointed to the draw being too great a hurdle for the Springboks to overcome.

The Boks have certainly ridden their luck in the knockouts. They overcame a French side who, at times, played rugby of the gods in that quarter-final. It was a proper smash-and-grab job by the Springboks who capitalised on almost every entry into French 22. That image of Jesse Kriel, bloody and bruised, will be forever burned into the South African rugby public’s memory.

They were almost scuppered by England in the semi-final too. Steve Borthwick’s DNA was all over the English game plan, one which you could say was first put to the test back in 2022 when a Freddie Burns drop goal famously earned the Leicester Tigers their first Premiership title since 2013, beating Saracens 15-12 at Twickenham.

On that day, Richard Wigglesworth kicked superbly from the base of the ruck, Freddie “Air” Steward was characteristically sound under the high ball and Julián Montoya was a menace at the breakdown. You can draw draw many parallels between that Premiership final and Saturday’s WC semi-final. The decisive kick, however, would go against Borthwick’s charges this time around as early – and sometimes brutal – substitutions for the Boks turned the game on its head.

So where will might the final be won and lost? I think a certain front-rower coming off the Boks’ bench might have a big say. Ox Nché is easily the best scrummaging loosehead in the world at the minute as both Dan Cole and Ellis Genge found out on Saturday.

The Hollywoodbets Sharks man also took the world class Dorian Aldegheri of France to the cleaners in the quarter-final. How well the likes of Tyrell Lomax and the enormous Tamaiti Williams stand up to Ox will be key if the game is close leading into the final few minutes, especially if the Boks are scrumming for penalties. 

28 years in the making

So that leaves us looking forward to Saturday’s final. A replay of that famous afternoon at Ellis Park 28 years ago. Both sides came into that tournament slightly under the radar and would go on to meet in the final. Joel Stransky’s drop goal proved the difference that June afternoon, and with rain in Paris all week you wouldn’t bet against Handre Pollard’s boot proving pivotal.

Hollywoodbets make South Africa slight favourites. In fact, it couldn’t be closer – the handicap line opened at 0.5 points which means that Hollywoodbets expect the Boks to win by a single point. Rassie, however, won’t accept that favourites tag. He knows his side put in their biggest performances when their backs are against the wall. They’ve emptied the tank two weeks in a row, while the All Blacks barely got out of second gear against Argentina. New Zealand would have also had an extra day to recover.

The fact that the Nienaber has opted for a 7-1 split on the bench in the World Cup bloody final is sensational. The Boks will be playing against the conditions as much as they’ll be playing against the All Blacks on Saturday with wind and rain aplenty set to batter the French capital. With this in mind expect Faf to do the bulk of the kicking off the base of the ruck.

England’s back three of Steward, Elliot Daly and Johnny May dominated Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe in the air last week. However, you’d expect the diminutive Bok due to find more joy in the arial contest against Beauden Barrett, Mark Telea and Will Jordan.

The aerial battle will be just as important as the set piece, and this is where the Boks’ power will be key. Whether or not we see al seven forwards chucked on at once like we saw at Twickenham is a different story. The blueprint is pretty straight-forward.

Kick for territory, put pressure on at the set piece, kick your penalties. Let’s wait and see if the All Blacks can stand up to the physical onslaught.

Win with Hollywoodbets and Rugby Run Twins

Launched in conjunction with the start of the World Cup mentioned in the intro, Rugby Run Twins is crash game that gives you the chance to win up to R5 000 000. So how does it work? Simple!

1. Place your bet before the player (who is modelled after Odwa and Akona) starts running. A multiplier will appear on screen once the player starts his run. This multiplier will increase as the player continues running.
2. The aim of Rugby Run Twins is to cash your bet out before the player is tackled. Cash your bet out before the tackle and your bet will win – (stake x multiplier at the moment you cashed out = your winnings). Remember, the player can be tackled at any time.
3. Fail to cash out before the player is tackled and you will lose your bet.

In celebration of the launch of Rugby Run Twins, Hollywoodbets is giving away a share of R70 000 to punters between 15 September and 28 October. 10 winners will be selected every week, with each bagging a cool R1 000.

To enter, simply bet R10 or more on Rugby Run Twins and opt in on the Hollywoodbets Promotions Page for all your qualifying bets to be entered.

This article was originally written by: Jason Dewy

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