World Cup - New Zealand win rugby World Cup
Hosts New Zealand just about held their collective nerve to edge France 8-7 at Eden Park in Auckland and win the World Cup for the second time after a gap of 24 years.
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This was not the coronation that had been predicted but ultimately a first-half try from prop Tony Woodcock and a penalty from fourth-choice flyhalf Stephen Donald proved enough to end the country's long wait for a second triumph after 1987.
Having been written off by all but themselves, the French, led by man of the match Thierry Dusautoir, answered the challenge of New Zealand's haka by advancing in an arrow formation before the game and gave the host nation an almighty scare during it.
A converted try in the second half from Dusautoir had the French dreaming of a first World Cup triumph and the hosts fearing another failure at rugby's showpiece event against the team that were their nemesis in 1999 and 2007.
The All Blacks looked sharper and more powerful in the early exchanges as the French enjoyed plenty of possession but ran up blind alleys and were swallowed up by the swarming New Zealand defence.
Scrumhalf Piri Weepu had already missed a reasonably simple penalty in the sixth minute when Woodcock opened the scoring in the 15th minute through a well-executed move straight off the training ground.
France captain Dusautoir was penalised for holding on at the back of the lineout and Weepu launched the resulting kick into touch deep in the French 22.
Flanker Jerome Kaino leaped high at the back of the lineout but knocked the ball straight down to Woodcock on his inside and the prop only had to trundle a few metres through a huge hole in the defence to touch down.
Weepu missed the conversion and even another shanked penalty from the scrumhalf in the 26th minute did not look disastrous as the home side looked well in control.
By the 34th minute both starting flyhalves were off the pitch, France's Morgan Parra departing courtesy of a knee to the head and Aaron Cruden succumbing to a knee injury.
The All Blacks continued to look the more dangerous with ball in hand but France's replacement stand off Francois Trinh-Duc sounded a warning with a failed dropped-goal attempt and a couple of breaks, one ended only by Weepu's tap tackle.
France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili missed a difficult penalty early in the second half and Donald, who came on for Cruden for his first game of the tournament, put the All Blacks 8-0 ahead after 46 minutes.
The French came storming straight back, however, moving turnover ball deep into All Black territory before Dusautoir charged through a tackle and touched down on the cladding surrounding the post.
Trinh-Duc added the extra points before Weepu's nightmare continued when, having already been replaced as the place-kicker, he launched the kick-off straight into touch and was immediately summoned from the pitch.
The French could now sense an upset in the air and the All Blacks were clearly rattled as white-shirted runner after white-shirted runner charged at their lines.
In the 63rd minute, the All Black scrum, who had dominated in the first half, were penalised for driving up but Trinh-Duc dragged his 47-metre penalty attempt wide.
France kept hold of the ball through phase after phase and the New Zealanders grew more and more frustrated as the chants of "All Blacks! All Blacks!" from the 60,000 crowd grew louder and louder.
A turnover in the 77th minute was greeted as if it were a try and the match ended three minutes later when the French were penalised for offside, sending the host nation into raptures.
SCORING TIMELINE
15' Woodcock try - New Zealand 5-0
46' Donald penalty - New Zealand 8-0
47' Dusautoir try - New Zealand 8-5
49' Trinh-Duc conversion - New Zealand 8-7
Comment 422 - 441 of 441
Tense Final and a fitting Final for the RWC.
New Zealand Rugby World Cup Champions
Enough said...
youtube: RWC Final - 23rd Oct 2011 - Refereeing discussion from The Breakdown
Surely France must have the chockers tag. Three (3) finals and three (3) defeats
442 schimpf A,dont worry about it the french had 16 v 14 to get to the final when they played wales,most of you on here told the welsh to move on and get over it so the french will have to do the same,what goes around comes around
Rather shocked having watched youtube:RWC Final - 23rd Oct 2011 - Refereeing discussion from The Breakdown.
If the
Donald penalty kick?????????? If it was inside posts, why are we not able to see it on line??????????????
