The draw for the 2015 tournament was made on Monday, with England, Wales and Australia all included in the ‘Pool of Death’. What England should have in their favour is the fact that as hosts of the tournament, they will enjoy home ground advantage.

This has been obvious to everybody except the Welsh, who have asked the RFU if the game may be staged in Cardiff instead of London. Predictably, the RFU has turned them down.

The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff may host up to eight games at this tournament, but a Wales vs England clash won’t be one of them.

‘We have a very nice home of our own and I would hope very much we would contemplate playing the match here,’ said RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie, who clearly found the whole request quite bizarre.

‘With our modest little stadium here at Twickenham, with the further investment we might be able to make it into a decent spot to play rugby. We equally believe we are very good hosts here and that we could hold a decent game here and would very much want to do that. Shock, horror and astonishment that I would suggest that!

‘We will not get a better opportunity to inspire people to play rugby, be volunteers and participate in rugby. We are putting the building blocks in place to make sure we can take the most advantage of having the World Cup.’

Ritchie is currently overseeing a £76 million upgrade of Twickenham, which is currently the biggest rugby-dedicated venue on the planet with a 82 000 capacity.

The draw for the 2015 tournament in England was held on Monday, with the 12 qualified teams being drawn into four pools. The remaining eight teams are still in the process of qualifying and are thus yet to be confirmed.

Of the top four ranked teams in the world, the Boks look to have the easiest route to the 2015 play-offs.

The Boks smashed Samoa at the 2007 World Cup in France, but found the Pacific islanders harder to put away in the 2011 pool fixture in New Zealand. This is bound to be the most physically taxing match of the 2015 round-robin stage, but it is a clash the Boks will feel confident about winning.

Scotland beat South Africa in 2010, but lost by 11 points in this year’s fixture at Murrayfield. Like Samoa, they have never beaten South Africa at a World Cup.

The Boks’ final two pool opponents are yet to be confirmed, but will come out of the Americas and Asia.

The Boks narrowly avoided being drawn in Pool A, the Pool of Death. The Wallabies weren’t so lucky, and will have to beat hosts England, and Wales, who should also enjoy good home support, to top that group.

Proceeding to the knockout rounds won’t be much easier for the French, who will battle Six Nations opponents Ireland and Italy.

Current world champions New Zealand will face off against Argentina, whom they beat in the World Cup quarter-finals last year. The All Blacks have also drawn Tonga in Pool D, a team they played against in the opening game of the 2011 tournament.

POOL A
Australia
England
Wales
Play-off winner
Oceania 1

POOL B
South Africa
Samoa
Scotland
Americas 2
Asia 1

POOL C
New Zealand
Argentina
Tonga
Africa 1
Europe 1

POOL D
France
Ireland
Italy
Europe 2
Americas 1

At the draw it was also confirmed that the knockout-phase structure will be the same as previous World Cups:

QF1: Winner Pool B vs Runner-up Pool A
QF2: Winner Pool C vs Runner-up Pool D
QF3: Winner Pool A vs Runner-up Pool B
QF4: Winner Pool D vs Runner-up Pool C

SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF2
SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4

Bronze Final: Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2

Final: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2

The World Cup usually overlaps the European domestic season, which will happen again at the 2015 campaign in England.

This is likely to encourage the practice among clubs of offering financial incentives to their foreign players to ignore their countries’ call-ups, depriving the likes of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga from fielding their best team on the biggest international stage.

If the players ignore their club offers, they could find themselves unemployed.

Former Fiji flyhalf Nicky Little, who played in four World Cups and played in five different European leagues, dubs this practice ‘blackmail’.

‘For many seasons, European and UK-based Islanders have either been blackmailed not to play for their countries, or had pay docked when they were with their national teams,’ said Little.

Former Racing Metro coach Simon Mannix claimed that Fijians at the French Top 14 club were paid to make themselves unavailable for the 2011 World Cup: ‘Racing Métro had Fijians who declined to go to the World Cup … because the club gave them a cheque if they stayed here [in Paris].’

