France better than Springboks ‘by an absolute country mile’

Rugby World Cup-winner Mike Tindall felt that France were much the better side in their defeat to the Springboks last weekend.

The hosts’ chances of claiming the Webb Ellis Cup were ended on Sunday as the defending champions went away with a narrow victory.

Jacques Nienaber’s men edged to a 29-28 triumph to set up a clash with England in the last-four of the World Cup.

The Red Rose overcame Fiji 30-24 to secure their passage into the next round, but they will be underdogs for this weekend’s encounter.

Tindall very much wanted them to take on Les Bleus in the semi-finals as the former centre insisted that the Boks produced a smash-and-grab display.

“I was more emotional about that game than the English game. I just so wanted France to get where they deserve to be,” he said on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast.

“They deserved to win that game; they were the better team by an absolute country mile.

“South Africa missed 43 tackles, they had to make 153, they lost on every stat across the board, but they had three snapshots from box-kicks not dealt with properly.

“They didn’t create anything, yet that is what South Africa do in World Cups. If you go back to 2019, I said: ‘It would be a disgrace if South Africa won the World Cup,’ and they won it.

“If you go through everything, France had more metres, defenders beaten – France beat 43 compared to 12 – and clean breaks.

“They should have won that game. That first 20 minutes was breathless, and it could have been 14-0, but suddenly it’s 7-7.”

Most people are writing off England heading into the semi-final with South Africa, but Tindall believes that anything can happen in one-off games.

“The biggest factor in this is that you’re now in semi-final rugby, and what that does for the pressure levels,” he said.

“It’s knockout rugby; it’s the only time you can believe because you have to. It’s not like playing an autumn series.

“There’s only one game, it’s 80 minutes, and it only takes a few decisions (to go your way).

“They (England) will go a bit siege mentality, but it comes down to their intent. South Africa had their one game (in 2019), why can’t we have our one game in this semi-final?”

James Haskell in agreement

Fellow English pundit James Haskell, who was also on the podcast, agreed with Tindall over the Springboks’ run to the title in 2019.

“That’s true, actually. That’s all they did. They didn’t play any decent rugby until they got to that last game,” Haskell said.

“I think it’s very disrespectful to this England side not to give them a chance. I think there are some unbelievable players, some fantastic coaches, some guys who work very hard and, actually, they’ve got on with their business.

“We’re in a semi-final; what has gone on before is irrelevant.”

Haskell, however, was far kinder about the Springboks’ qualities, praising their resilience and never-say-die attitude.

“I think you’ve just got to give South Africa credit,” he added. “They play a certain brand of rugby and are just ruthless at it.

“We’ve tried to write them off a little bit at times, but you cannot ever do that. I won’t be surprised if they go on and win the bloody thing.”