The 2023 Rugby World Cup final was a rugby union match played on 28 October 2023 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France. It marked the culmination of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and was played between New Zealand and the defending champions, South Africa. This was the first time that both finalists had already lost a game during the tournament.
South Africa won the match by a single point, 12-11, becoming the first nation to win the Webb Ellis Cup four times. South Africa scored four penalties, and New Zealand scored a try and two penalties. New Zealand captain Sam Cane was sent off after 27 minutes, the first player to be red carded in a World Cup final.
New Zealand (also known as the All Blacks) began their World Cup campaign by losing to host nation France in the opening match of the tournament. They went on to win all their remaining pool matches by a considerable margin to qualify for the knockout stage. They beat Namibia by 71âÂÂ3, Italy by 96âÂÂ17, and Uruguay by 73âÂÂ0. In the quarter-finals, New Zealand faced Ireland, who had won Pool B and were then ranked number one in the world. In a tight match, New Zealand won with a scoreline of 28âÂÂ24. In the semi-final at the Stade de France, New Zealand played Argentina, whom they defeated 44âÂÂ6 to reach their fifth Rugby World Cup final, a record ahead of Australia and England, who had both reached four finals. The All Blacks were also looking for a record fourth Rugby World Cup title, having won in 1987 followed by victories in 2011 and 2015.
Defending champions South Africa (also known as the Springboks) reached their fourth Rugby World Cup final in a similar manner to New Zealand. In Pool B, the Springboks had lost to Ireland 13âÂÂ8, but secured victories over Scotland, Romania, and Tonga to finish second in the pool and advance to the knockout stage. In the quarter-finals, they faced the hosts France, who had topped Pool A ahead of New Zealand. In a closely-contested match at the Stade de France, South Africa overcame their French counterparts with a 29âÂÂ28 victory. In the semi-finals, South Africa played England in a repeat match-up of the 2007 and 2019 finals. In the match, played at the Stade de France, a late penalty scored by Handré Pollard gave South Africa victory by a single point (16âÂÂ15) and allowed them to advance to their fourth Rugby World Cup final.
In the second minute, New Zealand's Shannon Frizell received a yellow card for falling on top of the leg of Bongi Mbonambi. Mbonambi was forced off for the remainder of the match with a knee injury. South Africa went on to take a 6âÂÂ0 lead with two penalties converted by Handré Pollard before Richie Mo'unga scored a penalty for New Zealand after 17 minutes. Pollard scored another penalty two minutes later to make it 9âÂÂ3. In the 28th minute, New Zealand's captain Sam Cane was given a yellow card for a high shoulder tackle to the head of South Africa's Jesse Kriel which was later upgraded to a red card after a bunker review. Pollard scored another penalty in the 34th minute before Mo'unga replied with his second penalty to leave the score 12âÂÂ6 to South Africa at half-time.
In the 45th minute, South African captain Siya Kolisi received a yellow card for a head high tackle on Ardie Savea which was also reviewed for a potential red card. On review, it remained a yellow card. In the 54th minute, New Zealand thought that they had scored a try. Aaron Smith went over the try line in the left corner, however, the TMO review showed that the ball had been knocked on by Ardie Savea before it was released from the initial lineout. They did get a try in the 58th minute. Beauden Barrett went over the try line on the left after an offload from Mark Tele'a. Richie Mo'unga missed the conversion from the left that would have put New Zealand in front. With 7 minutes to go, South Africa's Cheslin Kolbe received a yellow card for a deliberate knock on and Jordie Barrett missed the resultant penalty from 48 metres. South Africa held on to win 12âÂÂ11 and claim their fourth World Cup title.
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