South Africa have retained the Rugby World Cup after winning 12-11 against New Zealand who had captain Sam Cane shown a red card in the first half
Jesse Kriel of South Africa celebrates following the final whistle as his side defeated New Zealand to retain the Rugby World Cup.Jesse Kriel of South Africa celebrates following the final whistle as his side defeated New Zealand to retain the Rugby World Cup.titles. And, even on a soggy Parisian evening, this really did have the feel of a truly momentous occasion. South Africa are champions again and any arguments about the most dominant rugby nation on earth can be temporarily laid to rest.
There had been little to separate the teams before Cane was sent off, after a video review, for an upright tackle on Jesse Kriel in the 27th minute. There have been worse tackles, delivered with greater force, but once the phrase “a high degree of danger” is employed there is usually only one outcome. Never before has a player been sent off in a World Cup final, let alone an All Black skipper.The heart-stopping drama, though, was far from over.
It was always going to be thunderous. These two fiercely proud nations have been playing rugby union against each other for 102 years but some games are bigger than others. You could see it in the faces of the South Africa players as they belted out the anthems and in focused Kiwi eyes during the Haka.
The All Black gameplan, either way, was simple enough. Get ahead early to neutralise the Bok bench and exert pressure of the scoreboard variety. Before Eben Etzebeth and co had the chance to squeeze the living daylights out of the contest.
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