South Africa are Rugby World Cup champions for a record fourth time after a stunning win over New Zealand on Saturday. A 12-11 victory against 14 men meant that the Springboks retained their crown in France.
A gripping final was turned on its head by Sam Cane’s early red card. The All Blacks captain was dismissed upon review for a high tackle, handing South Africa a numerical advantage.
The sending-off has split opinion, with New Zealand unhappy with English referee Wayne Barnes. Meanwhile, South Africa were jubilant after winning consecutive Rugby World Cups.
You can follow all the latest fallout from the Rugby World Cup with our LIVE updates blog, below…
Kolisi gives inspiring speech
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi has called on his nation to “make a better country” in an inspiring reaction to their Rugby World Cup triumph.
Kolisi lifted the trophy after victory over New Zealand on Saturday.
He roused afterwards: “There’s so much going wrong in our country, we are the last line of defence. There’s so much division in the country, it is possible to work together as South Africans, not just on the rugby field, but in life in general.
“We can’t go away from that, 1995, without that I wouldn’t be here. For people who look like me, I’ve got a job to give whatever I can to the jersey, to show they can get opportunities like this.”
England star backs Steve Borthwick
England star Jamie George has backed Steve Borthwick to continue as head coach, insisting the 44-year-old is the ‘perfect man’ for the job.
Borthwick faced scrutiny for some of his team selections during the Rugby World Cup.
He guided England to third place but question marks remain over the progress being made under his management.
George said: “For me Steve is the perfect man. He never sits still, I don’t think he ever sleeps. I have huge confidence in him to make sure we get this right.
“If those contracts do come in I have every confidence he will do it in the absolute right way that does not take away from the club game, because that’s something that means a lot to me.”
Sam Cane’s red card reaction
A dejected Sam Cane admitted he was “hurt” after seeing red in the Rugby World Cup final.
The New Zealand captain was dismissed upon review in the 29th minute.
“There’s so much hurt right now,” Cane said. “It’s actually hard to find the words to explain it. It’s hard because you are feeling so much hurt but at the same time you are so proud of the group in how they fought back.
“It sort of caught me off guard, the fact [Kriel] stepped back. But, look, we’ve been at this tournament for two months now, and anything around the head has ramifications.
“I’m not here to discuss whether it was right or wrong. It can’t be changed. It’s something unfortunately I am going to have to live with forever.”
Media take digs at South Africa
The New Zealand press bitterly called out South Africa for their perceived gamesmanship during the Rugby World Cup final.
An NZ Herald headline bemoaned “Well done to South Africa, the best at not playing rugby” and encapsulated the mood among the country’s media.
In the piece, columnist Paul Lewis observes: “Firstly: South Africa won it fair and square.Secondly: South Africa are better at not playing rugby than the All Blacks are at playing rugby.Thirdly: the sport of rugby must lift itself out of this miserable morass of complicated rules which lead to a band of officials becoming the key influence, not the players or the actual play.”
The piece continues: “As South Africa have consistently shown, it is often better to play without the ball rather than to run and pass it. How sad is that? How ridiculous?
“The All Blacks chose to employ their usual attacking, ball-in-hand strategy, even down to 14 men, and still could have won it had that long Jordie Barrett penalty attempt gone over, as it would have on a different day. But the percentages won. Again.
“In fact, this was the only one of the Boks’ four World Cup finals in which a try was scored against them – and they have only once (2019) scored a try in the final themselves. Says a lot, doesn’t it?”
Ex-New Zealand ace slams ref
Former New Zealand international Israel Dagg raged at English officials Wayne Barnes and Tom Foley after the All Blacks’ defeat.
Barnes showed red to captain Sam Cane for a high tackle, a decision which split opinion.
But Dagg felt that the red card ruined a ‘showpiece’ event and laid the blame at the feet of Barnes.
“This is our showpiece event, which has been overshadowed by a couple of people that are just taking the glory and the gloss away from the players,” Dagg told Sky Sport.
“I’m honestly just fed up … it is putting apprehension in the mind of our players.
“You can see why people switch off the game, because it’s as boring as hell, because you don’t have the best players out there.
“There were some contentious moments but deal with it after the game. There was no malice in (Cane’s tackle) and Jesse Kriel is fine.”
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