The Rugby World Cup semi-finals are upon us and there two cracking games lined up for the weekend in Paris.

The action gets underway on Friday when the three-time champions, New Zealand, go head-to-head against the Los Pumas of Argentina.

The All Blacks are no doubt the favourites to win this evening, but they know that Michael Cheika’s charges will be fired up for what will be their third appearance in a semi-final.

Since the All Blacks' defeat against France in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup, they have shifted into the next gear in a big way.

By contrast, the Argentines have had a reasonably disappointing tournament by their own high standards, but they certainly arrived at the World Cup last week with a solid 29-17 win over Wales in the quarter-finals.

Ian Foster - Getty/RWC

The All Blacks coach, Ian Foster, said they know that they are in for a proper challenge tonight.

“It’s different as they have different jerseys on, it’s not different from the physical side. We both know how tough each other is.

“They are a very physical, combative team particularly at the breakdown and particularly the way they tackle with the likes of [flanker Marcos] Kremer. He has had a great tournament.

“It’s a little bit of the same from what we had in the quarter-final. We are not going in with any different mindset in that space. The moral of the story is that it’s a semi-final and we’re playing a team that we know scrap and fight for every little bit of possession. We are going to have to be at our best.”

Friday night’s semi-final between the All Blacks and Los Pumas at Stade de France kicks off at 21:00.

Meanwhile, tomorrow night it’s the big one – it’s the Springboks versus England in Saint-Denis.

There is certainly a massive rivalry between the Boks and English at World Cups after having played each other in two finals before.

The Boks aren’t taking anything for granted and they have named an unchanged team to the one that eliminated France with a 29-28 win on Sunday.

The team for Saturday is the most experienced in Springbok history and this is a major plus.

Siya Kolisi - Gallo

The Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, who led the team to glory in 2019, said there motivation for the final comes from back home.

“That is the one that will never change, who we play for and who we represent. I wish you could see all the support back at home. This is what people talk about. The kids at schools are sending us clips of them singing because they know some of us like singing. People at work on Fridays are wearing their green jerseys. The beautiful thing to see is people wear anything that is green or something that represents the Springboks.

“We see that and that will continuously be our motivation. We know what the team has meant in the past, not just for sport but for our country in general and we use that to inspire us and keep us going.

“It is more purposeful when you are not doing something for yourself only, when you are aiding other people you have not even met. When you are doing things for other people, it is not easy to give up, it is much harder. When you think of how many people would give anything to be where we are. The majority of the people in our country are unemployed and some have no homes. For me, giving up and not giving everything would be cheating.

“The harder we play, the more we do well, the more we are able to open up opportunities for others, so that drives us. I believe we are a purpose-driven team, not a trophy-driven team. Of course, the trophies help more people and the country itself. Sometimes you feel sorry for yourself but we use that pain and those struggles and put them on our shoulders to drive us through the battles. It helps us to keep on going when it is tough.”

Saturday night’s massive quarter-final between the Springboks and Roses at Stade de France kicks off at 21:00. 

Morgan Piek OFM Sport