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Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Fans believe Novak Djokovic and Rita Ora sitting together were Bonding over their shared disrespect of Covid rules at the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.
Beauden Barrett scored the only try of the game after Aaron Smith’s had been chalked off with Richie Mo’unga also knocking over two penalties, but the All Blacks came up short after Jordie Barrett’s late long-range kick missed the target. South Africa have now won back-to-back titles and become the first team ever to lift the Webb Ellis Cup four times. Follow reaction live below, with expert insight and analysis from Standard Sport’s Nick Purewal at the Stade de France!
South Africa are celebrating winning the Rugby World Cup once again. The Springboks outlasted the All Blacks in a tense heavyweight final between the Southern Hemisphere giants in Paris on Saturday night, ultimately holding on to prevail again by a single point, 12-11, thanks to four penalties from the trusty boot of returning fly-half Handre Pollard.
What an epic, see-sawing contest it was. It will also be remembered as a tale of two captains. When Siya Kolisi, South Africa first black rugby captain, hoisted the Webb Ellis Cup aloft in Japan four years ago it was one of the sport’s most memorable images and now, for every Springbok supporter, there is a glorious sense of deja vu. For his All Black counterpart, Sam Cane, it was to prove the darkest of nights.
There had been little to separate the teams before Cane was sent off, after a video review, for an upright tackle on Jesse Kriel in the 27th minute. There have been worse tackles, delivered with greater force, but once the phrase “a high degree of danger” is employed there is usually only one outcome. Never before has a player been sent off in a World Cup final, let alone an All Black skipper. It was not quite the epic showpiece that many had hoped for on a wet pitch, but there was still no shortage of drama as New Zealand captain Sam Cane received the first red card ever dished out in the World Cup final after his yellow for a head-on-head collision was upgraded after a bunker review. Shannon Frizell, Siya Kolisi and Cheslin Kolbe also saw yellow in a competitive contest that involved an extremely tense finish.
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