Here we had it, the non-Clasico. South Africa limped and panicked and drove and scrapped their way to victory and retained the Webb Ellis Cup in an unlovely match that was ferociously competitive but never remotely approaching greatness or, indeed, not much beyond mediocrity.
And you thought immediately of the French team. Some of the spectacle and support for the World Cup evaporated when they bungled their quarter-final, losing to South Africa by a single point, and it still hurts horribly in this country. But the knowledge that France at their best could have had both these final teams on French toast, will be agony.
For South Africa, Pieter-Steph du Toit had an incredible game and made 28 tackles, Eben Etzebeth was influential — though he escaped yellow for what appeared to be lazy running into the path of a pass from Aaron Smith — and as a team they returned to their shell, their armoured shell, for the occasion, they won and the lurking president and politicians from back home had their moment too. Bless them.
And then we come to the final irony. When Shannon Frizell was sent to the sin-bin early on for rolling over the leg of Bongi Mbonambi, the Springbok hooker had to leave the field as early as the fourth minute.
He had been in the news all week after allegations of two verbal attacks in separate matches aimed at England’s Tom Curry, and there were suggestions he could be ruled out of the final. World Rugby concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge Mbonambi, and the Rugby Football Union complained bitterly at what they saw as the lack of a proper investigation into the allegations.
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We had the sad spectacle in the first half of watching Sam Cane, the New Zealand captain, dismissed after 29 minutes — a yellow upgraded to a red for hitting the head of Jesse Kriel with his shoulder. In the second half, Siya Kolisi, the South Africa captain, made head-on-head contact with Ardie Savea, but was allowed to return after a yellow card.
Kolisi’s act was described by the officials as having a “high degree of danger”. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were present.
The tennis legends must think, given all this, that rugby is a very strange sport indeed. Afterwards, with some wondrous words about his country, Kolisi proved that he speaks better than he sometimes tackles.
Rugby has been dreading that a huge game in this tournament would be wrecked because of World Rugby’s strictures on high shots. How painful that it should happen in the final, and it is almost certain that it changed the result. It is also almost certain that a few years ago neither Cane nor Kolisi would have been penalised for such challenges. Cane did not help himself by hardly bending a single inch into the tackle, however.
The All Blacks, one short for almost the whole match after Frizell’s earlier offence, never really found their collective as a result. Their lineout was awful before the break, they were nothing like their true selves.
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In that first half New Zealand created only two scoring chances: when they made good ground up the middle and a final chip by Jordie Barrett would have led to a try for Rieko Ioane had it not bounced horribly away from him; then, with Barrett involved again in a move out to the left wing, Ioane ran out of room on the touchline after good covering work from Kurt-Lee Arendse.
When they disappeared for half-time, with the score at 12-6 to South Africa — Handré Pollard having kicked four penalties to Richie Mo’unga’s two — there appeared to be hardly anything positive to feed the aspirations of the All Blacks.
Indeed, when the speedy and resourceful Arendse dived over in the corner just after half-time it seemed the Boks may pull clear — but he dropped the ball and replays showed that he dipped his right toe on the touchline in any case. A narrow escape.
The All Blacks’ revival was excellent, though. They missed a penalty and a conversion in the second half, either of which would have won them the World Cup, and played with vast courage after a dismal first half. They made ground with their 10-12 midfield combination of Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett, with Beauden Barrett also effective at full back, and Brodie Retallick was superb. But in the end the handicap was too much.
The tension and the uncertainties around sin-bins and red cards seemed to reduce the second half to a kind of passionate shambles, the flow was almost non-existent, the tension massive and Kolisi’s return at least gave South Africa their one-man advantage back, but with the New Zealand line-out now functioning and with Jordie Barrett reinforcing their scrum, New Zealand improved mightily.
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At last Beauden Barrett began to flourish, and even though Du Toit continued to perform wonders and even though Pollard kept kicking clear, the resolve of New Zealand was becoming the feature of the final. And just before the end of the third quarter and after consistent forward driving and pressure, and excellent play with Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett in concert, New Zealand scored the try that restored the contest.
There seemed very little space when Mark Tele’a was hemmed in but he managed to escape three defenders and Beauden Barrett scored. Sadly for New Zealand, Mo’unga missed the conversion which would have put his team in the lead.
It was still 12-11 to South Africa deep into the final quarter, and it stayed that way when Cheslin Kolbe missed by a vast distance with a ludicrous attempt at a drop-goal — it seemed to be part of a massive pantomime.
Then the referee and his colleagues had one more big decision to make, and they made it correctly when they sent Kolbe to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on.
