South Africa defeated New Zealand to win the Rugby World Cup two years in a row. After a thrilling 12-11 victory over the All Blacks in the final at the Stade de France in Paris, the Springboks were able to retain the Webb Ellis Cup.
It means that South Africa, who defeated England in the 2007 Japan final, have now won two consecutive titles. And after winning four tournaments, the Springboks have officially surpassed New Zealand to become the most successful team in Rugby World Cup history.
South Africa had the lead in the first half thanks to four kicks from Handre Pollard and a red card for New Zealand captain Sam Cane, the first in a Rugby World Cup final, for a high tackle. The All Blacks rallied strongly in the second half, even though they were down a man, and were within a point thanks to a score from Beauden Barrett.
Later, his brother Jordie Barrett had a chance to seal New Zealand’s historic comeback win, but he missed a long-range penalty in the closing seconds.
As the final whistle approached, South Africa lost Cheslin Kolbe to the sin bin for a purposeful knock-on, but they later withstood late pressure from New Zealand to earn a narrow, historic triumph. With this victory, the Springboks have now won two of their three Rugby World Cup finals matches against their fiercest rivals in the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand.
Their first Rugby World Cup championship came in 1995, when they narrowly defeated the All Blacks 15–12 in extra time in Johannesburg.
In the 2007 final, the Springboks defeated England 15–6 to claim their second trophy. Against England in the last Rugby World Cup, which took place in Japan in 2019, they won their third Webb Ellis Cup and the first of their subsequent victories. With its triumphs in 2011 and 2015, New Zealand is the only other team to have won Rugby World Cups back-to-back. England defeated Argentina 26–23 in the play-off game to finish third in the competition after losing to South Africa by a point in the semifinals.