All Blacks end 24-year drought
New Zealand ended a 24-year Rugby World Cup drought when they edged France 8-7 in an epic final in Auckland on Sunday.
In a game of inches the teams scored one try each, but a Stephen Donald penalty trumped a Francois Trinh-Duc conversion.
One point. Just one point. That one point could mean so much to a whole nation and millions of others. One point - that is all that was needed to win the 2011 Rugby World Cup for New Zealand, to send one team into an uncharacteristic outburst of glee and plunge the other side into numbing disappointment. You could see it at the medals - silver for the unsmiling, dull-eyed French, gold for the gleeful, bright-eyed New Zealanders. One point - such a huge difference in the result for two splendid teams.
Many will say that the 2011 World Cup was the best ever. Many will say that this 2011 RWC Final was the best final ever. That may be true. The fact is that this was lowest-scoring final with the smallest winning margin - but, heavens, it was gripping throughout - tense to the end and there was so much constructive rugby that belied the one-try apiece of the match - magnificent rugby, and in the end it was heroic defence that won as New Zealand made 111 tackles, 24 more than France and it's almost impossible to remember a tackle missed.
At times one wondered how the players could possibly play on past exhaustion. As Richie McCaw said afterwards, even with the boost of victory: "I'm absolutely shagged." It was a day for heroes - two teams of heroes. For France were magnificent and in many ways outplayed this team of special All Blacks. But it is the All Blacks who will go down in legend. McCaw said of his team: "The whole country should be proud of every one of them." The whole country will be proud - and grateful. At last, en fin, the World Cup is in New Zealand. But they had to play so hard for it.
Just a little note on sportsmanship. The World Cup may be played in a particular country but there are no favours for the home team. The two sides tossed to see who would wear what. Jo Maso of France won the toss and he could have decided to wear France's dark blue, forcing New Zealand into white of gray or something, but he allowed the All Blacks to play in black in their own country. And so France played in all white.
The teams marched onto Eden Park past the World Cup, not a player looking at it, the anthems were sung, the All Blacks slit haka throats as the French advanced at them, the countdown was roared by the 61 079 crowd and Craig Joubert blew the whistle to start the 2011 RWC Final.
From the start France ran the ball wide, left and right to Vincent Clerc on the overlap. Then New Zealand got the ball and they, too, ran. It was an high-octane match. And it had its casualties.
First Morgan Parra tackled Ma'a Nonu and went off wobbly but officially for blood. He came back after about six minutes, tackled Nonu again and spent the rest of the time on the sideline, playing only about 15 minutes of the final. François Trinh-Duc took his place. New Zealand also lost their flyhalf in the first half when young Aaron Cruden injured his right knee in a tackle. Stephen Donald took his place. Both replacements had excellent games. Both kicked goals.
Before Donald took over the goal-kicking, Piri Weepu such an effective player, had missed - and missed by a long way - a conversion and two penalty goals, expensive in such a close match.
The French line-out was excellent when they threw to Imanol Harinordoquy but when William Servat overthrew Thierry Dusautoir tried to recover the ball but was penalised. The All Blacks kicked out for the line-out some seven metres from the French line. They threw deep to Jerome Kaino. up the tall man went, caught the ball with outstretched arms and from there played it down, back towards the front, into the arms of bustling Tony Woodcock who had came round from the front and handed off Nicolas Mas as he burst for the line. 5-0 after 14 minutes.
That was the only score of the first half. Not that the half was without lots of eager activity - notably a burst by Kieran Read and long run by Trinh-Duc who was just stopped by a Weepu ankle-tap.
France kicked off the second half and attacked as Aurélien Rougerie burst ahead but when Trinh-Duc was penalised at a tackle, Donald goaled from slap in front. 8-0 after 44 minutes.
France attacked from the kick-off and then the All Blacks made errors. Harinordoquy knocked a high kick on a long way and Israel Dagg raced away on counter. He was tackled by Maxime Mermoz and a sort of ruck thing formed. Nonu was waiting for the ball when Rougerie put out a boot which propelled it through the maned centre's legs. Weepu then footed the ball in some sort of foot pass to his left but straight into the arms of Trinh-Duc who raced off with the ball. Rougerie burst but the scrambling All Blacks stopped him. France went left and then came back wide right where Dusautoir cut clean through for a try at the posts. 8-7 after 46 minutes.
Was this to signal a burst of to-and-fro scoring? Not at all. Scoring ended here. For 34 minutes there was no more scoring.
Weepu kicked the kick-off directly into touch and was replaced by Andy Ellis, a disappointing final for such a wonderful footballer.
Donald had a good run and then Andrew Hore was penalised at a scrum but from two metres inside the New Zealand half Trinh-Duc missed the penalty. The game went on with cut-and-thrust and a lot of kicking. France went through nearly 20 phases but the New Zealand defence was adamantine.
Then New Zealand got the ball with three minuets to play and they played keep-ball. France were penalised and again New Zealand played keep-ball till the clock went past the 80. Desperate France were penalised again and Ellis had the honour of hoofing the ball into the stand and New Zealand into ecstasy.
It was a match to make both sides proud.
At the end the crowd at Eden Park, as it used to do in farewells to all touring teams, sang the Maori farewell - Now is the Hour. It was farewell to the tournament, but not to the World Cup. That was staying in New Zealand, at least till 2015.
Man of the Match: Thierry Dusautoir, France's heroic captain, a man of great calm, who tackled and won turnovers and carried to great effect.
Moment of the Match: The final whistle on a great RWC Final and what it meant above all to the world's greatest team.
Villain of the Match: Nobody.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Try: Woodcock
Pen: Donald
For France:
Try: Dusautoir
Con: Trinh-Duc
The teams:
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Richard Kahui, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Brad Thorn, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Sonny Bill Williams.
France: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Francois Trinh-Duc, 21 Jean Marc Doussain, 22 Damien Traille.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Nigel Owens (Wales)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
By Paul Dobson