The dream of winning the Rugby World Cup may be over for Ireland, but for four other nations, the propect of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup remains. One man who knows just how that feels is former England captain Mike Tindall.
With England coming up against South Africa on Saturday night, in a repeat of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, it's fair to say that tensions and mind games are well underway.
Last week, South Africa edged past host nation France in the quarterfinal, bringing an end to Les Bleus' dreams of lifting the trophy on home soil.
If previous games are anything to go by, it's hard for many rugby fans to see anything other than a New Zealand v South Africa final, but Argentina and England both remain just one win away from a place in the final two.
With a tense 80 mintues of rugby to look forward to on Saturday night, Mike Tindall has given his opinion on the reigning world champions and it's clear, he's not their biggest fan.
Mike Tindall slams South Africa
The former England centre has added fuel to the fire this weekend by claiming that France 'were the better team' against The Springboks in the quarterfinal clash.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby Podcast, Tindall said:
I was more emotional about that game than the English game. I just so wanted France to get where they deserve to be
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.
Tindall and James Haskell, who co-host the podcast, also believe that England could potentially beat the reiging World Champions, stating that The Springboks never turned up at the last tournament until the penultimate clash against the Red Roses.
The biggest factor in this is that you’re now in semi-final rugby, and what that does for the pressure levels.
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.
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?
Haskell echoed his former teammate's views.
He said:
That’s true, actually. That’s all they did. They didn’t play any decent rugby until they got to that last game,
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.
While many rugby fans will disagree with Mike Tindall's comments, should The Springboks get wind of his views, it'll likely only add some more incentive to the side to show just how much class they possess.
SEE ALSO: How Joe Schmidt Masterminded Ireland's World Cup Unravelling
