adminNgoni Dapira
THE crushing moment has come in the 2015 Rugby World Cup underway in England with some tricky quarter final matches on this weekend.
Tomorrow’s (Saturday) clash between South Africa and Wales will determine the true stamina of the Springboks and whether they have what it takes to sail through all the way to the finals. The match kicks-off at 4pm.
All the tournament favourites Springboks, Australia, New Zealand, France and Ireland went through, part of the eight quarter-finalists that also include Wales, Scotland and Argentina.
On his Twitter page, Zimbabwean-born Springboks star Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, expressed confidence in lifting the 2015 RWC Cup, this being his second RWC tournament for the Springboks after 2011. The iconic loosehead prop who now has 69 caps playing for the Springboks is a strong scrummager with great technique.
He tweeted that the spirit in the camp was positive with all the players optimistic to clinch the prestigious Webb Ellis Cup for the third-time.
Only the Springboks, New Zealand and Australia have clinched the RWC twice since the inception of the tournament in 1987, with all the three nations currently gunning to break their records.
However, overcoming Wales will not be a walk in the park for the Springboks, though comfort can be taken in the fact that a significant number of the Welsh star players were injured during their last brutal clash against Australia last weekend where they lost 15-6.
If the Springboks do win, the winner they will face from the New Zealand versus France match will even be another tougher encounter. The match kicks off at 8pm tomorrow.
Rugby analysts have, however, wagered the match in favour of the defending champions, the All Blacks. The match will also be a repeat of the 2011 RWC final which saw New Zealand win the match 8–7, the slimmest margin by which any RWC final has ever been decided.
Although the All Blacks are tipped to win, the lukewarm performance by the defending champions so far can be the gleam of hope that France needs to turn the pendulum round and write its own World Cup history like Japan, after it defeating South Africa in the group stages opener.
In the other matches on Sunday, Ireland take on Argentina (1pm) while Australia lock horns with Scotland (4pm).
The main match of the day will be the Australia-Scotland game.
The Wallabies have proven to be in top form throughout the tournament trailblazing through all its opponents convincingly.
Scotland, on the other hand, bring a tough game and will definitely not give the Wallabies sweet victory easily, but again according to analysts the pendulum swings in favour of the two-time RWC champions Australia.
In the Ireland match, the Irish side comes in as the favourites though the Argentinians have been playing a hard game throughout the tournament, which makes them very unpredictable.
The 2015 RWC quarter-finals are therefore expected to be very fascinating given the unexpected factor, already exuded by Japan in the group stages. Japan became the first team in RWC history to be knocked out of the group stages after winning three out of four matches following their 28-18 win over the USA on Sunday.
Online Reporter