International Rugby Players’ Association chairman Damien Hopley has informed the IRB about this.

‘The IRB are aware of this practice. It is imperative that the World Cup is defined by the best playing against the best,’ said Hopley. ‘We look forward to receiving a formal response to a problem that is threatening the integrity of this fantastic competition.’

The IRB has rules in place – in regulation nine – that forbid clubs from offering any form of disincentive, either through “contract or conduct”, to players to represent their country, but critics say the international body has shown little appetite to enforce it.

The IRB has yet to investigate allegations made by Mannix.

The Racing players who declined to play for Fiji in the 2011 Pacific Nations Cup, effectively ruling themselves out of World Cup selection, are Sireli Bobo, Jone Qovu (both still with Racing) and Josh Matavesi (now at Worcester).

Racing Metro president Jacky Lorenzetti denied the club have made any illegal payments or broken any regulations.

The USA also lost out on Northampton lock Samu Manoa at last year’s World Cup after the player declined his call-up.

USA coach Eddie O’Sullivan said this was because a clause in Manoa’s contract that prevented him from travelling to New Zealand. Northampton denied this, with a club spokesman saying: ‘There is no clause in his contract preventing him playing international rugby. It was Samu’s choice not to go to New Zealand with the USA.’

According to reports in England, the Rugby Football Union had been pressing for a 4 September start to the tournament. This would, however, conflict with the southern hemisphere showpiece, and the four Test teams involved were hoping the World Cup will start later on 25 September.

The International Rugby Board met on Tuesday to discuss the matter, and a compromise was reached. The 2015 global tournament will start on 18 September.

The IRB also discussed the way the income of the World Cup is distributed. Last year, New Zealand threatened to boycott the 2015 tournament unless the financial model is changed. The southern hemisphere nations will lose money if the Rugby Championship is shortened in 2015, and would need to be compensated.

Rugby World Cup Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: ‘Throughout this collaborative process we have set out to achieve a Rugby World Cup 2015 start date that is good for participating unions, good for our other major international Rugby events and ultimately good for the development of the global game.

‘September 18 achieves just that and coupled with a robust collaborative funding model, we have collectively moved to address the challenges that face our unions during a Rugby World Cup year.’

England won the right to host the event and organisers are expected to make use of some of the country’s numerous world-class football stadia.

The venues will be confirmed once the tournament dates are finalised with the pool draw to follow in November. However, IRB chief executive Mike Miller said travel logistics could make the 75 000-seater Millennium an option.

‘Yes there is an issue of Wales playing at “home”, but for people in the west of England, it’s much easier to get to Cardiff than it is to get London,’ Miller said.

‘Firstly we will set the dates for the tournament, then we will see what stadia are available and move forward from there. No decision has been taken on use of the Millennium Stadium yet. That will be part of the meeting.’

Following the All Blacks’ win in the decider, very little was made of the alleged incident by McCaw himself. But six weeks on, McCaw spoke out at a charity breakfast in Christchurch, confirming that there was plenty of foul play.

‘The French are worse when they are scared,’ he said. ‘They were as bad as they have been and were going for the eyes.

‘My eye was a bit sore for a while and I was struggling to see for a bit. I was surprised they didn’t cite him [France centre Aurelien Rougerie].’

It was consistent with what was written by the New Zealand media on the eve of the final, and some of the French coaches went on record saying that they would resort to illegal tactics in order to unsettle the All Blacks.

It was said that the French players would target McCaw’s injured foot, but in the end they went for his eyes.

Video evidence confirmed that Rougerie was indeed guilty of eye-gouging, but only came to light after the 36-hour timeframe for citing had expired. The IRB has since said that it will look into extending the citing window.

England’s run at the tournament was highly criticized for actions made on and off the field. While they suffered a quater-final exit against France, there were numerous reports about the players’ poor behaviour and the substandard management done by former head coach Martin Johnson and his assistants.

