Defending champion South Africa has won an intense duel between the major rugby powers and is now the sole record world champion.
The Springboks won the final against New Zealand on Saturday evening in Paris with 12:11 (12:6), making it the fourth World Cup title for South Africa after 1995, 2007 and 2019.
The All Blacks endured a tragic evening in front of 80,000 spectators at the Stade de France and millions in front of their screens, losing, among other things, captain Sam Cane with a red card – such a penalty had never been seen in a World Cup final.
Both teams also saw a total of four yellow cards; there has never been more than one yellow card in a World Cup final before.
New Zealand, world champions in 1987, 2011 and 2015, also had to admit defeat to their great rivals in the second final. This pairing had already happened once in 1995, and the final in South Africa went down in history for more than just sporting reasons: the Springboks competed with black and white players for the first time, and pictures of Nelson Mandela in the green and yellow jersey went around the world .