SA qualified for their first RWC final since 1995 when they beat Argentina in their semi-final.

The game was not pretty, both teams made far too many unforced errors for the game to really flow. The Bokke did manage to make the most of their point scoring opportunities and as always the Springbok defence was rock solid.

SA opened the scoring when Fourie du Preez intercepted and ran nearly 60 meters to score the first try of the game. Montgomery converted to give SA a 7-0 lead. Argentina replied with a penalty to reduce the SA lead to four. The 7 point lead was restored by another Percy penalty before Contepomi kicked his second penalty to make the score 10-6 for SA. The final 10 minutes of the first half saw SA take the game away from Argentina. Bryan Habana used his skill and pace to score a great try and then Danie Rossouw rounded of some fantastic handling by the Bokke. Monty converted both to give SA a 24-6 lead at the break.

Argentina did fight back in the second half and they were rewarded a rather dubious try but they never looked like they will beat the Boks. SA dominated the line outs and used the good quality possession to kick themselves into good territory. Here Butch James and Fourie du Preez proved how good they are. Bryan Habana scored his second of the match when he intercepted and ran 80 meters to round off. Montgomery converted and added 2 penalties to secure victory for SA. Final score: SA 37 Argentina 13

SA will now play England in the final on Saturday 20 October.

SARB decided to rate the SA players on their performance:

15. Percy Montgomery 8.5/10: Another solid performance by Monty. His place kicking secured 17 points for his team and his general play was outstanding.

14. JP Pietersen 6.5/10: A solid game by the wing. He has improved every game he played.

13. Jaque Fourie 6.5/10: The big centre made some telling tackles and showed good hands. Did not get enough ball to really run with but stiil had a good game.

12. Frans Steyn 6/10: Better than against Fiji but still tries to much on his own. Made a couple of mistakes but continues to impress with his skills.

11. Bryan Habana 8.5/10: Awesome. Showed his pace and skills and scored twice.

10. Butch James 7.5/10: Solid game by the Sharks player. He is the most solid flyhalf at the RWC and showed why he is Jake’s 1st choice.

9. Fourie du Preez 7.5/10: Bounced back from poor showing against Fiji with a typical performance. Scored a good try and provided plenty of cover on defence

8. Danie Rossouw 8.5/10: Proved his worth with a fantastic performance. Made strong runs and big tackles the whole game. Rewarded with a try and the official man of the match award.

7. Juan Smith 7/10: Solid showing by the flanker. Dominated in the line out and made some huge hits on defence.

6. Schalk Burger 7/10: Gave his all on defence and showed some good skills when running with the ball.

5. Victor Matfield 8/10: His best game at the RWC 2007. Dominated the line outs and made some telling tackles round the park.

4. Bakkies Botha 7.5/10: The “enforcer” was every where when things got tough.

3. CJ van der Linde 6/10: Struggled in the scrums but made some strong runs.

2. John Smit 7/10: His captaincy was good and he had a solid game

1. Os du Randt 7.5/10: The ‘old’ man proved he is still one of the best in the world. Made some telling tackles and had a good game.

Reserves:

18. Johann Muller 6.5/10: Only replacement to warrant a rating. Did nothing wrong in his time on the field.

SARB man of the match: Split 3-way: Bryan Habana, Percy Montgomery and Danie Rossouw