The RFU recently did a review on the team’s World Cup campaign, and the confidential information collected was accidentally leaked. The details criticized the management team, several senior players and the focus on earnings.

The RFU’s leaked information:
– Attack coach Brian Smith is described as ‘indecisive, out of his depth, difficult to talk to and simply not good enough’. He was also accused of looking to the Romania team for ideas. ‘When you start copying Romanian moves you know you’re in trouble,’ said one player.

- One player suggested defence coach Mike Ford ‘hasn’t moved on since 2007. In fact he’s regressed’.

- Forwards coach John Wells ‘missed serious detail in lineout play. There must be 20 coaches in the Premiership who’d be better’, said one player.

- Johnson, who resigned last week, was attacked for failing to deal properly with the fallout from the drunken night in Queenstown, which saw Mike Tindall belatedly fined for his conduct. The players union’ report said there was ‘a lack of action which reflected his inexperience. Therefore primarily he must bear considerable responsibility for these failures’. One of the players added: ‘I suppose we just wanted Johnno to have the bollocks to take action, especially after the Tindall night. He was too loyal and that was his downfall.’

- Skipper Lewis Moody, who has retired from test rugby, was criticised heavily for dealing with his agent during the tournament. ‘There was too much contact with agents, who could be distracting,’ a player said. ‘Moodos was the worst. Players should have waited until after the games/the tournament, not be discussing deals a day or two before a match. Moodos might be able to separate commercial stuff and playing, but it distracts other players and isn’t the right example to set.’

- A complaint by one player about a colleague’s reaction in the dressing room after the quarterfinal loss to France. ‘There’s £35,000 just gone down the toilet’ was the offending phrase. The complainant said the response ‘made me sick. Money shouldn’t even come into a player’s mind.’

- Accusations that senior colleagues indulged in drinking games and poked fun at those who committed wholeheartedly to training.

- Complaints from players about a lack of tight security. ‘It was a mistake not to have any security people like in 2003 and 2007,’ said one senior player. ‘This time we had two old fellas and one guy who was rumoured to have told someone the night out incident in Queenstown involving Tindall would be worth £100 000 from a newspaper.’

Since Lawrence’s controversial performance in the Wallabies’ 11-9 quarter-final win over the Springboks at the World Cup, the Kiwi referee has been critcized for his handling of the breakdown by South African players, fans and media.

Retired Springbok captain John Smit said: ‘The one positive of retirement is that I won’t ever have to be reffed by him again’. Even Saru manager of referees Andre Watson slammed Lawrence’s performance, saying the New Zealander won’t officiate at a future World Cup as he would be severely admonished by the IRB.

A Facebook campaign titled ‘Petition To Stop Bryce Lawrence Ever Reffing A Rugby Game Again’ set up a platform for public abuse to be directed at Lawrence, while 94.7 Highveld Stereo radio station’s Darren ‘Whackhead’ Simpson has claimed to have prank called him in the middle of the night.

Speaking to Tony Veitch on Radiosport, Lawrence said he is aware of the threat of refereeing in South Africa during Super Rugby next year.

‘I’m not totally concerned. I know a lot of other people like the New Zealand Rugby Union and SANZAR do have some serious concerns,’ Lawrence said. ‘In all honesty, I’m not going to go over there if there’s any personal threat or I have concerns about my safety because in the end it’s a job. I know that, and also it’s just a sport so I’m not going to put myself at risk.’

‘I refereed the [Super Rugby] final last year,’ he continued. ‘I’ve refereed a lot of play-off games so that level is something I’m more than capable of refereeing. I’ll referee South African teams in Super Rugby, it may be in Australia or New Zealand that I referee them and I’m sure the criticism will resurface every time I do referee them.’

Lawrence admitted that he always thinks back to his performance in the Wallabies/Bok quarter-final fixture.

‘It hasn’t been the greatest four or six weeks of my life…in all honesty there isn’t a day goes by even now that I don’t think about what I could have done better and how it’s affecting me and what it means for me going forward. It’s still very fresh and probably pretty raw really,’ he said.

