There has never been a four-time men’s rugby world cup champion. And this did feel like a truly historic occasion, even on a rainy Parisian evening. You can temporarily put an end to disputes about whether country plays rugby better than South Africa, as they have successfully defended their title.
What a titanic, balancing competition it was. It is going to be known as the story of the two captains. One of the most iconic pictures from the sport was captured when Siya Kolisi, the first black rugby captain from South Africa, raised the Webb Ellis Cup in Japan four years ago. Today, every Springbok fan experiences a wonderful sensation of déjà vu. For his All Black rival, Sam Cane, in contrast, it turned out to be the darkest of nights.
Before Cane was sent off for an upright tackle on Jesse Kriel in the 27th minute, there wasn’t much separating the teams. This decision was made following a video review. Even though there have been worse tackles with more force, there is typically only one possible outcome when the term “a high degree of danger” is used. No player, much less an All Black captain, has ever been sent off in a World Cup final.
But the thrilling drama was far from ended. Five minutes after the break, Kolisi received a yellow card for touching Ardie Savea’s head, which sparked a frantic comeback by the 14-man New Zealand team. After a scrum-half Aaron Smith’s “try” was ruled out due to a knock-on by Savea in the build-up, the All Blacks scored a legitimate try through Beauden Barrett just before the hour, setting up an exciting finish. With seven minutes remaining, his brother Jordie missed a long-range penalty attempt.
Two of tennis’ greatest players, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, would have understood the gladiatorial fight from the stands. With Handré Pollard kicking brilliantly and Pieter-Steph du Toit playing at a level that earned him world player of the year in 2019, the Springboks are unstoppable and have only lost once in the history of men’s teams—to New Zealand in 2015.
It was bound to be explosive from the start. For 102 years, these two incredibly proud countries have been playing rugby union against one another, but certain matches are more important than others. It was evident in the focused Kiwi eyes during the Haka and in the faces of the South African players when they sang the national anthems.
It felt even more powerful because of the weeping heavens. Jacques Cousteau would have felt quite at home listening to the amount of pre-game rain, regardless of Jacques Nienaber. A slick ball might spell trouble for New Zealand. Scrums result from more spills. And this South African side absolutely enjoys scrummaging, as England can attest to. The Springboks had also not given up a try in three World Cup finals before to Barrett’s touchdown.
The Guardian
