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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Woodward laments 'end of a dream' ![]() Dejected England: "We thought we should have done better" ![]() England's defeat in their World Cup quarter-final to South Africa was "a mega disappointment...the end of a dream", says coach Clive Woodward.
"We thought we had a chance. I can't blame anybody...we thought we should have done better." 'Have a bash' His opposite number, Nick Mallett had nothing but praise for his fly-half Jannie de Beer, who kicked a world record five drop goals and 34 points in total - itself a South African individual points record.
"I told him before the game 'go out and have a bash'. He stuck one or two away and I thought it was his day. "It was a funny old game...England tried to play expansive rugby, but we closed them down and took our opportunities." He said that while his side had been "fanastic" it was a pity England were out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage. No defence "I felt they got the rough end of the draw," said Mallett. De Beer himself was typically understated, describing his record-setting performance as just "one of those days".
"We knew we had a chance when we were drawn to play England in Paris. Twickenham might have been another story." South Africa's 1995 World Cup winning captain Francois Pienaar told ITV Sport: "I haven't seen a kicking display like that before in my whole life and I don't think we will for a long time. "The drop-kick is the only attack you can't defend against." England centre Jeremy Guscott, who retired from international rugby last week because of a long-standing groin injury, said the Springbok strategy was simple. "They got the ball to Jannie de Beer and he was going to slot them in from anywhere." ![]() |
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