MAN OF THE DAY
Dan Carter – in a special side, still stands out. He’s now Twickenham’s highest-scoring non-Englishman – and the All Blacks’ all-time top World Cup scorer.
FACT OF THE DAY
Only one previous semi has been tighter – France’s 9-8 win over Wales in 2011.
STAT OF THE DAY
0: The number of their 33 tackles the All Blacks missed in the first half.
SYMMETRY WATCH
The new Jonah Lomu, Julian Savea, just can’t shake off the tag. He’s still stuck on 38 Test tries – none of them against South Africa – rather like Jonah, who finished up with 37, none against the Boks.
LEAST WISE CHOICE
Several Springboks players spent last week looking around London for match-winning inspiration – and tried to soak up some positive energy by watching one of the capital’s elite sporting outfits in training. Sadly, that outfit was Chelsea.
MOST OFF-MESSAGE
Heyneke Meyer was asked after the game how much he’s looking forward to the third-fourth play-off: “It is a bit like kissing your sister. It means nothing.”
BEST NEWS OF THE DAY
Only seven days now until the final – meaning it’s only seven days until the last ever public playing of Paloma Faith’s petition-provoking take on World in Union.
LET DOWN OF THE DAY
Jason “The Fun Bus” Leonard found himself next to Prince Philip in the posh seats. Sadly they were not mic’d-up.
