2011 Rugby World Cup Final Report: New Zealand 8-7 France

A lapse in concentration when the French briefly had the ball saw the All Blacks sniff an opportunity, counter-rucking to give Weepu the chance to miss his third kick of the night, the gap remaining at 5 points. Kieran Reed battered away at the line, before a Dagg kick through was nullified by Rougerie as the French remained unable to get any territory or extended possession. Welshman Nigel Owens angered the crowd after declaring Cory Jane€™s left boot had grazed the touchline when collecting a ball, with replays proving it to be a difficult and possibly wrong call. Adventuring to within twenty metres of the New Zealand line for the first time, a wasteful French scrum gave the ball straight back to their opponents. Third choice fly half Aaron Cruden was the latest player to need medical attention, hyperextending his right knee while trying to shake off a tackler. The 23 year old who was thrown into the action following the injuries of Dan Carter and Colin Slade required help to leave the field as soon to be Bath fly half Stephen Donald replaced him and in turn made his World Cup debut. The former Waikito man had originally decided to head to the West Country as he thought he would not be involved in the World Cup, and up until two weeks ago, he wasn€™t wrong. In a rare area of space in the All Black defence, Trinc-Duc unsettled the crowd with a line break before being tap tackled with yet another French mistake stalling the attempt to build momentum. At half-time, despite looking more threatening with the ball, New Zealand were still only five points to the good, having watched France scuttle their own efforts with mistake after mistake. But bar the try there was not much to choose between the two sides. France had thankfully decided to turn up. Even from the other side of the world, the tension was palatable as the hopes of the kiwi nation lay on the final forty minutes of this World Cup. An early Yachvilli penalty kick that skimmed the front of the posts will not have helped home anxieties. With Weepu doing well out of hand but having a bad time kicking at the posts, Donald stepped up to kick his first World Cup points, his penalty sneaking inside the upright to give a little bit of breathing space. With the All Blacks still smiling from the kick, the ball spilled from a ruck and poked into the hands of Trinc-Duc who charged to the try line. The play went wide through Yachvilli and Rougerie, before coming back the other way for Dusautoir to slide over and place the ball down with ease. Trinc-Duc kicked the penalty that meant there was not only one point in it. Despite having a recognised fly half on the field, Israel Dagg was taking all the restarts and disappointingly put this one straight into touch. The All Blacks were clearly rattled and now needed someone to step up and make the difference. The French defensive work was outstanding, the All Blacks looking bereft of ideas as they were unable to breach the wall of white. As play entered the 60th minute, the missed kicks of the first half became glaringly more crucial as neither side could find any space on the field or the scoreboard. Pressure at a scrum of half-way meant Andrew Hore had no choice but to stand up. If this penalty went over, the French would take the lead for the first time this game €“ but it didn€™t, and didn€™t ever look likely as Trin-Duc clearly had the same boots as Weepu, with his kick posing more threat to the corner flag than the posts. With Harinordinquay dominant in the line out still neither side would yield, the ball changing hands and ends with both sides resorting to kick after kick to try and build some field position, running with the ball in hand now proving ineffective. The French with five minutes to go went through the phases as the All Blacks tried as best they could do not concede a penalty, with the French camped on their 10 metre line. With Stephen Donald making his World Cup debut, chief tinkerer Marc Lievremont was not to be out done and brought on Jean-Marc Doussain for Yachvili at scrum-half for France to make his debut! The All Black pack fought and fought at every breakdown and eventually got the turnover they needed. With the game entering the final minutes there was no endeavour anymore, with the ball being carried inches every time as New Zealand ran the clock down until they got a penalty with 80 seconds to go. Donald kicked to touch, Brad Thorn took the lineout and the ball became enveloped in the Black shirts for one last time before France infringed to give New Zealand the penalty that brought the game to and end and meant they were crowned Rugby World Cup Champions Amongst the celebrations there was a collective sigh of relief as no one would have predicted such a low scoring game that would be won by the lowest of margins. As is typical of many Champions, they were not phenomenal but they were resilient in their final efforts, the forwards again being decisive with the hard work up front making up for a lack of ruthlessness in the backs. France to their credit were very impressive, surprising everyone with their application here, the defence immense at times and the discipline when it mattered something to behold. At no point was it clear who would win this one, with the French try sending a shockwave around the kiwi world. An emotional Richie McCaw seemed gobsmacked that after 24 years of waiting they had at last won the World Cup again, the journey this group of players had been on having started long before even the 2007 tournament. The loss of three fly halves was unthinkable, but the character demonstrated by the likes of Weepu in the quarter final and then Donald here to kick the crucial points summed up the All Blacks. They are deserving winners with no one team really setting out their stall. But the performance against Australia last week gave the first real indication that New Zealand would turn potential into prizes, and although we never saw play of the excellence of last week, the strength of mind they showed was enough to make the difference. France were outstanding here today, belying the form they had shown leading up to today. But a World Cup Final can do funny things to a man, and the result was never a sure thing. With both sides soaking in the atmosphere and reflecting on what was an epic battle, the trophy was carried to the centre of the field by a boy wearing the rugby colours of Christchurch, the town so cruelly denied involvement in this World Cup by an earthquake earlier this year. France stepped up to receive their runners-up medal to the acclaim of the crowd who acknowledged what was a tremendous effort by a side that had been a constant thorn in the side of their side. With the score of World in Union swelling, the All Blacks were handed medals of their own with smiles all around. Big cheers were given to the likes of Thorne, Donald and Muiliana, but the biggest cheer went to Dan Carter, the poster boy of the New Zealand rugby stripped of his chance by injury. Recognised for so many years as one of the best players in the world, Richie McCaw joined the pantheons of greats who have lifted the World Cup as the kiwi Prime Minister presented the Webb Ellis trophy to him to mark the start of the celebrations, the sky alit by fireworks. Regardless of it being the lowest scoring final ever they were, at last, champions. New Zealand (5) 8Try: Woodcock Pen: Donald France (0) 7Try: Dusautoir Con: Trinh-Duc