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South Africa retained the Rugby World Cup as a devastating red card crushed New Zealand’s hopes in an epic final.
The Springboks became the first side to win the tournament for a fourth time with a 12-11 victory at the Stade de France in Paris. Having come into the contest as slight underdogs, South Africa were aided by the All Blacks going down to 14 men after just two minutes of action, with Shannon Frizell sin-binned.
But while Frizell avoided red, captain Sam Came was afforded no such leeway as he became the first player to be sent off in a World Cup final following a high tackle on Jesse Kriel. And despite a valiant second-half effort from New Zealand, the Springboks made it four wins in four finals.
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The early blow of losing hooker Bongi Mbonambi to injury didn’t derail South Africa as they managed a 12-6 half-time lead. Handre Pollard’s four penalties proved decisive.
New Zealand came out of the break a changed side and were rewarded when Richie Mo’unga dived through a gap to feed Aaron Smith, who galloped in. Yet it was heartbreak for the All Blacks as the try was overturned for a knock-on at the line-out beforehand.
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The three-time champions kept on pushing, however, and were rewarded for their pressure when full-back Beauden Barrett scored a try 58 minutes in to give the All Blacks hope – his second in a World Cup final. Richie Mo’unga missed his conversion, allowing South Africa to maintain their slender advantage.
Still, the reigning champions had to endure a nervy finish, with their historic rivals dominating the territory in the latter stages. Going down to 14 men did not aide South Africa's cause as Cheslin Kolbe was shown the third yellow card of the final.
Jordie Barrett failed to convert his penalty from a long way out. Meanwhile, Kolbe in the bin could barely stand to watch, holding his shirt high over his head.
But South Africa managed to keep their incredible record of winning their quarter-final, semi-final and the World Cup final matches all by a single point.
South Africa’s Pieter-Steph du Toit was given the Player of the Match award after recording a remarkable 28 tackles to keep New Zealand at bay. South Africa's 209 total tackles dwarfed the 93 made by New Zealand.
He said: "It's been an honour and a privilege, it was tough, each one a final, each one by one point. As a team we like drama, the last few years, I think it shows the resilience of the team.
"For all of South Africa, we’re honoured to play for the Springboks, we want to thank everybody for supporting us. 64 million South Africans are supporting us."
- Rugby World Cup
- Breaking News
- Rugby union
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