Rugby World Cup 2023 final: South Africa hold off 14-man New Zealand to retain crown
Despite not scoring in the second half after All Blacks skipper Sam Cane was sent off, the Springboks managed to stay in front 12-11 to win a record fourth Rugby World Cup.
South Africa retained the Webb Ellis Cup on Saturday (28 October) after New Zealand captain Sam Cane was shown the first red card in a men’s Rugby World Cup Final.
The Springboks survived a spirited fightback to win 12-11 and claim a record fourth title, moving one clear of their opponents at the Stade de France.
Cane was initially yellow-carded 12 minutes before half-time for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel. And after the Boks had won a penalty which would put them nine points ahead, referee Wayne Barnes relayed the news that New Zealand supporters were dreading: due to “a high degree of danger and no mitigation”, Cane would not return to the field with the flanker left close to tears on the sidelines.
Despite being a man down for most of the match, the All Blacks made all the running in the second half with Beauden Barrett's try closing the gap to just one point.
But South Africa, without scoring in the second half, kept their noses in front with captain Siya Kolisi lifting the trophy for the second consecutive tournament.
Springboks squeak home against defiant All Blacks
Heavy rain in Paris meant a soft pitch and a slippery ball which made running rugby difficult.
Just two minutes into proceedings, the All Blacks were reduced to 14 men as Shannon Frizell was shown a yellow card for falling on to the exposed, straight leg of Bongi Mbonambi in a ruck.
That also presented a big headache for the Springboks with Mbonambi, their sole specialist hooker, going off with a knee injury to be replaced by Deon Fourie.
Handre Pollard kicked the resulting penalty, and he slotted over again when New Zealand transgressed deep inside their 22 just before Frizell rejoined the fray.
The New Zealand flanker made an immediate impact on his return with a powerful run to give them good field position, and the Boks strayed offside to allow Richie Mo’unga to put the All Blacks on the board.
But Ardie Savea was pinged for not rolling away and Pollard quickly restored the Boks’ six-point advantage.
With tennis legends Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer watching on, the famous green shirts did a superb job of stifling the All Blacks’ vaunted running game.
But Pollard's fourth penalty, after Cane left the field not to return, would prove to be the Boks' last points of the game with Mo’unga reducing the arrears to six just before half-time.
The Boks went close at the start of the second half with Kolisi unable to find support close to the line before Damian de Allende was held up over the line. And then Cheslin Kolbe just failed to gather a kick and touch down in the corner.
Then it was Kolisi’s turn to go to the sin bin for a head-to-head tackle on Savea although, unlike Cane, he made a clear bend into the tackle which saw him avoid further sanctioning.
With the teams at parity personnel-wise, New Zealand passed up a kickable penalty to kick for the corner. But the move backfired with more fine South Africa defence forcing Will Jordan to knock on as the ball was swung out wide.
Moments later, New Zealand thought they had scored a try when Aaron Smith went over in the corner after some magic from Mo’unga. But a knock-on from Savea at the line-out, after Eben Etzebeth had tackled his man in the air, saw it scrubbed off with the result a penalty rather than five points.
The All Blacks continued to pass up penalty attempts to go for the try, and they were finally rewarded when Mark Telea’s marginal forward pass was picked up by Beauden Barrett to touch down. But Mo’unga missed the conversion to leave New Zealand one behind.
The game went to and fro and, with seven minutes to go, Kolbe was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on on halfway to ensure both teams would finish the match with 14 men. Jordi Barrett lined up the kick, but pulled it just wide of the uprights.
Kolbe had his Springbok jersey over his face for the remainder of the match, but his teammates held on to claim a hard-fought title.