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PARIS - South Africa and England meet for the 30th time, and the sixth in a year, in Sunday's World Cup final at the Stade de France.
Here are six of the best of their previous encounters since they first played in 1906.
1969 England 11 South Africa 8, Twickenham
England had never beaten South Africa until the Springboks' 1969 tour of Britain, which was plagued by violent anti-apartheid demonstrations. The Springboks started the match well, opening up an 8-0 lead after a try by Piet Greyling but England stormed home with tries from Peter Larter and John Pullin to seal their first win over the Boks.
1992 England 33 South Africa 16, Twickenham
South Africa returned to Twickenham 23 years later full of confidence only to discover that they had slipped behind the rest of the world during their long years of isolation. They led 16-11 at halftime after Tiaan Strauss scored a try and Naas Botha landed an assortment of goals but soon flagged as Tony Underwood, Jeremy Guscott, Dewi Morris and Will Carling all helped themselves to tries for England.
1999 England 21 South Africa 44, Paris
South Africa won the World Cup at their first appearance at home in 1995 and were drawn to face England in the quarter-finals four years later. The match will be forever remembered for one man - Springboks first five-eighths Jannie de Beer, who kicked a world record five drop goals. He also kicked five penalties and converted tries by Joost van der Westhuizen and Pieter Rossouw while England replied with seven penalties, including one from Jonny Wilkinson, who came on as a replacement after being dropped from the starting side.
2000 South Africa 22 England 27, Bloemfontein
Wilkinson had cemented his place as England's starting first five-eighths when they toured South Africa the following year. He missed his team's defeat in the first Pretoria but made his mark in the second, kicking eight penalties and a drop goal for a record haul of 27 points, triggering a sequence of seven consecutive wins for England over South Africa.
2003 England 25 South Africa 6, Perth
Wilkinson kicked 20 points when England beat South Africa at the 2003 World Cup. It was only a pool match but the result was crucial as England earned themselves an easier path to the final, which they won, while the Springboks were knocked out by New Zealand in the quarter-finals. The teams were level at 6-6 at halftime after South Africa had missed four penalties but England blew South Africa away in the second term with Will Greenwood scoring the only try of the match.
2006 England 14 South Africa 25, Twickenham
South Africa finally ended their seven-game losing streak against England and claimed their first away win for a year in a match that decided the futures of both coaches. As the victor, South Africa's Jake White was allowed to stay in charge of the Springboks while England's Andy Robinson got the sack. South Africa's win was built on the back of four drop goals by Andre Pretorius and a thundering try by giant prop CJ Van der Linde.
- REUTERS
