Before the main event today, New Zealand cruised past Wales in Tokyo to claim third place and the bronze medal. After that, all eyes were on Yokohama for the grand finale.

As an England supporter, you could look at the things that went wrong: the team bus arriving late, Sinckler getting knocked out straight after kick off, a very forward looking pass in the build-up to the first South African try.

But to be honest, that would not do the Springboks performance justice. They were monstrous in defence, particularly towards the end of the first half, when England could only register three points after an all-out assault on the try line.

Those three points were immediately cancelled out and more as South Africa registered two unanswered penalties to take a six point lead into the interval, putting them firmly in the driving seat.

They never really let England get into a groove in the second half and in the latter stages, South Africa expertly picked England off as they were forced into running the ball in search of a try.

The writing had already been on the wall at half-time, and although England threatened to get back into the match on occasion, they didn’t really deserve to.

So well done South Africa. You were worthy winners.

Last but not least, well done Japan. The tournament has been a great success, and hopefully will leave a legacy that propels the national team forward into even greater achievements in the future. Next up the Olympics!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the blog. There’ll be a lot more travel stuff coming soon so please keep checking back or alternatively give the Twitter or Facebook page a follow/like for updates on what’s new.

I’m off to climb a very high mountain in Nagano in a few hours, so this is me signing out from the Rugby World Cup 2019. It’s been emotional.

Bronze Final
Friday New Zealand 40-17 Wales (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
Final
Saturday South Africa 32-12 England (International Stadium, Yokohama)

Expression of the day
以上です。(ijou desu)
Which means…
(That’s it.)

Previous Day