Give the cup back to France - Stephen Donald's penalty was wide!
during several week all anglo-saxon (journalist, specialist, etc) spoke so bad about french team. why? just cause we got luck that we didn't got several times by the past? french people feels very injured about what we was reading last weeks. very injured!
@marius - I agree, I have nothing abgainst the ABs, you misunderstood me. ABs are great. I even accept my team to be silver medal. That's great. I'm just fed up with the biased referees (and that , since many years, 6 nations and RWC)
@ Robert. Hey, I understand you are bitter that France lost the final, but you shouldn't, because they put up a strong fight. You should be proud of them and not taking on the ABs for their last minutes. Be reasonable and think if you were there wouldn't you have done the same: last 3 minutes of the final, you lead by one point, what you want is to win the final and you have the ball, what would you have done? run for a try and risk loosing the ball to your oponents? why do you think that the ABs should win a RWC final in style or anyone. and if they dont then they are unworthy winners. often the final game of a World Cup is far from being the best game of the tournament because of what's at stake. didn't the French 15 do the same in the semi against Wales? they did and this is why they played the final. there is a balance now between the NH and the SH teams and this is good but this makes the matches less spectacular but more hard fought. if you are French be proud of this 'cause your team was great, at least in the knock-out round and stop whining about how ABs played. for me they deserve the title.
It's the best team in world, but should recognize that yesterday France was better. And the best team in the world needed to play 16 vs 15 for win them. :) what a pity
the last minutes and running clock speaks volume
"In the weeks and months ahead, it will be up to you (UK and NZ press) to explain how a so-called lame team managed to make the ABs tremble on their ground for 80 minutes." M.L.
@ Andy don't take it too personnally. I am just replying to all the verbal abuses we have received during this world cup. And trust me, far too many were inflammatory from people and Newspapers. So I wanted to see how the abuser would react when he/she becomes abused.
I hope they won't. And I agree with your 440 post.
Melimelo, you will find the comment at the bottom of page S15 of this morning's Daily Telegraph sports supplement - it comes at the end of an article written by Paul Bolton and Ian Chadband about Graham Henry coaching the Barbarians.
I note that the precise wording is "France are likely to be fined £10,000 for linking arms and advancing on the All Blacks's haka before the match".
@ 440 - Socrate where did you read that about the fine please ?
I have just read that the French side are to be fined £10,000 for advancing on the Haka in the rugby world cup final…How ridiculous!
Don’t get me wrong – I think that the Haka is a terrific part of rugby and a great spectacle for the crowd and long may it be performed. But I do not see why the other team has to be obliged to stand around like prunes, with their muscles getting cold and their adrenaline running down whilst the New Zealanders are allowed to pump themselves up psychologically and physically immediately before the start of the game.
Good on you France for facing up to them – it added to the spectacle. I recall the Irish doing something similar years ago.
If the New Zealanders do not want anyone to rain on their parade then perhaps they should perform the Haka on their own for the crowd before the other team appears and the anthems are sung.
ANN, that doesn't count anymore, NZ is champion, good for them.
But, please, the refereeing WAS horrible, or you didn't watched the same match.
I must confess that, like John, my first reaction to Stephen Donald’s kick was that he had missed; and I was surprised too when the touch judges raised their flags. But then I decided that I must have been mistaken and it was simply the camera angle. Shame that they did not show the kick from different angles as I seem to recall they did for most other kicks/tries/dodgy tackles etc. throughout the tournament. However, the fact that one touch judge seemed uncertain did not bother me – it happens all the time in such situations and is not necessarily sinister. No doubt this could be yet one more incident that will enter rugby folk lore to be discussed forever. Perhaps the authorities might consider using the technology used to decide difficult line calls in tennis, or to illustrate the flight of the ball in cricket, to determine if a high kick has passed through the lines of the posts. Since the results of important games hang on such decisions it might be worth considering.
I must say the French never cease to surprise me – you never know which team is going to show up. They clearly know how to play the All Blacks and this must place the seeds of doubt in the All Blacks’ minds. Great game: it showed once again the critical role played by kickers – the result could have gone either way.
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