"Antelopes" bend

South Africa won the World Cup

The England national team lost their World Cup title. The trophy, which is played every four years, has been taken over by South Africa. “Antelopes,” or “gazelles,” as the national team of this country is called in the rugby world, became the strongest on the planet for the second time, defeating their opponents from Foggy Albion 15:6 in the final.

The decisive match at the packed Stade de France in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis was not very spectacular. The team did not make a single attempt; all points in this match were scored from penalty kicks. The South Africans played more assertively and inventively in attack, skillfully deploying fan attacks, and the British often had to break the rules. When shooting free kicks in the South African team, there was a clear “division of labor” - Piercy Montgomery, who eventually became the top scorer of the tournament (105 points), struck from close and medium distances; on the far approaches to the H-shaped goal, the 20-year-old approached the oval ball Francois Stein, a strong man with thick blond hair. Montgomery converted all four of his shots, while his young teammate scored one of two.

The British had difficulty overcoming the South Africans' defensive formations, and with the score 3:9 at the beginning of the second half, Mark Cueto still brought the ball into the opponent's in-goal from the left flank of the attack. However, the chief judge requested the advice of a special arbitrator reviewing video recordings of the disputed points, and ultimately canceled the attempt. As it turned out after a detailed study of the episode, before Cueto landed the ball, his leg was already out of touch when he fell, which means the rugby player was out of the game. The stands, where mostly English fans were seated, were indignant for several minutes, and even Jonny Wilkinson's accurately executed free kick did not relieve the bulk of the spectators from their dissatisfaction with the referee's decision.

Because of the cancellation of this attempt, the British somehow wilted, repeatedly lost their lineouts, lost the ball in attack, and they could only rely on drop goals from the same Wilkinson, the hero of the previous World Cup. When, in the 62nd minute, Stein converted a free kick from 45 meters away and increased the South Africans' lead to nine points (15:6), it became clear that only an attempt could save the English. The Antelopes' defense successfully held out until the final whistle, and the South Africans won the World Cup for the second time.

In the near future, perhaps the South African team will be much weaker than the current one. The country's sports ministry has a policy of increasing the number of black athletes on national teams, but the Antelopes' top players, with the exception of fleet-footed sprinter Brian Habana, are all white rugby players. South Africans are no strangers to suffering due to racial prejudice. When the apartheid policy was implemented in this country, South Africa was excluded from the world sports community and missed the World Cup twice - the debut tournament in 1987 and the following competitions in the 1991 season. Four years later, the reinstated Springboks became the hosts of the largest rugby forum and achieved victory. Now a reverse process is taking place in the social and political life of the country; the indigenous population, oppressed for many years, is receiving more and more privileges, but it is not clear why rugby should suffer from this.

The match for third place held the day before was much more exciting than the final. The teams that played in the opening match of the World Cup fought - the hosts of the tournament, the French and the Argentines, who achieved unprecedented success. A month and a half ago, the victory of the South Americans with a score of 17:12 was considered a sensation; after the fight for bronze, there was no doubt about the giant progress of the Pumas. The players, who do not have the opportunity to play in professional clubs in their country due to the lack of such, openly defeated the “tricolors” - 34:10. 30-year-old Felipe Contepomi from the Irish Leinster gave an excellent match - two tries, three conversions and one free kick, which gives a total of 19 points. In total, the Argentines broke into the hosts' scoreboard five times, and the French responded with one attempt.

The 2007 World Cup has become history, and the format of the tournament, which will be held in four years, is already being discussed. There is information that the leadership of the International Rugby Federation (IRB) is considering reducing the number of participants in the final stage from 20 to 16. If this happens, then Russia’s chances of getting to the world oval ball festival at least once will be reduced to a minimum and will literally become words are ghostly.

Ilya TRISVIATSKY