‘I was disappointed with some aspects in my own performance that day after refereeing four really pretty strong games in pool play. I’m not blaming anyone for the quarterfinal refereeing display apart from myself. I didn’t referee as well as I could.

‘I was pretty relaxed going into that game, and Australia/South Africa I have refereed numerous times in the last few years at Tri-Nations level so the game didn’t scare me or concern me. I just think I went away from what I’m best at. I’m best when I’m pretty decisive and reasonably technical and tactical – and I just went too much down the tactical side of things where I was really trying to minimise making technical errors.

‘I got criticised heavily and some of that I accept because I know I could have done better.’

Lawrence added that he has been punished by being left out of the Six Nations.

‘Look, there have been some pretty clear consequences from my quarterfinal display. I’m not going to be refereeing Six Nations next year, they can say that means I’m rested but in reality I accept that one of the consequences of my performance is that I’m not going to be doing Six Nations.

‘That’s disappointing from a personal level but also something that I probably support. Referees often get criticised and not held accountable – well I’m clearly being held accountable I’m not refereeing Six Nations.’

Meanwhile, Sanzar CEO Greg Peters told Eyewitness News they have not expressed any concerns regarding Lawrence’s safety in South Africa. Peters explained that he consulted their legal advisors and said the Lawrence safety saga has not been discussed within Sanzar.

There was an outcry from many Welsh journalists as well as members of the Wales management following the semi-final match in Auckland. Warburton was red-carded for a dangerous tackle on
France winger Vincent Clerc, and while the No 7 has since admitted that he got it wrong, some still believe that Wales would have won the game, and possibly the World Cup, if not for Rolland’s decision.

The Irish referee has finally responded to accusations that he ‘ruined the game’. Rolland maintains that he got the call right.

‘If I had to do it all over again I would do the same thing,’ he told the Western Mail. ‘I don’t think it needs to be vindicated full stop. The important part for referees, no matter what sport it is, is to take the emotion out of it. We can only officiate on the action itself and what he did merited what happened next because it was dangerous.

‘Did he mean to do it? Was it intentional or unintentional? We don’t officiate on intention, we officiate on the action itself. Unfortunately, what had happened gave me no option but to do what I did.

‘Any time you make a decision, 50 per cent of the people think it is a great call and 50 per cent of the people say “How did he come to that decision?”. That is just the way it is.’

Rolland added that the response by the Welsh contingent and many neutrals wasn’t unexpected.

‘The thing you have to remember is that straight after the game there was huge emotion everywhere, which is understandable. But in time, maybe in 10 or 15 years, it might calm itself down.’

Rolland also commended Warburton for coming out and admitting that he deserved the red card.

‘To be fair to Sam, I think it is a true measure of the man he is. I don’t think he had to come out to say anything and I didn’t really care one way or the other because what happened, happened.

‘I think for the game in general it was a very good comment by Sam because parents looking on would be happy to see he came out and said what he said, which might make the game a bit safer.’

Wales will play the Wallabies in a one-off Test later this month.

This after they were prevented from acting upon evidence of serious foul play during last month’s World Cup final involving France’s Aurelien Rougerie and New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw.

Television footage showed Rougerie raking his hand across McCaw’s face and the governing body believes the midfielder would have faced a lengthy ban had this evidence arisen within the 36-hour window in which citings could happen.

‘The International Rugby Board can confirm that no action can be taken to initiate a citing case following an alleged act of foul play during the Rugby World Cup 2011 Final on 23 October,’ the IRB statement said.

‘[IRB's citing commissioner] Scott Nowland has determined that he cannot cite the alleged act of foul play as the footage emerged outside the citing period and he is unable to bring the matter within the exceptional circumstances provisions contained in the Tournament Disciplinary Rules which deal principally with mistaken identity and where further time is required to identify a player who may have committed an act of foul play.

