Rugby World Cup: Springboks, that’s it

Even the rain stopped to greet their heroes. So the kings of the world are South Africans. As well as succeeding in this thrilling clash of legends against the All Blacks this Saturday night on the St Denis Lawn (12-11), the title holders Springboks won their fourth crowning in eight editions (1995, 2007, 2019, 2023), leaving their the vanquished are one step behind. Unique.

Clearly it was time for them. Keeping their feet on the ground, South African bulldozers let their instincts do the talking. Insensitive to the slippery turf, avoiding playing far from the shore, they perforated, demolished, shoveled everything that came in front of them, according to the rules of art. It was the All Blacks who mostly suffered in this game, unable to impose their speed or get around the obstacle. By dominating the strikes, they often prevented the most urgent situations. Which cost them dearly.

First yellow card from the 3rd minute for Shannon Frisell, in the third row, for an illegal hit on hooker Bongi Mbonambi, who was forced to give up his place, and, above all, another red yellow card – the first ever during a World Cup final – after calling captain Sam Cane into the bunker for a shoulder-to-head tackle on center Jesse Creel (29th). With scorer Handre Pollard missing, the equation seemed impossible for the New Zealand players, who trailed 6-12 at half-time. But it was nice to watch them rebel. Taking advantage of Siya Kolisi’s (46th) yellow card for a high tackle on Ardie Savea, the All Blacks finally found space. They stormed into the game and fullback Beauden Barrett at the end of the line reignited the tension (58th, 11-12). The ping pong, much more airy this time, became suffocating. Until the last liberation fight.

“We have won by one point in our last three matches,” noted third row Pieter-Steph Du Toit, reacting to the TF1 microphone. We like it in our team drama. We clearly saw the resilience of the entire team. It’s an honor to play for the Springboks. I would like to thank all the supporters for their support and those who have come a long way. »

Felt like a great blue void

Enough to shine for another four years when the curtain fell on this tenth edition, which began in the heat of the blue horizon and ended under a dark and cold shower. In the silence and sighs that have accompanied these last two weeks at the Stade de France on the reserve, almost impersonally, we have measured a little more the void left by the Blues’ failure.

This World Cup will lose its bright colors very early, suddenly plunging into autumn, which promised a long summer. The Tricolors and the Irish, the driving forces of the revival, left the stage too early, losing to the Springboks (29-28) and the All Blacks (28-24) in the quarter-finals on the same St. Denis turf. . We will have to remember these early exits and this slight decline seen in the two losers while the finalists who dominated the group match continued to go from strength to strength.

We’ll have to remember that cold shower, which immersed anxious supporters in an often depressing daily life like never before. The bracket didn’t end with the champion they were expecting. But she stressed that if rugby at this level is played in a vacuum, there is something permanent about that nothingness. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Ruthless springboks.