Published: Oct 18, 2015, 11:13 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 18, 2015, 11:13 AM (IST)
New Zealand and South Africa will face off in yet another World Cup semifinal, but this time the rivalry will be taken onto the Rugby field. Just about seven months ago the teams were engaged in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 semi-final in what happened to be one of the most thrilling games in the entire tournament with the match going down to the penultimate ball of New Zealand’s innings when the team was taken over the line by a massive six by Grant Elliott off Dale Steyn to the roaring approval of a 40,000-strong crowd at Eden Park, Auckland. That match was played on March 24, while the Rugby World Cup semi-final encounter is slotted for October 24. Scorecard: New Zealand vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Semi-Final 1
Going into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 semi-final, New Zealand were the marginal favourites given the home advantage and the huge amount of momentum they had garnered in the group stages and the quarter-final. In the Rugby World Cup the same country will remain favourites albeit by a more evident margin. READ: New Zealand vs South Africa ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Semi-Final: SA innings highlights
The New Zealand team, nicknamed All Blacks, thrashed France by a mammoth margin of 62-13 and if one looks to dig out further similarities in patterns of the World Cups of two different sports, the Black Caps had also barged into the semi-final by giving West Indies a massive 143-run pounding. In contrast to that, while South Africa had convincingly beaten Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup quarter-final, their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Wales was a close 23-19 win.
It will be interesting to see if the underdogs South Africa can avenge their cricketing brothers or whether New Zealand will add another feather in their glittery World Cup 2015 cap.
