Why we need to beat the Boks in RWC final for a complete set of titles
All Blacks v Springboks: Why we need to beat the Boks in RWC final for a complete set of titles
The country that emerges victorious on Sunday will become the first to win four men’s rugby world cups. The luster of all those other trophies will be enhanced by a championship defeated by the Boks in the championship game. Traditionalists would argue that winning a championship without vanquishing your greatest opponent is a little hollow; we aren’t truly world champions until we have subdued the Boks in the championship match.
This match is more significant than just a Rugby World Cup championship because it’s rugby’s biggest matchup, the most recent installment of a ruck that began in 1921 (we defeated them that day in Dunedin, 13-5). Rugby has been defined and elevated to a great sport by epic tours, violent protests, Olympic boycotts, and brutal bouts that have occurred throughout the years.
Whatever shape the teams are in, this match-up brings out the best in rugby’s greatest fighters. For more than a century, the intensity of the clash has remained constant. Rarely does one person genuinely humble the other on this day.

Should Ian Foster lead his side to success, it will be with a team that is not as talented as the All Blacks coaches who came before him. His All Blacks team will be more conscious of their shortcomings than any previous one.
It is no slight to Foster’s excellent team to argue that the All Blacks sides that won titles earlier had a larger pool of talent. Young stars like Michael Jones and John Kirwan, who played the game in 1987 in a way that no other country could match, gained rapid recognition as the greatest players to have ever played their positions.
Many of the greatest players ever to play in their leagues were present in the 2011 and 2015 vintages, with players like Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu, and Aaron Smith reaching new heights in their craft’s performance.
Ardie Savea is one of the players of today who is vying for a spot in the pantheon of greatness, while many other stars, like Smith, Beauden Barrett, and locks Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick, are probably past their prime.
Even if the All Blacks don’t win in the end, their incredible performance and ability to overcome hardship has already proven their skeptics wrong.
It’s difficult to despise the current Boks, unlike in the past when Kiwis may have harbored animosity toward them (it’s not our fault, we were raised that way). The men of Siya Kolisi play at home for their communities. They put a lot of effort and skill into the game. If they prevail, they will have defeated a formidable All Blacks team and earned the right to win the Rugby World Cup.