Handre Pollard kicked four penalties as South Africa retained their Rugby World Cup title by the slimmest of margins in Paris; New Zealand skipper Sam Cane red carded for high tackle on Jesse Kriel in 29th minute; Richie Mo'unga and Jordie Barrett missed kicks for 14-player NZ to lead
Sunday 29 October 2023 09:08, UK
A first-ever Rugby World Cup final red card proved pivotal as New Zealand captain Sam Cane's dismissal enabled Handre Pollard to kick South Africa to a 12-11 win and record fourth title at a soaked Stade de France.
Pollard - who missed the start of the World Cup due to a calf injury before being called up late - kicked four penalties in Paris, with Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi lucky to avoid red himself for a head-on-head tackle on Ardie Savea, and wing Cheslin Kolbe sin-binned late on for a deliberate knock-on.
New Zealand scored their points through two Richie Mo'unga penalties and a Beauden Barrett try - with Aaron Smith having a further score ruled out - and refused to give up despite being down to 14 from the 29th minute, but they could not take their chances to ever lead in the contest, as Jordie Barrett missed a long-range penalty late on.
Cane's red card came due to a high tackle which made contact with the head of South Africa centre Jesse Kriel, with World Rugby's foul play review bunker feeding back the act had a high degree of danger, with no obvious mitigation.
Remarkably, the win was South Africa's third one-point victory in succession (after 29-28 and 16-15 wins over France and England in the RWC quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively), which sees them become the first side since England in 1936-37 to win three Tests in a row by the slimmest of margins.
The unpopular Springboks were met with a cacophony of boos within the arena throughout the final by a majority French crowd, and by the end, it was fair to reflect the players in green barely limped over the line to the title despite the huge advantage of playing the majority with a player more.
The All Blacks were reduced to 14 players less than three minutes in, when flanker Shannon Frizell was rightfully penalised by TMO Tom Foley for landing his weight onto the standing leg of South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonami at a ruck, causing a knee injury in the process.
Pollard kicked the first points of the final after that incident - nervously sliding the simple penalty through via a glancing kiss off the post - before much of the early proceedings were dominated by kicking out of hand, despite South Africa facing 14 players.
In the end, it took a huge slice of luck for more points to arrive, as a wickedly sliced Kolbe kick landed perfectly into the hands of full-back Damian Willemse, who kicked ahead to force Beauden Barrett into touch and a South Africa lineout in the 22.
From there, Pollard kicked for 6-0 from close range just before Frizell's re-introduction when All Blacks loosehead Ethan de Groot was penalised for failing to roll away at the breakdown.
South Africa scrum-half Faf de Klerk cynically tackled wing Mark Tele'a off the ball as New Zealand sought to start attacking, and only a cruel bounce of the ball by the try-line denied Savea a try in response off a Jordie Barrett chip kick.
New Zealand had been playing on penalty advantage for an offside against Deon Fourie, allowing Mo'unga to kick over for 6-3.
On 20 minutes, an incorrect breakdown penalty against Savea for failing to release before jackalling on the ball saw a Pollard kick at goal from distance just creep over the bar through the rain.
The All Blacks carved out two lineout chances in the 22 in the moments that followed, but both came to nothing as first, Eben Etzebeth produced a superb lineout steal, and hooker Codie Taylor then overthrew after Etzebeth had been penalised for playing the arm of Brodie Retallick at the set-piece just prior.
Lock Franco Mostert soon knocked on in a carry just outside his 22, but it was a scrum New Zealand would not get to attack from as, after a review, Cane was dismissed for his high tackle on Kriel - a decision the All Blacks captain could have no argument with.
Six minutes from the end of the half, Pollard stretched the lead out to two scores at 12-3 after a Steven Kitshoff breakdown penalty followed superb line-speed in defence by Kolisi in the New Zealand 22, with predictable confirmation arriving just prior regarding the upgrade of Cane's yellow to red.
New Zealand's 14 reacted heartily before the break, with Frizell and Rieko Ioane both going close to tries - the latter just kept out in the corner by Kolbe after Tela'a and Aaron Smith had linked up in an attack disrupted by a clearly offside Etzebeth, who was very fortunate not to be sin-binned.
Mo'unga kicked over that penalty to leave things 12-6 at the break, but with New Zealand facing an extremely tough task.
The early stages of the second half saw South Africa pass up two huge chances for tries: Centre Damian de Allende held up a minute after the whistle following a poor Beauden Barrett knock-on under a high ball which landed for Kolisi to sprint on to, and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse then knocking on over the try-line after chasing a Willemse grubber-kick.
