Johannesburg – South Africa beat New Zealand 12-11 on Saturday night in France to win the 2023 Rugby World Cup final witnessed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Sports Minister Goodenough Zizi Kodwa, and millions of South Africans who watched live broadcasts.
The Bokke wobbled in the second half but somehow managed to keep the score at 12 – 6 even after Captain Siya Kolisi was shown a yellow card and sin-binned for a bad tackle.
The South Africans made a few changes bringing in fresh players – but before they could settle All Black Fly-half Richie Mo’unga side-stepped Springbok fullback Damian Willemse and touched down only for the try to be disallowed for an earlier knock-on.
However, ref Barns awarded New Zealand a penalty, which they opted to kick into touch.
The move fizzled out until the Bokke gave away another penalty and again the move was repeated with no points scored.
Another All Blacks attack saw Mark Telea dodge past two Sprinboks players and touch down.
Again the TMO was used, but this time the try was given.
Mo’unga missed the conversion and the South Africans remained one point ahead.
The last 10 minutes were a frantic affair.
Birthday boy Cheslin Kolbe, who turned 30 on Saturday, was yellow-carded and sent off for a deliberate knock-on with just seven minutes left.
The All Blacks missed the penalty.
After that, the Bokke was in overdrive and even attempted a drop goal. Faf de Klerk and Steph du Toit played a blinder to secure the win. Du Toit was named Man of the Match.
From the beginning, the game was a tough contest.
Just a few minutes into the match, South African Hooker Bongi Mbonambi, who was at the centre of a racism storm in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup final, was forced off with a leg injury.
Cleared of any wrongdoing by World Rugby, Mbonambi was unlucky to be laid low by an illegal tackle from All Blacks player Shannon Frizell in the opening minutes of the final at the Stade de France.
Frizell was shown a yellow card by English Ref Wayne Barns and sin-binned for 10 minutes, while Mbonambi went off injured after playing only three minutes.
With 10 minutes to the end of the first half, All Blacks Captain Sam Cane was off after his yellow card was reviewed and upgraded to red – meaning the All Blacks would have to play the rest of the game with only 14 men.
Soon after Cane was sent off, Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard scored his fourth penalty to put 12 points on the scoreboard for SA, with New Zealand on 3 points.
However, by halftime, with a man down, New Zealand had battled back and cut the deficit to just six points through a second penalty kick.
Commenting on the historic fourth World Cup for South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “Stronger Together is a belief that came to life for Springbok supporters all around our country and continent, and the world.
“Sport has the power to transform individuals’ lives and lift the spirits of entire nations.
“Tonight, Siya Kolisi and the 2023 World Cup champions have gifted us an extraordinary, inspired, and inspiring national achievement that lifts our hearts and hoists our Flag even higher.”
President Ramaphosa also offered his congratulations to New Zealand for a hard-fought World Cup campaign that made the All Blacks deserving finalists.
In a message to South Africa, President of Rugby Africa Herbert Mensah said: “Congratulations! We never doubted your greatness. We never doubted the results.
“From the very beginning, we knew that your indomitable spirit was in the right place. Your refusal to accept defeat was a testament to your character.
“From the players who started the game to those who came off the bench, from the dedicated technical staff to the coaches, medics, and psychologists, we had faith. Losing was never an option.”
Mensah said all 1.4 billion Aficans were behind the Boks.
