WALES LEAVE ENGLAND HURTING: World Cup hosts stunned as South Africa get their act together

Dan Biggar kicked Wales to a stunning 28-25 comeback victory over World Cup hosts England on Saturday night as South Africa got their campaign back on course with an emphatic 46-6 triumph over Samoa.

The Welsh hero and South Africa wing JP Pietersen -scorer of three tries -were the individual stars on the most electrifying day so far of a World Cup that is keeping the fans on the edge of their seats with upset results and thrilling rugby.

Italy beat Canada 23-18 in the third game, which produced the best try of the tournament so far from Canadian wing DTH van der Merwe’s effort, which started inside his own half.

Biggar, who normally sees the kicking duties handled by the injured Leigh Halfpenny, emerged from the shadows to kick 23 points from seven penalties and a conversion -a record points haul for a Welshman against England.

A brilliant Gareth Davies try capped a determined come-from-behind performance by the Welsh as a whole leaving Biggar embarrassed at being named man of the match.

Wales were at one stage 19-9 down before the packed 81,100 crowd at Twickenham.

“For us to come here, no one gave us a hope.

I feel cheeky taking man of the match. It should be shared by all of the boys today,” said 25-year-old Biggar. “We kept on believing. We kept sticking to our structure. It was the best day’s rugby of our careers.”

The victory has seen Wales take a huge step towards the last eight although they still have two testing games to come against the unpredictable Fijians, who beat them in the 2007 finals, and the two-time world champion Wallabies.

England must now beat world number two side Australia in their next game with coach Stuart Lancaster saying he was “gutted” by the defeat after establishing a comfortable lead. “We gave some dumb ones away which allowed them to keep in the game,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pietersen scored three tries as South Africa hit back following their shock 34-32 defeat by Japan seven days earlier.

The win put South Africa on top of Pool B with seven points from two games.

“We were open about it all week, on the situation that we were in,” Pietersen said.

“The only way to get out of the situation was (up to) ourselves. We told ourselves that if we win our remaining three games then we will definitely qualify.”

For coach Heyneke Meyer, it was a welcome relief after the intense pressure that had come to bear on him following the Japanese reversal.

“We’re a country that needs hope and forgiveness,” said Meyer.

—AFP