“Both Unions have been advised of the outcome. The IRB and Rugby World Cup Limited take all acts of foul play seriously. The ongoing review of Regulation 17 governing the disciplinary process will give consideration to tournament rules and IRB Regulations to consider either extending the citing periods or widening the remit of the exceptional circumstance provisions to deal with the emergence of evidential materials following the elapse of the citing period.’

Burger, who first played for the Boks in a 2003 World Cup match against Georgia, enjoyed an outstanding tournament in New Zealand, exhibiting the same abrasive energy that marked him as a 20-year-old debutant. He also made use of the experience he’s accumulated over 60-plus Tests, as well as some recently acquired skills, to leave a lasting impression.

The next Bok coach will face the challenge of building a new team and a new leadership group. Burger is certain to be one of the pillars, if not a strong candidate for the captaincy itself. Some tough decisions will need to be made by the coach, and the ageing veterans may need to make way for the promising youngsters, but a clever man-manager will realise that Burger is the kind of player he can build his new team around.

Also in the new issue of SA Rugby magazine, on sale this week:

– We analyse the Springboks’ World Cup campaign and rate all the players

– Why the Springboks must adapt their game plan in order to achieve consistent success

– Richie McCaw has a phenomenal playing record, but McCaw the player is even more impressive

– All Blacks coach Graham Henry has found peace at last

– We review all 48 matches of the 2011 World Cup

– The minnows made progress at the recent World Cup despite an unfair playing field

– Jon Cardinelli chronicles some of the World Cup adventures enjoyed by the SA Rugby magazine team during a seven-week sojourn to New Zealand’s rugby-mad North Island

– The SA U18 Sevens’ success at the Commonwealth Youth Games bodes well for the 2016 Olympic Games

Click here to subscribe to print edition

Click here to subscribe to digital edition

England were knocked out by France in the quarter-final round after a 19-12 defeat in Auckland, which ended a campaign tainted with off-field scandals – from mischief at their Dunedin hotel to vice-captain’s Mike Tinadall’s highly publicised meeting with ‘an old friend’ to Manu Tuilagi jumping off a ferry.

Moody was quick to release his book, Mad Dog: An Englishman , and extracts were published in English papers over the weekend, which described his feelings over England’s behaviour in New Zealand.

‘I had been growing concerned about the attitude in the camp, which had become apparent pretty much from the moment we arrived in Auckland,’ Moody wrote in the book.

‘We were on the other side of the world, a lot of the guys were young, well-known, wealthy and believed they were invincible. I remember thinking that some were not quite in the right mind-set.

‘If I could change one thing, knowing some of the characters we had in that squad, it would be to have banned them from going out at all.’

Moody went on to say he takes responsibility for the team’s actions, along with head coach Martin Johnson.

‘I take some of the blame. I was captain and the buck stopped with Johnno and me.’

France earned the respect of all New Zealanders and the All Blacks surely earned the respect of the rugby world.

You cannot begrudge the All Blacks their moment, and you also cannot deny captain Richie McCaw his finest 80 minutes as an international player. He is finally a world champion.

France captain Thierry Dusautoir was the player of the match but it was the player of the past decade (McCaw) who got gold on the night.

Some may say the rugby gods have a heart, especially if you remember McCaw’s night — and face — at the 2007 World Cup in Cardiff four years ago when France beat the All Blacks 20-18.

McCaw and the All Blacks deserved the win. Not just because of their defensive effort on the night, but because of what they have dealt with at this tournament — expectation, pressure and injury setbacks.

Home-ground advantage is big in any tournament but in World Cups it has been a curse. New Zealand are the first host nation to win the World Cup in the professional era and they did it with their fourth choice at flyhalf, Stephen Donald, for the final 45 minutes.

They did it without Dan Carter and they did it with McCaw playing the entire tournament with a foot injury that will require surgery.

It is easy to forget the obstacles New Zealand had to overcome because of France’s effort but it would be doing the defensive quality of this final a disservice.

France had offered nothing at this tournament. They had been awful and had been beaten twice in the league stages. They were told they were a disgrace to the romance of French rugby and the World Cup heroics of their predecessors. But they are France and with the French you never know who gets out of bed, let alone who pitches up to play a game of rugby.

