South Africa Wins Rugby World Cup for Record 4th Time

On Saturday 28 October 2023, the Stade de France situated just outside Paris hosted the Rugby World cup (RWC) 2023 Final, with South Africa emerging victorious at the end of a seven-week tournament involving twenty teams playing a total of 48 matches.

France had edged out New Zealand in the opening game of the tournament on Friday 8 September, eventually finishing first and second in group A; Ireland topped Group B having defeated South Africa in what was ultimately a group decider, with #5 ranked side Scotland falling to both; Wales emerged at the top of Group C with Fiji in second and ultimately sending Australia (two-time winners) home early; and England (one-time winners) defeated Argentina to finish first and second respectively in Group D. 

The quarter-finals saw #1 ranked team in the world, Ireland, lose to the All Blacks who had more answers on the day, and host country France fell to South Africa meaning that the northern hemisphere's hopes were effectively vanquished at that stage of the tournament. Much had been written about the - in hindsight - poor decision to hold the group draw three years out from the tournament which resulted in the top five ranked teams finding themselves in the top, and arguably stronger, half of the draw. Wales - who had been lucky to win against Fiji in the first match - lost to Argentina, and Fiji - who had defeated Australia but lost to Portugal in results that made no sense whatsoever - fell to England in a match with a tense finale. 

So, then the semi-finals: New Zealand blew away the challenge of Argentina but South Africa made heavier weather of dispatching England, meaning that the two sides who had each won the RWC on three occasions would battle it out for the ultimate bragging rights, that of four-time winners.

Many column inches had been devoted to South Africa not having a specialist kicker, and their tactic of forward-loading their replacements bench 6-2, or even 7-1 (as they had decided to do for the final), instead of the standard 5-3 used also universally by every other team: this tactic had arguably led to them coming unstuck in their group game against Ireland. 

Before the kick-off on Saturday evening in Paris, England had defeated Argentina at the same venue the previous evening 26-23 to finish third and pick up bronze medals for their team. 

The Final

Back to Saturday, and the stadium was full with a party atmosphere, although the rain had been falling steadily, and heavily, for around three hours beforehand. It certainly was not a balmy evening as witnessed for the first few weeks of the tournament and throughout most of the group games; come kick-off it was just 13C and very wet indeed. A short pre-match light and music show, also involving pyrotechnics, took place in the corner of the stadium, off the pitch to protect it for the game itself. The anthems were sung, with the Springboks' arguably the loudest

With Englishman Wayne Barnes refereeing the final, he blew to start the game and Richie Mo'unga kicked off for New Zealand after they won the toss. The first couple of minutes saw both sides finding their feet, trying to cope with a slippery ball and getting to grips with - literally - the pitch surface. After just three minutes, New Zealand's back-row Shannon Frizell was yellow-carded after the referee deemed that he was deliberately blocking. From the resulting penalty, Handre Pollard slotted the ball between the posts for the first score of the game. 0-3 to South Africa. The Springboks were putting pressure on the All Blacks, pinning them inside their half, with New Zealand preferring to use their forwards to eke out some territorial gains, rather than kick. But they were going backwards, until they coughed up possession to South Africa. Handre Pollard then kicked a high ball cross-field which caused mild panic in the New Zealand defence, but they scrambled the ball out to concede a line-out within their 22. While that attack came to nothing, they tried the cross-field kick again on ten minutes, this time on their right wing. A few phases later, South Africa were awarded a penalty on New Zealand's 5m line from which Handre Pollard slotted home his second penalty of the game. With that, Shannon Frizell returned to the field and immediately play was inside South Africa's half. From a penalty just inside South Africa's half, Jordie Barret kicked for touch, gaining a line-out on their opponent's 22. A cheeky kick over the rush South African defence seemed to work, only for the bounce to let them down. The referee called play back for a penalty just inside the South African 22 which Richie Mo'unga converted to reduce the deficit to just three points with just 17 minutes played. However, almost immediately after, Handre Pollard was successful with a long-range penalty from the half-way line to regain their six-point lead. New Zealand started to pass the ball quickly sometimes to team-mates running fast onto the ball, and sometimes out wide, but ultimately their handling let them down as they spilled the ball, not surprising in the conditions which did not really suit their style of play. New Zealand were enjoying more possession now, with both sides losing line-outs. A 50-22 for the All Blacks, but the line-out was over-thrown and possession lost. A couple of phases later and Eben Eztebeth knocked-on; however, the TMO called the referee's attention to a challenge which saw New Zealand's captain, Sam Cane, yellow-carded for a dangerous challenge, and the advantage was reversed. South Africa won a scrum and suddenly spun the ball out wide, but New Zealand survived. The ball came back to full-back Damian Willemse whose drop-goal attempt was short; the were awarded a penalty just seven metres out from New Zealand's try line which Handre Pollard then converted. Meanwhile, the TMO bunker review decided that Sam Cane's yellow card was to be upgraded to a red car, meaning that his game was played and New Zealand were down to fourteen men for the rest of the match. They were still trying to find a chink in the Springboks' defence and wing Mark Tele'a almost did that, twice within a minute, and left wing Will Jordan nearly scored in the corner, before the referee called play back for a penalty. Richie Mo'unga obliged with another three points. H-T New Zealand 6, South Africa 12. Would there be an way back for the All Blacks in the second half which they would have to play with just fourteen men?

