Boks nail the Welsh in quarterfinal
Bokke leave it till the last gasp to prevail over Wales
The Springboks advanced to the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup after their 23-19 victory over Wales in the quarterfinals at Twickenham this weekend.
It all came down to a moment of brilliance in the 75th minute by captain Fourie du Preez as he scored the match-winning points with a try in the left hand corner.
He picked the ball up at the base of the ruck, before springing around to score.
The majority of the points, 18 of them came from the boot of flyhalf Handrè Pollard who scored five penalties and a drop goal.
Wales’s Dan Biggar scored three penalties, a drop goal and a conversion for 14 points to the Welsh score.
It was no smooth sailing for the Boks as the lead changed six times during the match.
It was a high a high tempo start by the Welsh and thanks to a Gareth Davies try and Biggar drop goal, saw their team edge into the lead 13-12 heading into the break.
A nervy start to the second half saw Biggar score a long-range penalty, before Pollard’s drop-goal got the Boks back to within a point.
The Springboks continued to push but it was only after a penalty converted by Pollard did he lead his team to an 18-16 advantage.
But that did not last long as Biggar put Wales back ahead at 19-18.
Du Preez then ended any hopes for the Welsh as he scored his team’s second try of the match.
Flanker Schalk Burger was named man of the match for his display of ball-carrying and tackling.
The Springboks will take on either New Zealand or France in the semifinal at Twickenham next week.
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