Tokyo, Sept 22:
The second day of the 2019 Rugby World Cup here in Japan truly kicked off with a bang as two of the tournament’s contenders faced off when New Zealand squeezed past South Africa by 23-13 in a physical clash in Yokohama.
Elsewhere Australia survived an early first-half scare to ease past Fiji 39-21 in Sapporo, while late drama secured France a 23-21 victory over Argentina in Tokyo.
In highly anticipated South Africa vs. New Zealand clash, the Boks had the best part of the early pressure in the first quarter of the game. However, a failure to be clinical in front of New Zealand’s try line meant that after 16 minutes of being camped inside the All Black’s 22 South Africa could only emerge with a solitary three points.
Suddenly after 20 minutes of sustained pressure, a poor pass from Faf de Klerk gave the All Blacks the chance they needed to break away and grab the first try of the game through George Bridge.
Despite getting the first try against the run of play, New Zealand saw the momentum of the game shift in their favor and five minutes later, they were able to break through the South African defensive line and send second row Scott Barrett in under the posts for their second of the game. (PTI)
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