South Africa 8

Classic Lions 7

Once again the boot proved decisive with a drop goal from Braam Van Straaten knocking out defending champions the Lions in last night's Classic semi-final.

The Springboks, who had been trailing until the 57th minute, will now lock horns with the All Blacks in what promises to be a mouth-watering final tomorrow.

Just as the Kiwis had the previous evening, the Springboks highlighted just how decisive kicking points is when unyielding defences ensure try scoring opportunities are at a premium.

"It was a very tight game," said Springboks coach Ian McIntosh. "Both teams looked to use the wind and I felt we probably used it better than they did. It was a tough game for us and to be fair all the games I've seen at this year's Classic have been very competitive.

"It should be a great final against the All Blacks. At the moment it seems as though someone's smiling down on them because they've managed to win both of their games in the final minutes."

It was South Africa who stole a march on the Lions in the fifth minute when Deon Kayser latched on to a cross field kick for an unconverted try. But they were reduced to 14 men in the 13th minute when Adrian Garvey was sin-binned for persistently being offside. Making the most of their numerical advantage the Lions took the lead when Mattie Stewart stole a loose ball deep inside South Africa's half after Leon Tyalti had committed the cardinal sin of turning his back on play.

Tyalti was unable to recover when a pass intended for him bobbled off his back with Stewart the quickest to react, bursting to the line before unselfishly setting up Mark Blair to score the try. Brian O'Meara then his saw his conversion strike the inside of the right stick before bouncing inside the posts to hand Lions a 7-5 lead at the halfway mark.

The second half saw a frustrated Lions unable to find their rhythm against a resilient South Africa who ensured they were always within striking distance. And with just three minutes remaining 21-cap international Van Straaten booked Springboks a final berth with a well-taken drop goal.

"There was nothing really between the teams and we're very disappointed," said Lions coach Allan Martin. "I felt we were the better team and should have won but at the end of the day the final score shows South Africa as the winners.

"We didn't take our chances and couldn't find that vital score to pull away from them. The players are down at the moment but we'll be back next year to have another crack at it."

Canada 29

United States 7

A robust Canada proved too strong for the US and marched on to the Plate Final were they will meet France at the weekend.

The Canadians tightened the screw from the start and it was no surprise when they took the lead through Dave Knowles who bundled over for a converted try on 14 minutes.

Just five minutes later they doubled their score with Ramzi Azar the chief beneficiary of porous defending by Eagles for another converted try. Dan Harlow then gave Canada a 19-0 lead but Scott Stewart, who slotted home both earlier conversions, was unable to make it three in a row. By half-time the game was almost over when Fred Asselin exploded from just outside his own 22-yard line leaving a mass of red, white and blue markers trailing in his wake as he powered to the try line giving Canada a 24-0 lead.

The second half saw the US assisted by the wind and they managed to claw their back with Dan Payne scoring a converted try.

But fittingly Canada, who dominated the match, had the final say in the final minute when Dave Laing bundled over to score.

Canada coach Spencer Robinson said he believed his team deserved a place in the Plate Final. "We're delighted to be in the Plate Final, it's were we deserve to be," he said. "The US played with the wind in the second half and kept possession for longer than they did in the first period and that tested us defensively.

"The longer you're in the tournament the more cohesion you get. But the longer you're in the tournament the tougher the opposition becomes and it will certainly be an interesting match against France in the final."