They are also players who believe the only rugby experience better than playing the All Blacks is beating them. I can’t applaud their effort enough. Then again neither can I that of the All Blacks.

France’s intensity spooked the All Blacks four years ago, but this time New Zealand were prepared for the physicality of France, and to a man they backed their defensive system and backed the bloke on the inside and the outside to make his tackle. This is a team that trusted in each other as much as each guy did himself.

France were monstrous in the collisions. Dusautoir played the game of his life. France played more intelligently than they have all tournament, and like a team with a plan.

France played from set piece to set piece, limited idiotic decision-making in their own half and played like a team with the belief that they could strangle New Zealand up front and outkick them.

This was raw passion from France. They played for their honour, their dignity and the right to be World Cup champions, but they never had the attacking threat to match either the power of their pack or the intent of their minds. It has been their Achilles heel all tournament.

The All Blacks in the professional era have always been accused of not respecting winning ugly. They did that at Eden Park and their defensive effort was monumental.

France will get many accolades because they defied the belief that the All Blacks would win easily, but if the adage is true that World Cups are won on defence, then New Zealand are deserved winners.

There were heroes on both sides and thankfully no villains, even though All Black Piri Weepu would probably have had to emigrate if France had been the champions.

Weepu missed two penalties, a conversion and kick-started France’s solitary try with a chip kick that landed in a French hand and ended in seven points for France.

He also suffered at the base of the scrum because of the French effort, more than the New Zealand lack of effort, but when the battered All Black forwards had to produce their biggest effort of the last four years they did so in the last four minutes of the World Cup final. They kept the ball for three minutes, forced the penalty and won the game that for the people of New Zealand was so much more than a rugby result.

And it was as if the rugby gods were reminding all of New Zealand about humility. New Zealand would win it by a point to make a point.

Crushing the French would have resulted in New Zealand arrogance and perhaps another 24-year wait for the gold cup.

But to be in Auckland last night was to know there was nothing blasé about this New Zealand celebration.

There was just relief and recognition that attack wins you the Tri-Nations but defence wins you the World Cup.

Many thought that the winner of this prestigious accolade would come from the world champions. The All Blacks won the World Cup final on Sunday and while both Jerome Kaino and Ma’a Nonu were nominated in the top player category, Kaino was believed to be the strongest candidate for the award.

At the annual prizegiving on Monday, however, Dusautoir was honoured for his efforts in 2011. The powerful French flanker enjoyed two particularly good games in the semi-final and final. He was named Man of the Match in the decider even though the All Blacks won 8-7.

The All Blacks walked away with the Team of the Year accolade, while Graham Henry scooped the Coach of the Year gong.

The only South African to win an award was sevens star Cecil Afrika.

The founders of the Rugby World Cup and all previous winning captains and coaches were inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame. In addition Gareth Rees (Canada), Jonah Lomu (New Zealand), Agustin Pichot (Argentina) and Brian Lima (Samoa) were also inducted in the Hall of Fame.

The 2011 winners:

Player of the Year – Thierry Dusautoir (France)

Team of the Year – New Zealand

Coach of the Year – Graham Henry (New Zealand)

Junior Player of the Year – George Ford (England)

IRB Sevens Player of the Year – Cecil Afrika (South Africa)

IRPA Try of the Year – Radike Samo (Australia), Wallabies vs All Blacks, Brisbane

The Spirit of Rugby Award – Wooden Spoon Society for their work with disadvantaged youth

IRB Women’s Personality of the Year – Ruth Mitchell

IRPA Special Merit Award – (chosen by fellow players for outstanding contribution) George Smith

IRB Referee Award for Distinguished Service – Keith Lawrence

Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service – Jock Hobbs

IRB Development Award – USA Rugby for their Rookie Rugby Programme

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.

