FRANCE: RUGBY UNION: South Africans celebrate Rugby World Cup victory under the Eiffel Tower

Thousands of England fans who descended on Paris on Saturday (October 20) hoping to become the first nation to retain the Rugby World Cup title, ended the night in disappointment after losing the final to South Africa 15-6. French police kept a close eye on the crowd which packed the Champs de Mars area under the Eiffel Tower to follow the action at the Stade de France. Some English supporters decided to leave the area before knowing that their team could lose to avoid possible trouble. "We've decided it was probably a good idea that we leave because there's the riot police getting ready and obviously the English are here and maybe judging by the way the game is at the moment it's probably not a good idea we stay," said one. Fullback Percy Montgomery scored the bulk of South Africa's points from penalties, landing three in the first half then another in the second term while centre Francois Steyn kicked one long-range goal after missing an earlier attempt. England's points all came from the boot of flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson, who kicked a penalty in each half but missed two shots at drop goals, although they came closest to scoring a try through winger Mark Cueto only to have it disallowed by the video referee for putting a foot into touch. An angry England fan blamed the referee for his team's disappointing performance. "That crossing decision they gave was a penalty was the worst decision a referee's ever made. That was not a crossing, fact," he said. South Africa hope their victory over England in Saturday's World Cup final will have the same positive impact on their country as their previous win in 1995. The Springboks' victory in 1995 helped unite a country just out of the post-apartheid era with then president Nelson Mandela presenting the Webb Ellis Cup to Francois Pienaar wearing a replica of his jersey. Jubilant South Africans in Paris were proud that their young team achieved so much in such a short time. "South Africa had so much pressure on them and they pulled through. They had a young side, they won the World Cup Under 21 three years ago and today they finally showed exactly what they are, they are World Cup champions." South Africa's current president Thabo Mbeki was in Paris to see the Springboks beat England and later joined in the post-match celebrations. "And I'm glad we beat England, we put England back in their place where they belong, and that's good." Another fan added with a smile: "The cream always rises to the top, thank you very much." For the English, all that was left was to take another sporting failure with their usual fair-play. "We've lost, we've had a fantastic time. We followed England from Nantes right the way through France, the French people have been absolutely wonderful, we've had a wonderful time, we've lost but by Christ, let's enjoy ourselves, we're going to have some fun tonight. Win or lose, we are still going to have fun," said a fan, with the support of his friends.

ITN Source | October 22, 2007

Tags:. .scored. .foot. .champions. .pressure. .maybe