- South Africa won the Rugby Union World Cup Final and are the only world champions to have won four titles.
- The Springboks beat New Zealand 12-11 in the final at Stade de France.
- The winner of the match for the defending champions was Pollard with four converted penalty kicks.
With 23 seconds left in the tense match, the New Zealanders felt their last chance. There was a “crowd” (crowd) near the South African goal area. The All Blacks, who had never led the entire game, were able to turn things around late on, but no longer.
They were the ones who scored the only ‘try’ (try/5 points) through Beauden Barrett (58). However, as Richie Mo’unga missed a conversion chance (2 points) from a poor position, South Africa remained narrowly ahead at 12:11 – and defended their lead for the final 20 minutes.
Early exit for the Mbonambi match
The match started poorly for South Africa. “Hackler” Mbongeni Mbonambi was forced to leave the field injured in the 4th minute after a mistake by Shannon Frizell, who received a yellow card (10-minute disqualification). After all, “Fly Half” Handre Pollard used his penalty kick to give South Africa the lead. In the 12th minute, he raised the score to 6-0.
The other points in the first half also came from penalties. Richie Mo’unga scored twice for New Zealand and Pollard twice for South Africa. In the 29th minute, the New Zealanders were severely weakened: captain Sam Keane received a yellow card for a foul, which was upgraded to red after a video review – the ‘All Blacks’ played more outnumbered from then on.
A strong push for South Africa in the second half
After the break, South Africa twice missed their first attempt. Kurt Lee Arendse missed by a few centimetres. South Africa captain Siya Kolisi was then forced to sit after a foul, giving New Zealand the upper hand.
But the All Blacks lost the ball twice just before the goal. A supposed effort by New Zealand’s Aaron Smith was disallowed after VAR intervention, but shortly afterwards Barrett was still able to put the ball home for the first try of the match.
New Zealand continued its strength and drew a yellow card against Cheslin Kolbe in the 72nd minute, reaching a numerical tie. But Jordie Barrett also missed space between the posts from long range – with 11:12 remaining from New Zealand’s point of view.
Voices about the game
Now four titles in South Africa
For the Springboks, this is the fourth World Cup title after 1995, 2007 and 2019. South Africa has never lost a final match. For the All Blacks, it was a repeat of the experience they had 28 years ago when they lost the final to World Cup hosts South Africa.
legend:
Notable visitor
Roger Federer supported his mother’s team in South Africa.
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