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Only New Zealanders can fully articulate the torment it must have caused into know they are the pre-eminent side in world rugby but not be completely acknowledged as such because of the inability to capture the title that legitimises that claim. Of course an inordinate amount of emphasis is placed on winning the World Cup. But not winning it left a massive void that vexed them to their very souls. It was the national obsession.

A nation’s identity was intricately entwined and dependent in the result of last week’s semi-final against Australia, and later once more as France pressed incessantly in the second half. It is a fallacy that New Zealanders love rugby. They love the All Blacks and defeat would have surely been a mortal blow to their belief in the lovers that had so often betrayed them.

In beating Australia there was a discernible sense that the ceiling had been shattered. You could feel it in the energy in the stands, and you could see it in the manner the players carried themselves post-match. There was none of the arrogance of the 2007 group. Only a collection of men secure in the knowledge they were the superior in all facets of play when compared to their opponents in the final. They didn’t exhibit that superiority tonight, but if ever a nation and its players didn’t care about the aesthetics of the performance it was New Zealand.

However, the importance of their victory transcends the healing of past wounds. There was a more immediate reason – they were simply the best at the tournament and more deserving than the desperately inconsistent French, who entertained more with their off-field antics more than they ever threatened to do between the chalk lines.

Most pertinently it killed off the flawed belief that pragmatism must always take precedence over panache at the global showpiece. Certainly are times where it is necessitated, periods of this final featuring many of those. But it has become an absolute without the unequivocal evidence to support that statement.

Furthermore, like the 2007 World Cup winning Springboks side, there are players in this Blacks side who deserve to have the prestigious title of world champion, none more so than their irrepressible skipper Richie McCaw and this side’s fulcrum, Dan Carter. It seems a simplistic argument to make, but there are just some players befitting of the honour, and the Blacks boast many such players. In addition, their coaching staff have consistently been the best and most innovative in world rugby throughout their tenure. They now have the title they most coveted.

In raising the Webb Ellis cup over his head, McCaw was symbolically also lifting the weight of a burden they have carried since 1987. Belligerence was required to achieve this. They’ve failed when required to exhibit that trait in the past. Not so tonight. Well done you brilliant Blacks.

By Ryan Vrede, at Eden Park.
Follow Ryan on Twitter.

Addressing the media after the game, Dusautoir and coach Marc Lievremont said that they were proud of the team’s efforts in spite of the 8-7 result. France weren’t given much of a chance in the build up to this clash, but came within a couple of points of one of the great upsets in World Cup history.

‘We are very disappointed with the result, we didn’t do enough,’ the France captain said. ‘We’ve been lucky in previous rounds of this tournament, but we weren’t lucky tonight.

‘We did everything we set out to do except get the points and win the game. I was very happy when I scored that try [in the second half], because I knew it was close to the poles and it would mean the scoreline would be closer. But that was the last time I was happy, as while we continued to put pressure on the All Blacks, we just couldn’t convert that into points.

‘It was very difficult against this All Blacks team, and we needed just a little bit more tonight. Rugby is also about the mental [aspect], but perhaps we needed more skill on this occasion.’

The All Blacks defended brilliantly in the second half, effecting some telling turnovers deep inside their own territory. Both Dusautoir and Lievremont said they would not criticise referee Craig Joubert for blowing against the French in those situations.

‘I will not criticise him, he is one of the best in the world,’ said the captain. ‘Rugby is always difficult to ref, especially in that area. There were a lot of penalties against us, and maybe we weren’t close enough [to our ball carrier] in support.’

Lievremont, who will stand down as coach now that the World Cup has come to an end, also refused to make a negative statement about Joubert’s officiating at the breakdown.

‘I met with him two days ago and I said that he would have a great pressure on his shoulders. I promised him that what ever happened [in this final] that I would not criticise his performance.’

The fiery French attitude was apparent even before the kickoff, as the team joined hands and moved towards the All Blacks while the hosts performed the haka. Dusautoir said it was something the team had decided to do on the morning of the final.

‘It was a great moment and probably would have been remembered even more if the performance had been capped with a victory. We didn’t win and get the trophy but it was still fantastic, it was still a good story.

