All Blacks crowned kings of the world
23 Oct 2011
JON CARDINELLI, reporting from Eden Park, watched the All Blacks beat France 8-7 to secure their second World Cup title.
Four million New Zealanders have had to endure 24 long years in between World Cup titles. On Sunday 23 October, they had to endure a further 80 agonising minutes as their beloved All Blacks edged slowly and, at times tentatively, towards the elusive gold.
The energy of a nation was channeled in the New Zealand national anthem, and the All Blacks played their part with a spirited rendition of Kapa o Pango. France responded through Thierry Dusautoir’s passionate gesture during the Tricolores’ call-to-arms, and through the team’s decision to advance towards the hosts while they laid down the traditional challenge.
The message was clear: France would not be intimidated by the All Blacks, their media or the New Zealand people’s pre-match assertion that they had no place in this final. Their march on the All Blacks would signify a collective up-yours to all the non-believers, and their efforts in this match would underscore their passion and belief that they could indeed upset the world’s top-ranked team.
It was this fiery attitude and physicality that had the All Blacks rattled at stages. Tony Woodcock scored a simple try for the hosts when a smart lineout move opened up the French defence, but Piri Weepu failed to make the conversion. In fact, Weepu would miss all three of his attempts at goal and the All Blacks would miss out on eight points as a result. It was this lack of composure that so nearly cost the hosts the game.
The All Blacks were resolute on defence, but then so were the French. They matched the hosts at the collisions which limited the All Blacks’ attacking platform. Morgan Parra stopped Ma’a Nonu from breaching the gain line early in the first half, and paid the price for his bravery. He was able to return to the field for a brief spell but was later pulled when he failed to recover from what was a big knock.
The All Blacks would lose their own flyhalf before the first period was through. Aaron Cruden was caught between two French defenders in the 34th minute, and proceeded to hyper-extend his knee. Suddenly the All Blacks were without Cruden, their third-choice pivot, and looking to Stephen Donald, a player who wasn’t even in the country until a couple of weeks previously. If the All Blacks were going to pull this one off, the forgotten man of New Zealand rugby would have to steer them home.
Donald relieved Weepu of the goal-kicking duties and took his first opportunity early in the second half. But the 8-0 deficit did little to dampen the spirits of the French, who continued to clatter into the collisions and breakdowns with masochistic intensity.
They also persisted with their ball-in-hand tactics, and their searing counter-attacks stretched the All Blacks on numerous occasions. It was one such counter-punch that would provide the spark for a massive moment, which Dusautoir took expertly to help close the gap to 8-7.
It was during this time that the All Blacks must have been thinking about the failures of the World Cup teams of yesteryear. Weepu had shown a lack of composure in the first half through his inability to convert three very kickable opportunities, and as the French swelled with confidence, the All Blacks grew frantic.
It was a situation tailor-made for the French, and undoubtedly a worse-case scenario for the hosts.
But as plucky as the French were, they were just as erratic as in previous matches at this tournament. Credit should go to the All Blacks defence, but had France shown more composure and patience with ball-in-hand, they may have taken the lead and inspired some real panic in the New Zealand ranks. Had they converted their own goal-kicking chances, they would have assumed control as the clock wound down.
Dimitri Yachvili missed a penalty attempt early in the second stanza, and Trinh-Duc pushed a long attempt wide in the 65th minute. The replacement flyhalf also made a telling mistake when he overcooked a garryowen late in the game. It marked the end of long spell where France had pinned the hosts deep in their own territory.
It was during the remaining minutes that the All Blacks, spurred on by the thousands of desperate but patriotic Kiwis in the crowd, showed their composure. Through the determined efforts of their forwards and the collective discipline on defence, they were able to douse the French flame.
France swept from side to side for several minutes in hope of milking the penalty that would win them the game, but the All Blacks stood firm. They won the turnover, and attempted to play for time, and when referee Craig Joubert handed them a penalty, it signified the beginning of the end.
The All Blacks won the ensuing lineout and another penalty after mauling the French back, and at this point, Eden Park erupted in celebration. It will not be remembered as the most convincing performance, but it will be remembered as the day the All Blacks ended a 24-year drought and assumed the mantle of undisputed champions of the world.
