By Michael Cantillon
Last Updated: 28/10/23 10:08pm
Handre Pollard kicked four penalties as South Africa secured back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles
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.
Pollard – who missed the start of the World Cup due to injury before being called up late – kicked four penalties, with Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi possibly lucky to avoid red himself for a head-on-head tackle on Ardie Savea, and 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.
South Africa’s tournament win means they are just the second side in history – after themselves in 2019 – to lose a match at a World Cup and go on to lift the trophy, having been beaten by Ireland in Pool B last month.
What’s next?
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.
More to follow…
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The post Match Report – New Zealand 11 – 12 South Africa first appeared on Latest American News.
The post Match Report – New Zealand 11 – 12 South Africa appeared first on Latest American News.