Publications
Partners
Cape Town - A look through the history of the tournament confirms that drop goals and Rugby World Cup finals go hand-in-hand.
In the eight finals that there have been since 1987, drop goals have been landed in four of them, and in 1995 (Springboks) and 2003 (England) the final was won after drop goals in extra time.
It is something that Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard is well aware of as he prepares for Saturday's 2019 final against a heavily favoured England outfit, but he said on Friday that he would not force the issue.
"It’s no secret that finals have been decided with drop goals and penalty kicks," he told media on Friday.
"But you are not going to put too much thought into that, because you just trust your process.
"I know my limits, I know where I can go back to, which angles I can take and shouldn’t take. If I don’t feel comfortable, I won’t be taking the kick. I don’t want to be forcing it.
"We’ve got a great pack of forwards who could put some pressure on them come set-piece time.
"If you feel comfortable, you’ve got to take a shot at it, because opportunities are going to be few and far apart.
"I don’t know how far back - we’ll see how the wind blows tomorrow and maybe I will adjust it a little come game-day."
In terms of long-range place kicking, the Boks do have the option of Frans Steyn on their bench.
Kick-off on Saturday is at 11:00 (SA time).
Teams:
England
15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Substitutes: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Dan Cole, 19 George Kruis, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jonathan Joseph
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Francois Louw, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn
- Compiled by Lloyd Burnard
