South Africa became the first team to win the Rugby World Cup four times when they beat New Zealand 12-11 on Saturday after the All Blacks were reduced to 14 men in the final at the Stade de France.
New Zealand captain Sam Cane, the first player to be sent off in a World Cup final, was shown a red card for a high tackle after half an hour as the Springboks led 12-3 despite losing hooker Bongi Mbonambi with a knee injury in the third minute.
Handre Pollard kicked four penalties to make sure Beauden Barrett’s try and Richie Mo’unga’s six points from the tee would not stop South Africa maintaining their perfect final record as the Springboks won their third game in a row by one point.
Jordie Barrett had a chance to slot the winning penalty with seven minutes left after Cheslin Kolbe was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, but his attempt went wide and South Africa celebrated their second final win against the All Blacks after their 1995 triumph.
Springboks beat All Blacks to win Rugby World Cup for a record 4th time. They defend their title at Stade de France, as they win the Webb Ellis cup in Paris for a second time in their history. 12-11 the final score, 3rd consecutive one point victory in 2023 World Cup #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/0EIO1fxTkn
— Simon Burke (@SimonBurkesport) October 28, 2023
