South Africa To Face New Zealand All Blacks In Rugby Semi-Finals — Springboks Hopeful Of Win

South Africa defeated Wales last week in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup with a score of 23-19. The South Africa Springboks’ win set them up for a match against the New Zealand All Blacks for the semi-finals. The All Blacks are the reigning champions of the Rugby World Cup.

Although the match between the Springboks and All Blacks promises to be gruesome, All Blacks Coach Steven Hansen and Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer have a lot of respect for one another. The Telegraph reported that Hansen said playing the Springboks would be like playing against a brother or sister.

“When you play teams you know really well and you’ve got a good relationship it brings a little bit more to it. It’s like playing your brother or your sister and you don’t want to lose, particularly if you’re the younger sibling. We really enjoy their company. They play hard on the track but they’re good men off it. Heyneke drives that. He’s the leader of their ship and I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

Meyer was equally complimentary in his comments about Hansen.

“Steve is a quality man. We are all under pressure. Only one coach will win it and the rest will probably be fired or will be under pressure in their countries. We’ve tried to bring the ethos back in rugby. Although we kill each other on the field, as coaches we can support each other.”

The All Blacks are expected to have a 59 percent chance of beating South Africa and moving forward to retain their title as the Rugby World Cup champions. The All Blacks defeated the Springboks in 10 of their last 12 matches with a crucial win of 27-20 in July.

The South Africans are excited about the chance to play the All Blacks. As previously reported in Inquisitr, the Springboks rallied to defeat Wales after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of the Japanese. The Springboks later defeated the U.S. in a shutout score of 64-0.

The Star Independent reported that the South Africans are far from being daunted in the efforts to win the Rugby World Cup semi-final at Twickenham. Last week, the All Blacks defeated France in a 62-13 victory in their quarter final game in Cardiff. After their tense win over Wales, the Springboks watched part of the New Zealand-French match on television. Flanker Francois Louw told reporters he was expecting a tough game against the All Blacks.

“We managed to watch snippets of it, it was a great performance from their side. They were always going to be a strong outfit going into this tournament so for us it is not a concern in the sense that to be the best, you have to beat the best. Our paths have crossed a lot in the past, it’s a bit of a derby really, and we are expecting a tough game.”

While New Zealand has many talented game-breakers and powerful forwards, South Africa is plagued with two new injuries. Hooker Bismark du Plessis received a gash on his hand from Francois Louw and lock Lood de Jager injured a tendon in his foot. Lock Victor Matfield is also benched, and the coaches have yet to make a decision on which players will be fit enough to play.

Louw said he expected the All Blacks to be as fired up as the Springboks are.

“It is always nice to play the All Blacks, it’s always a nice occasion and especially so now in the World Cup. I can imagine they are just as excited about it as we are. There will be a lot of nerves with so much riding on that game, but then also that personal rivalry between the sides which will just add a little extra.”

Do you think the South Africa Springboks will overcome the odds to defeat the New Zealand All Blacks?

[Photo Credit by Phil Walter/Getty Images Sport]