Five minutes into the second period, the numbers could have been evened up for the remainder when Kolisi collided with the head of Savea, but though he was sin-binned, the bunker fed back a change in dynamics of the situation was just enough to spare a red card.
From then on, New Zealand largely dictated play, belying the fact they had a player less, and turned down shots at the posts in search of a try.
Mo'unga knocked on with an overlap on in the first attack after Kolisi's sin-binning, before a Pieter-Steph du Toit tackle off the ball on Scott Barrett saw New Zealand turn down the chance for three points to kick to the corner, only for wing Will Jordan to knock-on seven metres out in the ensuing attack.
On 54 minutes, All Blacks scrum-half Smith appeared to score after a stunning Mo'unga break in which he stepped, jinked and sprinted to beat Arendse and De Allende, dummied past Willemse, and then offloaded inside, but the try was ruled out for a Savea knock-on at a previous lineout some phases back.
The All Blacks turned down another potential shot for three points to kick into the corner with Kolisi still off the pitch, but South Africa conceded a further penalty deep within their 22 - stripping the ball after a tackle was formed - to just hold out until they were restored to the full complement.
The All Blacks continued to press, however, and four minutes after that Smith score was chalked off, they did get the try their pressure deserved when Tele'a danced through and offloaded for Barrett to scoop up and dive over near the corner. Mo'unga critically missed the difficult conversion for the lead wide across the posts, though.
Retallick and Scott Barrett soon stole two successive Springbok lineouts, before New Zealand won scrum ball back against the head with the 14 players firmly in the ascendency, but South Africa replacement back-row Kwagga Smith came up with two vital turnovers to stop the All Blacks in their tracks.
Kolbe's yellow card for an obvious deliberate knock-on of an Anton Lienert-Brown offload five metres into the South Africa half with seven minutes to play handed New Zealand one final chance, but Jordie Barrett's long-range penalty, which had more than enough in distance, drifted wide to the left.
A Pollard drop-goal from over 40 metres out was charged down by the tireless Savea with four minutes to go, but a last-gasp All Blacks attack up against exhausted defenders saw the ball lost after a Savea offload attempt.
That left South Africa to complete one scrum for glory, and though De Klerk got away with not feeding the ball into the set-piece with over 20 seconds left, a reset with just seven seconds remaining saw a massively relieved Springboks just about survive a counter-push and eventual jostle for the ball, bringing to an end a fabulous Rugby World Cup in France.
New Zealand captain Sam Cane told ITV Sport post-match...
"Obviously I'm extremely gutted and disappointed, first of all at the fact the boys had to play with 14 men for 50-odd minutes.
"But I thought the courage they showed tonight was incredible. The whole team are absolute warriors and it's tough.
"I'd like to say well done to South Africa...they've been a fantastic team and had a heck of a run to the final.
"Time and time again, they find a way to win, so well done South Africa."
South Africa back row Pieter-Steph du Toit said post-match...
"The last three games have been quite tough. Each one we've played as a final and each one was by one point, so it was tough for us and we're happy with the win.
"For all of South Africa, we're honoured to be able to play for you guys and play for the Springboks. I know when we go back home it's going to be a warm welcome for us."
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi said post-match...
"What happened at the last World Cup, we were kind of hoping because we were trying to get the name of the Springboks back. But now, people were expecting us.
"There is so much going wrong in our country, we are basically the last line of defence, there are so many people who come from where I come from who are hope-less.
"There is so much division in the country, but we show people that it is possible for people from different backgrounds to work together - not just on the rugby field but in life in general.
"I've got a job to make sure I give everything I can to the jersey, to make sure I inspire the next generation that they can get opportunities like this."
The victory means South Africa clinch Rugby World Cup glory for a record fourth time, after previous titles in 1995, 2007 and 2019. They end their campaign having finished second in Pool B after defeat to Ireland and wins over Scotland, Romania and Tonga, before beating hosts France 29-28 in the quarter-finals and England 16-15 in the semi-finals.
The defeat means New Zealand finish as runners-up at a Rugby World Cup for the second time in their history, after the 1995 World Cup in South Africa - which they also lost to the Springboks. They end their campaign having finished second in Pool A after defeat to hosts France and wins over Namibia, Italy and Uruguay, before beating Ireland 28-24 in the quarter-finals and Argentina 44-6 in the semi-finals.