1,158 Comments
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24 Oct 2011, 16:49 pm
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-1112: Fair point, particularly that around standing out in a team that was clearly unhappy for a large chunk of the year. To be fair, I don’t think this has been a standout year for many of the others anyway. Kaino had an immense year ans was a worthy contender. Dursurtoir was a definite stand out yesterday, but not so much in the pool stages i.m.o. Not having seen much 6N this year, not sure of the mans form up north, have to assume it was on the money to get the nomination. Weepu didn’t deserve a spot on that list, agree. Pocock will have his chance in the future.
25 Oct 2011, 08:32 am
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-1097:
thanks BP…
the ABs are World Champs… Ranked No 1… and indisputably the Best Rugby Team on Earth… The players certainly deserve the accolades for performing so well over such a long period of time… and AB supporters can be very proud and should really celebrate and enjoy your time as champions…
and I’m not just speaking of the last four years… I’m speaking of the last 24 years…
as a Bok supporter despite all the banter, i must honestly say that only once in that time did I expect to beat the ABs and that was at home in the 2009 3N… every other time our teams played each other all i could do was hope we played well enough to maybe beat the ABs… and was very pleased when we did… but never expected it… the ABs have consistently been the best team in the world and ABs supporters could be forgiven for expecting to win…
anyway… i hope sa rugby chooses a good coach and makes the right decisions and that being cast in the role of trying to topple the undisputed Champions of World Rugby every time we play will force a new perspective and mind-set of more humility and striving for excellence and less arrogance and entitlement that pervades our rugby…
i really believe in sa we have the players to be the best rugby team in the world… but we fail to draw all the different aspects of our game together from players, to strategy, to leadership, game plans etc etc…
and to be frank… we can learn from new zealand’s single-mindedness… hopefully sa rugby, the new coaches and the players will focus on only one thing from here on out… the NEXT game… nothing can be more important than the NEXT game… no matter what team we’re playing
if we forget about peaking and aiming for world cups and do whatever we can to to win the next game… maybe bok rugby will regain the greatness of bygone eras… and the rankings etc will take care of themselves…
BTW… as unpopular as it may be in SA… if it was my choice… i’d hire JK to be our coach… to me no one epitomises the rugby most boks fans would like to see us play any more than him… and even though people say it was ‘only japan’ i think he has done really well with the and would be great with top players… but it won’t happen in a million years…
so we’ll see what unfolds over the next few months… but looking forward to the s15 and 4N and knocking the world champs off their pedestal…
25 Oct 2011, 09:14 am
@ufo(ufo)-1152:
A very gracious comment, I applaud you.
As for JK, he has had two stints at international rugby, both with lesser teams, so it is really hard to gauge how he would make out.
Hansen looks a shoe in to replace Ted, but he will be needing assistants. I suspect that would be his best route to further his coaching career.
25 Oct 2011, 09:30 am
@Brads(Brads)-1153:
thank you brads…
yeah… i know people say JK doesn’t have the requisite experience and has coached lesser teams… but few coaches have that top experience before being appointed national coaches…
IMO though… JK has successfully walked the minefield of cultural issues in japan… so should cope with the same issues in sa… and the fact that he got japan to perform as well as they did against the abs… i think… speaks volumes about his ability… so i would be willing to take the chance on him…
and we all know there’s is only open way he’d coach and that would be to play running rugby… can you imagine how some of our talented young backs would benefit from from JK’s skills and enthusiasm…? i mean how many youngsters practise by sprinting downhill through pine forests having to dodge pine trees and if you jink or sidestep the wrong way are gonna run smack nto a rooted tree trunk…?
anyway… JK would be my fantasy pick… but i’m enough of a realist to know it won’t happen…
so will have to wait and see what will happen…
25 Oct 2011, 09:48 am
26 Oct 2011, 10:00 am
@ mpundulu 1130: excellent analysis. Crockett is very important to the ab’s future.
28 Oct 2011, 22:00 pm
@ufo(ufo)-1152: Best post I’ve seen here for a while, thx UFO, its what we feel, and you said it. Its neither arrogance nor ignorance, because as you say, we aim to win each and every test, and we treat it with that unrelenting respect a test match deserves.
Admittedly, at times we have been guilty of underestimating the opposition, and its bitten us on the ***, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, eh
28 Oct 2011, 22:08 pm
@Cane 73(Cane 73)-1151: The fact Dusatoir was regularly seen during the RWC as France made the final helped more than you will ever know.
One great game he had
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