World reacts as Springboks beat All Blacks in ‘epic’ final
Rugby World Cup: World reacts as Springboks beat All Blacks in ‘epic’ final
The All Blacks and the Springboks played a “epic, seesawing contest” this morning in Paris, and the Springboks emerged victorious.
The game had supporters of both teams on the edge of their seats, with the media hailing it as “enthralling,” “thunderous,” and “heart-pounding” throughout the world.
Mike Henson, writing for the BBC, stated that “the physicality never dropped”.
The disintegration resembled a brawl. It was a limb lottery for the line-out. Huge strikes shattered the gainline. In midfield, Jordie Barrett and Damian de Allende recklessly charged at each other.
“New Zealand flung everything they had at the Boks, whose defence strained but stayed intact.
“After similarly narrow victories over France and England, South Africa have walked the hardest, narrowest route to the trophy.”
The final had “the feel of a truly momentous occasion,” according to Robert Kitsen at the Guardian, despite the rainy conditions in Paris.
What a titanic, back-and-forth struggle it was. It’s going to be known as the story of two captains,” he penned.
“Thunderous was always going to be the outcome. For 102 years, these two incredibly proud countries have been playing rugby union against one another, but certain matches are more important than others. It was evident in the focused Kiwi eyes during the Haka and in the faces of the South African players when they sang the national anthems.
“In the end, South Africa’s bloodthirstiness proved to be crucial once more. Amazingly, they overcame all kinds of hardship to win all three of their knockout games by a single point.”
The Independent referred to the Springboks as “the kings of rugby” and labeled the game a “ludicrous finale” in its headline.
“The Springboks may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing team at this World Cup but they know how to win,” said Luke Baker.
“The resilience and tenacity this squad feeds on is brilliantly demonstrated by their three successive one-point triumphs in the knockout stage, as they defeated their fiercest rivals, New Zealand, England, and France, respectively. Another noteworthy statistic is that despite winning four of the last four World Cup finals, they did not score a try in three of those games.
He called Sam Cane “high and reckles” for his controversial tackle on Jesse Kriel, which resulted in a red card.
“Without any chance of escape, his fate was decided as his shoulder made contact with the head of the Springboks center. Although it took several minutes for the Bunker Review system to verify that Cane’s yellow card had been changed to red, his dejected expression when he first walked away indicated he was aware of what was about to happen.
“And the pure pain etched across his features every time the camera panned to him on the sideline for the rest of the game showed that he understood the magnitude of his error.”
Sam Cane, the captain of New Zealand, exits the field during the All Blacks and South Africa Rugby World Cup 2023 final at Stade de France.Image credit: www.photosport.nz/Andrew Cornaga
For South Africa’s Times Live, Liam del Carme stated, “the Springboks are on top of the rugby world but by a sliver.”
“It was a tight and tense final that jangled the nerves and will no doubt be fiercely debated over the coming days,” he stated.
“These teams were drawn together by the rugby gods, but the Springboks may thank their Rain Queen for creating the conditions that limited the usually skillful All Blacks.
“However, the rainy weather added to the show by enabling more thrills and spills than one could witness at the Moulin Rouge.
“With their bench split of seven to one, the Springboks wanted to contain the All Blacks before suffocating them. Their match-day team was not put together with the idea of putting it in the Louvre. Before losing heart, they were determined to unleash full-scale Bastille on the All Blacks by imprisoning them.”
In the meantime, the Springboks celebrated their own victory in the locker rooms by stripping down to speedos.