A historic hail of penalties, brave fighting All Blacks and a historic South Africa – this Rugby World Cup final truly had it all.
Defending champion South Africa won an intense duel between the major rugby powers and is now the sole record world champion. The Springboks won the final against New Zealand on Saturday evening in Paris with 12:11 (12:6).
After 1995, 2007 and 2019, it is the fourth World Cup title for South Africa. Tennis legend Roger Federer, whose mother Lynette is South African, was also among the spectators and kept his fingers crossed for the Springboks.
Captain Siya Kolisi underlined the importance of success, which goes far beyond a sporting victory. “From the outside you may not be able to fully understand it,” he said, “our country is going through so much, so many children are not doing well, but we can provide hope and show that if we work together, anything is possible.”
The All Blacks, on the other hand, endured a bitter evening in front of 80,000 spectators at the Stade de France and millions in front of the screens, losing, among other things, captain Sam Cane with a red card – such a penalty had never been given in a World Cup final.
Cane finally became a tragic hero after he had previously responded to public doubts about him with strong performances. Now he also contributed to New Zealand’s defeat with his red card in the final.
Both teams also saw a total of four yellow cards; there has never been more than one yellow card in a World Cup final.
New Zealand, world champions in 1987, 2011 and 2015, pressed despite being outnumbered and got within one point – but in the end had to admit defeat against their big rivals in the second final.
This pairing had already happened once in 1995, and the final in South Africa went down in history for more than just sporting reasons: the Springboks competed with black and white players for the first time, and pictures of Nelson Mandela in the green and yellow jersey went around the world .
With sports information service
2023-10-28 22:47:02
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