I’ve finally worked out the secret of all that padding Bryan Habana wraps around him before matches. No, he's not trying to do an impression of those over-bloated American football stars. The Springbok flyer has actually got two mini jet engines in those massive shoulder pads of his which give him a five-metre start on any other sportsman on earth!

Either that, or I reckon he's an extra-terrestrial hiding the fact that his muscle distribution is completely different to us mere mortals.

If one man has mirrored South Africa’s unstoppable path to the World Cup Final, it is Habana. The man is greased lightning - with a host of slippery, jinky skills thrown in. His two tries against Argentina were sensational. Even if he was gifted the second, the speed with which he raced from one end of the field to the other was like watching a 100-metre Olympic sprinter in full flight.

'The blow must have hurt, but Du Plessis didn’t go down pole-axed in an attempt to get Contepomi sent off. In fact, he didn’t even flinch'


For all the genius of Juan-Martin Hernandez and Co, the Pumas simply had no answer to Habana’s pace, even if Lady Luck was not on their side - certainly with those interception tries by Du Preez and Habana. Not that they halped themselves with too many handling errors and a poor game plan.

The game never reached the intensity of the France-England clash, presumably because it seemed there would be only one winner from relatively early in the action - and certainly with the Boks 24-6 ahead at half-time.

In fact, the memory that will live with me is of Felipe Contepomi’s backhander that led to his sin-binning three minutes from the end. The Argentinian centre (a surgeon by profession, no less) lashed out in anger at Bismarck du Plessis following a skirmish - and arguably deserved a straight red card.

What saved Dr C was Du Plessis’ reaction. The blow must have hurt, but he didn’t go down pole-axed in an attempt to get Contepomi sent off (which almost certainly would have been the outcome had he feigned injury). In fact, he didn’t even flinch.

Three minutes later, it was all forgotten with Felipe off the bench and hugging Springbok players as if they were all lifelong friends. Which shows how gentlemanly a game rugby is compared to its round-ball counterpart.

Back to the action, and South Africa deserve to be champions if only because, unlike England, they have won every game. OK, they have had one or two hiccups on the way, like that scary afternoon against Tonga when they won by only five points after keeping their big guns in reserve until well into the second half. But when they’ve needed to accelerate the action, they have always managed to do it - usually with a bit to spare.

With both packs oozing with power, the forward battle against England will be a real crunch. But Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha are the best lineout pair in the game and they’ll definitely have the high ground in that department.

In Du Preez, the Boks also have the best scrum-half in the world - even though I have been really impressed with Andy Gomarsall’s contribution to the England cause this past couple of game. OK, you can argue that Jonny Wilkinson is a more influential fly-half than Butch James - but the Bok threequarter line oozes class. And behind them, the evergreen Percy Montgomery’s goal kicking record in this tournament is far more consistent than Wilko’s.

On paper, it’s hard to see England turning round that 36-0 hiding they were given in the pool game. But you don’t win matches on paper. What England have going for them is new belief in themselves. The team that take the field in Paris on Saturday will be largely the same as the one hammered by the Boks a few weeks back. The attitude will be completely different - but the fact is that man for man, South Africa have the better players.

Still, it would still be brave man (or woman) who predicted confidently that the World Cup is heading for the veldt for the second time. Even if the bookies do make South Africa 3/1 on favourites.

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