In the second half, South Africa had an early break down their right wing by captain Siya Kolisi, but New Zealand escaped. A scrum to South Africa and wing Jordie Barrett filled in for Sam Cane, with South Africa almost going over in the corner. The Springboks were certainly putting the pressure on the All Blacks early in the second half. Another TMO review and this time the referee yellow-carded South africa's Siya Kolisi, so each team would be equal in numbers, for ten minutes at least. New Zealand then ran and kicked the ball up the pitch, steamrolling into mauls, only for another fumble. Not unlike stages in the first half, play was primarily either side of the half-way line, but this time New Zealand were kicking more. The New Zealand's hooker Codie Taylor had a break up the right wing, evading a couple of tackles, with New Zealand being awarded a penalty a couple of phases later. Perhaps crucially, they decided to forego the kick at goal and instead kicked for touch, earning an line-out just seven metres from South Africa's line. Despite winning the line-out, they could not breach their opponents' defence. By 52 minutes, RG Snyman and Ox Nyche became the first of South Africa's substitutions. Then the game livened up , with Richie Mo'unga evading a couple of tackles and passing inside for Aaron Smith to touch down for what everyone thought was the first try of the game. However, it was not to be as the referee's attention was called the TMO to a knock-on earlier in the move, with play being called back to a penalty to New Zealand. The All Blacks had the bit between their teeth and ramped up the pressure, forcing play back to South Africa's 5m line. Another penalty to New Zealand, and another kick to touch for a line-out from which they formed a maul but could not push their way over the try line. A couple of phases later and they spread the ball wide, with a long pass by Jordie Barret eventually finding it way to his brother Beauden who ran over and touched town. And this was with South Africa back to fifteen men on the field. The conversion was missed to leave it a one-point game, South Africa ahead by one point. New Zealand surged forward again, but another fumble cost them possession. With fifteen minutes left on the clock, suddenly South Africa, now with Kwagga Smith on the filed as their third replacement, had a bit more zip in their step, yet New Zealand had pressed them back to their 22. More replacements from both sides, and the game took a while to settle down as both teams were kicking up-and-unders and kicking long. Just ten minutes to go and just a single point separating the two teams, but New Zealand needed to do something. South Africa spread the ball wide and, from just inside his own half, Cheslin Kolbe tried audacious drop-kick, but it fell well short. The game opened up and New Zealand were running the wide channels. Suddenly South Africa were back down to fourteen men when Cheslin Kolbe was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on. But more importantly, New Zealand were awarded a penalty just inside South Africa's half; however, Jordie Barrett's kick was just wide. Could South Africa hang on with just six minutes left? The crowd was chanting "All Blacks", but South Africa had possession. The All Blacks wrestled the ball back but were stuck in their own half; they inched their way up the field, over the half-way line, but lost possession and them won it back again. In the last minute and the referee awarded a scrum to South Africa just outside their own 22. All they had to do was win the scrum and kick the ball dead, and they would be Rugby World Cup winners. The All Blacks pushed for all they were worth and managed to hold the ball up, but the referee blew the final whistle. FT New Zealand 11, South Africa 12. A tense and fitting finale to a great tournament.

Less than a minute after the final whistle and the ground staff were bringing on the various components of the stage for the presentation ceremony of RWC medals. First the match officials, then silver medals for the runners-up, New Zealand, and then gold medals for the winners, south Africa, followed by the presentation of the Webb Ellis Trophy accompanied by pyrotechnics and party music, and wild celebrations that ran well into the night for many.

The Future

So, South Africa retained the trophy that they (last) won in Japan in 2019 and will start the RWC 2027 in Australia as holders. That tournament will be expanded to 24 teams (six groups of four teams, also incorporating a Last-16 round) and will have a group draw just a year out from the tournament to try and make it more even across all groups with a less lop-sided draw as witnessed this time out. 

In the rugby world, club competitions have already started in the northern hemisphere, and the 6Nations 2024 kicks off on 2 February. World Rugby has also recently sanctioned a biennial Nations Championship as part of an aligned and harmonised international calendar, which will officially start in 2026, bringing together the Six Nations and Rugby Championship countries, plus two further "invited" international unions - expected to be Japan and Fiji - in two conferences ("European" and "Rest of the World"). 

One of the criticisms during the group phase of RWC 2023 was that there were some very uneven match-ups, with so-called "minnows" being trounced by much stronger teams, with some analysts questioning the place of these weaker teams in the tournament, with others arguing that they will only get better by playing in such tournaments, etc. 

So, in simple terms, everything has changed (new calendar, competitions and formats) and yet nothing has changed (still the powerhouse southern hemisphere teams contest and win the RWC final). Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...

Awards

The following day, Sunday 29 October 2023, the World Rugby Awards 2023 were held at the Opera Garnier Paris where World Rugby Men’s 15s Dream Team of the Year and Men's 15s Player of the Year, amongst others, were announced.

Women’s Sevens Player of the Year: Tyla Nathan-Wong (New Zealand)

Men’s Sevens Player of the Year: Rodrigo Isgro (Argentina)

Coach of the Year: Andy Farrell (Ireland)

Men's 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year: Mark Tele’a (New Zealand)

Men's 15s Player of the Year: Ardie Savea (New Zealand)

International Rugby Players Men's Try of the Year: Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland, v England on 4 February)

Amongst a number of other awards, one of the most eagerly awaited was World Rugby Men’s 15s Dream Team of the Year: 1. Cyril Baille (France) 2. Dan Sheehan (Ireland) 3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland) 4. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa) 5. Scott Barrett (New Zealand) 6. Caelan Doris (Ireland) 7. Charles Ollivon (France) 8. Ardie Savea (New Zealand) 9. Antoine Dupont (France) 10. Richie Mo’unga (New Zealand) 11. Will Jordan (New Zealand) 12. Bundee Aki (Ireland) 13. Garry Ringrose (Ireland) 14. Damian Penaud (France) 15. Thomas Ramos (France).