After a crazy weekend of upsets in the Rugby World Cup in which England defeated Australia 12-10 and France, riding a wave of host's emotion stunned the All Blacks 20-18 the Boks find themselves as tournament favorites. South Africa earned their trip to the semis by defeating a game Fiji squad 37-20, which, though the widest margin in the quarterfinals was far closer than the final tlaly indicates. At one point Fiji tied the Springboks 20-20. South Africa will play Argentina, which defeated Scotland 19-13. The Argentines have already beaten France in the tournament's opening match and will be looking to show the world that they belong in the conversation with the SANZAR teams when it comes to a discussion of Southern Hemisphere rugby.
It's safe to say that no one saw this series of semifinal matchups coming when the tournament began. England has been reeling all year and South Africa walloped the defending champions 36-0 in the pool stages to go with two even sounder thrashings earlier in the year. Most observers knew that France would be tough as the host team, but once they finished behind France it put them on a collision course with New Zealand in a match that no one anticipated turning out as it did. Not a lot of folks pegged Argentina to make it this far. Only South Africa among the semifinalists was a pre-tournament favorite to make it this far.
It will be interesting to see how comfortably South Africa wears the favorite's crown this weekend. But as of right now, Amabokoboko look to be on a collision course with another RWC final and a shot to take home another Webb Ellis trophy. This one will be seen as a far less politicized victory than the last, in 1995, when Madiba Magic was seen as carrying Joel Stransky's injury-time kick into history. But that depoliticized climate (well, relatively — nothing is entirely apolitical in South Africa) is, in so many ways, exactly most would have dreamed for the country a decade-and-a-half ago.
