Thanks to Handré Pollard, South Africa is the sole record world champion in rugby. The team of outgoing coach Jacques Nienaber won the thrilling duel between the two three-time champions against New Zealand with 12:11 (12:6).
It was the defending champion’s fourth triumph after 1995, 2007 and 2019. The outstanding player at the Stade de France in Paris was connector Pollard, who scored all the points for the Springboks. South Africa had already won by one point in the quarter and semi-finals. New Zealand captain Sam Cane was shown a red card in the 27th minute.
After just two minutes, New Zealand had to accept a yellow card against Shannon Frizzell, and the 29-year-old sat on the bench for ten minutes. South Africa was also hit hard as world-class hitter Bongi Mbonambi had to be substituted after Frizzell’s foul. Pollard took advantage of the penalty to take the lead and added nine points before the break.
First expulsion in a World Cup final
The All Blacks got on the scoreboard thanks to two successful penalty kicks from Richie Mo’unga. However, the game ended prematurely for Cane after a rude foul. The yellow card against the 31-year-old was upgraded based on video evidence. It was the first sending off in a World Cup final.
After the break, the Springboks wanted to force the first try of the final, but at the end of this period of pressure there was a weakening. Captain Siya Kolisi (46th) was shown a yellow card after a forbidden tackle and had to leave the field for ten minutes.
New Zealand took advantage of the balance of power that had been restored at short notice for an attempt by Aaron Smith (54th), which was, however, taken back according to video evidence. Four minutes later, Beauden Barret scored, but Mo’unga missed the All Blacks’ first lead with the miss.
After a yellow card against Cheslin Kolbe, South Africa also had to make do with just 14 players for the last six minutes of the game. However, Jordi Barrett missed the last chance to give New Zealand the lead with a penalty.
