Rugby World Cup 2019 Final: England vs. South Africa Schedule, Early Preview

South Africa beat Wales on Sunday to secure their place in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, where they will face England in Yokohama on Saturday.

England will be favourites going into the showpiece, as they were able to dominate defending champions New Zealand for long spells in their semi-final. Manager Eddie Jones would have been delighted with the team's performance in that eye-catching 19-7 win.

South Africa have performed brilliantly to make it this far, though, and will be buoyed by their narrow 19-16 win against the Welsh. The Springboks also emerged victorious when these two sides met in the final of the competition back in 2007.

Here are the details for what should be a fascinating occasion on Saturday, as these two heavyweights face off for the biggest prize in the sport.

Date: Saturday, 2 November

Time: 9 a.m. (GMT), 5 a.m. (ET), 6 p.m. (Local)

Venue: International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan

Preview

Having won the last two World Cups and shone at the current edition of the tournament, New Zealand were rightly favourites again for this year's title. It's testament to the England team that they were able to tame the All Blacks so effectively on Saturday.

Here are the highlights from an absorbing semi-final, in which England booked their first final appearance for 12 years:

The foundation for England's excellent win was their defensive play, as they prevented New Zealand's array of talented attacking players from establishing any sort of rhythm in the contest.

Maro Itoje was colossal for his side, with his tackling and lineout work a key building block for the team. He was supported by the imperious Sam Underhill, who covered an astonishing amount of ground to keep New Zealand at bay.

Oliver Holt of the Mail on Sunday reflected on what was a significant result for English sport as a whole:

BBC Sport's Sonja McLaughlin believes the display was one of the best ever produced by an England team:

Celebrations were reserved at the final whistle, though, with Jones' side clearly aware that there's more work to do on Saturday against South Africa.

Sunday's semi-final wasn't as easy on the eye as the one a day earlier, although in the end the Springboks had just enough to edge past their opponents:

Throughout the tournament, South Africa have been able to make progress with their physical brand of rugby and that was on show again in their last-four clash.

At times, the match descended into an all-kicking affair, but when it came to the breakdown and the scrum, South Africa always looked to have an edge. After the match, their head coach Rassie Erasmus pointed out that England are familiar opponents for his side:

They also have players that have shown composure in clutch moments, none more so than Handre Pollard, who kicked the decisive winning penalty against Wales:

Given what is at stake, it's likely to be an attritional final, with both teams unlikely to take risks in the early stages for fear of conceding early points. Of the two sides, that pattern of play would likely suit South Africa.

However, as the match moves on the power of the England pack and the greater ingenuity they have in the backs should see them take control, culminating in an historic night for Jones and his players.