By this time it was deep into oxygen debt for all concerned. Jordie Barrett could not kick the long penalty attempt. South Africa repeated the feat. Their feet, meanwhile, left the ground.
New Zealand
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15. Beauden Barrett 7/10: Great one-handed gather on the All Blacks’ line and was in the right place to score his try,
14. Will Jordan 6/10: Needed one try to go out on his own as most prolific scorer at a single men’s World Cup but openings were very few and far between.
13. Rieko Ioane 6/10: Lovely awareness to anticipate chance to attack corner, but struggled to impose himself.
12. Jordie Barrett 8/10: Did well to stop De Allende scoring and a great pass in build-up to brother’s score.
11. Mark Telea 7/10: Assist for Barrett score having also played a part in the Smith non-try. Always involved.
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10. Richie Mo’unga 8/10: A little peripheral until he burst thrillingly to life by getting outside defence to tee up Smith.
9. Aaron Smith 7/10: Inspired his team by both word and deed when their backs were right against the wall
1. Ethan de Groot 6/10: Did well to stay on right side of officials against two superb tight-heads.
2. Codie Taylor 7/10: All Blacks’ lineout was wobbling in first half but he nailed vital throw just after Cane went off.
3. Tyrel Lomax 6/10: Cane’s departure turned up the heat on front row. Rose to fresh challenge of Nché.
4. Brodie Retallick 8/10: Stood tall in every sense to turn the lineout into an evenly-balanced warzone.
5. Scott Barrett 7/10: Made his own impressive contribution as the All Blacks refused to be cowed at set piece.
6. Shannon Frizell 6/10: Just about right call not to upgrade yellow to red. Usual piercing carries thereafter.
7. Sam Cane 4/10: Upright as his bicep smashed into Kriel’s face. Clear case for unwanted piece of history.
8. Ardie Savea 9/10 (star man): Grew as a carrying force in third quarter. Brutal misfortune at that try-preventing knock-on. What a shift.
South Africa
15. Damian Willemse 6/10: First drop-goal attempt was undercooked but that didn’t stop him. Complemented Pollard.
14. Kurt-Lee Arendse 8/10: Kolbe’s stab through wouldn’t sit up for him, but pair combined to monumental effect.
13. Jesse Kriel 7/10: Horrible to see his head recoil after Cane’s impact. One of his team’s best performers.
12. Damian De Allende 6/10: Held up after getting on the end of Kolisi’s break in the embryonic stages of the second period. Offers so much thrust and gnarliness.
11. Cheslin Kolbe 8/10: Brilliant push off the line harried Beauden Barrett and Jordan into handling malfunction.
10. Handré Pollard 8/10: Some delightful kicking from hand was catnip to the Springboks’ expert chasers.
9. Faf De Klerk 7/10: Daft tackle on Telea but otherwise a masterclass in precision and control.
1. Steven Kitshoff 7/10: A one-man tackle machine. A major reason why South Africa were on a different plane.
2. Bongi Mbonambi 6/10: Having lasted barely a quarter of the 2019 final, hooker was forced off injured inside three minutes after Frizzell’s intervention.
3. Frans Malherbe 7/10: The scrum became an ever-more important part of the equation as game went on.
4. Eben Etzebeth 8/10: Monster hit on Mo’unga was a shot heard around the world. Could have been a yellow.
5. Franco Mostert 7/10: Was key to slowing the game down to the speed South Africa wanted.
6. Siya Kolisi 7/10 Ten minutes in the sin bin was the right punishment.
7. Pieter-Steph Du Toit 9/10: So routinely colossal in the excellence, regularity and importance of his efforts.
8. Duane Vermeulen 7/10: Legendary veteran charged around as if he was ten years younger.
Referee: W Barnes (Eng) Scorers: New Zealand: Try B Barrett 58. Pens Mo’unga 2 (17, 38). South Africa: Pens Pollard 4 (3, 13, 19, 34). Sent off: New Zealand: Cane 29. Sin-bin New Zealand Frizzell 2-12, South Africa Kolisi 45-55, Kolbe 74.
Substitutes: New Zealand: T Lomax (for Laulala) 66; S Taukei’aho (for Taylor) 66; F Christie (for Smith) 66; T Williams (for De Groot) 66; D McKenzie (for Mo’unga) 75. South Africa: D Fourie (for Mbonambi) 4min; RG Snyman (for Mostert) 52, O Nché (for Kitshoff) 52; K Smith (for Vermeulen) 58; J Kleyn (for Etzebeth) 58; W Le Roux (for Willemse) 66; J Wiese (for Kolisi) 73.
