2019 Rugby World Cup Semi Finals

Jonny May of England against New Zealand in a past match.

Leigh Halfpenny of Wales to start for Wales against South Africa.

The 3 Barret brothers; Scott, Jordie and Beauden all set to play a role against England at the semi finals.

The All Blacks do the Haka Challenge. Expect a big one before the Semi final against England.

Winger Sbu Nkosi with the ball will the only change for South Africa against Wales on Sunday. He replaces Cheslin Kolbe.

Last week we were spot on with the Quarter finals and we dare enter the fray yet again with an open mind to assess and predict which sides will go onto the final on 2nd November at the International Stadium, Yokohama, Kanagwa Prefecture, Yokohama City. The losing semi finalists will play the Bronze final on Friday at the Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo. Both semi finals will be played at the International Stadium, Yokohama. Any team in the semis is good enough to win the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Semi final 1: England vs. New Zealand 11 am (EAT) Saturday.

Rugby matches don’t get any bigger than this. The English founded the game and New Zealand (All Blacks) has been the most successful team sport in the world for a while. The clash of their contrasting styles will come out into the open on Saturday and it will be a very close affair. New Zealand has won the last 6 games between these 2 great teams. In November 2018 at Twickenham, London the All Blacks nipped a 15-16 victory in the Autumn International. Before that they met in 2014 in November and the All Blacks again came on top with a 21-24 victory at the same venue.

New Zealand is ranked 1 in the World followed closely by England who put away the Australian Challenge so easily last Saturday. The 40-16 victory over their rivals marked a certain hunger and calmness which will have every watcher of this same final glued to their screens. The All Blacks not wanting to be left out drubbed Ireland 44-16 at the quarters. These scores are frightening especially being against tier 1 Nations.

Both sides have solid squads and the difference might be certain X players. The English can count on Manu Tuilagi of Leicester Tigers in the Premiership. He is a very reliable Center and at 114 Kgs will take lots of heart to stop. Sam Underhill is another to watch and he had a very huge game against the Aussies last week with his traditional back breaking tackles. New Zealand has a scary cast of stars and in fact it is hard to point out who will lead the charge in this game. It could be flank Ardie Savea, fullback Beauden Barret or Richie Mo’unga.

The English showcased world class defence and extreme patience playing against Australia and they have been the most disciplined team so far in the last four sides conceding zero yellow crads compared to the All Blacks 3. The overall penalty count shows England having been penalized only 20 times in 4 outings so far to New Zealand’s 21 in 4 games. The All Blacks have more flair but England might and just might edge them on structure.
The Rugby256 technical team has predicted a narrow victory for the All Blacks.


Semi final 2: Wales vs. South Africa 12 noon (EAT) Sunday.

Wales are ranked 3rd globally today while South Africa (Springboks) are 4th. Wales have won the last 4 games against the Springboks and none of those games have been in South Africa. The last time South Africa won against the Welsh was during the 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter finals with a close 23-19 score. Of the 35 matches between these 2 sides, South Africa has won the lion’s share with 28 victories with one draw and 6 wins for Wales.

South Africa is the only team to reach this far after losing one game in the Pool stages. They lost to New Zealand 13-23 on 21st September after brief lull in concentration saw their opponents score 2 quick tries to end the contest. Their coach went ahead and stated how the team will go and win the remaining games. Well Wales and their Kiwi coach Warren David Gatland OBE would want to have their say too. They put away the Australians 29-25 on 29th September and beat France 20-19 in a nail biting encounter last weekend.

The Springboks have announced only one change to the team which masterly overcame Japan. Coach Rassie Erasmus’s hand was forced due an injury on winger Cheslin Kolbe who will be replaced by S’bu Nkosi. The Welsh fly half Dan Biggar is full time ‘sniper’ with his boots. The leadership offered by the Captain Alun Wyn Jones will see the men in red fight for each inch to the very end.

The Rugby256 team gives the nod to South Africa to qualify for the finals.

What are your predictions?

Rugby 256 also salutes the efforts of the Uganda Rugby Union and the entire rugby fraternity for the all they do for Rugby let’s enjoy the World Cup 2019 and also spread “The World Rugby Core Values are: Integrity, Passion, Solidarity, Discipline and Respect..  “

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