‘We had spoken about doing something [to counter the haka] during the week. We thought it would be a good idea, and made the call this morning [to go through with it].’

By Jon Cardinelli, at Eden Park

The All Blacks are heavily favoured to beat France at Eden Park on Sunday, but there is a discernible sense of trepidation among the New Zealand public given their team’s history of underachievement at the tournament.

Asked whether the team’s resolve is driven by the fear of unexpected defeats at previous World Cups, McCaw said: ‘A lot of guys have been through one if not two experiences that haven’t been too flash and you’d like to think that just hardens the resolve and the desire.

‘From my point of view, what happened back in 2003 [defeat to Australia] I never understood what it took to win a World Cup. Perhaps didn’t fully understand again in ’07 [defeat to France] but those experiences you realise that to win it you’ve got to be the best team in that tournament regardless of what’s happened beforehand and you’ve got to produce the good when it counts.

‘We’ve got men who’ve been in situations, they’ve been around a long time and there’s a lot of desire there. We’ve got guys that are good enough but that guarantees nothing. People say who deserves what, but at the end of the day in a final it’s not about who deserves what. It’s about who goes and plays the best rugby on that stage, in this game, that’s what we’ve got to do. What’s happened before means absolutely nothing. We’re against a team, the French, who’ll all be thinking exactly the same.’

McCaw is the most successful captain of his generation, with only the World Cup title alluding him. There are those who have argued that he cannot be considered a truly great skipper until he completes his haul with the one the Blacks most covet. McCaw doesn’t agree, but did acknowledge his deep desire to succeed on Sunday.

‘You’d like to think the things you’ve done through 10 years, regardless of what happens tomorrow, mean something,’ he said. ‘But this is the biggest game that I’ve played in and it’s one you want to do well in. If you’re going to pick a game before you start playing any rugby what one would you want to play in? It would be a World Cup final.

‘I won’t be around forever but hopefully when I leave one day people will say that all the history has gone before, all the legacies that have been set have been upheld if not raised.’

McCaw said he is not the superstitious type, but responded quickly when asked whether he had ever touched the trophy. ‘No. I don’t think you should touch it till you’ve earned it.’

According to Fairfax Media, France defence coach Dave Ellis has made it clear that the Tricolores will resort to some old-fashioned skullduggery in Sunday’s final.

The French know that McCaw has been battling with a foot injury over the past 12 months, and believe that the All Blacks will struggle without their captain. Ellis said that it’s an ugly but simple equation, take out McCaw, and you will take down the All Blacks.

‘McCaw is major player. Somebody will stand on his foot, no doubt,’ said Ellis.

Many have anticipated such tactics, with former All Black Buck Shelford writing in The New Zealand Herald on Friday that the French would come into this fixture with a dirty attitude in an attempt to unsettle the host team. Referee Craig Joubert will have his work cut out for him in a game where everything is on the line, as one instant of foul play could lead to a card and possibly decide the contest.

On the tactic to target McCaw’s foot, Ellis revealed that it was a ploy of the French to attack New Zealand’s key players, and that they had done so before.

Ellis said that the All Blacks crumbled in the 2007 World Cup quarter-final when Dan Carter left the field. Carter had been carrying a calf injury at the time, and Ellis suggested the French had something to do with his premature exit in that game. Ellis also pointed out that New Zealand were vulnerable without McCaw and Carter when France played and beat the All Blacks in Dunedin in 2009.

‘That was one of the major factors in 2007 when we managed to make him [Carter] leave the field with injury. That was the turning point. He wasn’t there in 2009 and neither was McCaw.

‘There’s other key players that if we can get to and influence, that’ll have a knock-on effect. Some of them are their experienced players.’

Meanwhile, France prop Nicolas Mas has hit back at those calling his side a dirty team. Mas maintains that the All Blacks are also capable of some underhanded tactics.

‘They are not angels, either. But that is the way the game is played. It is normal that games are aggressive,’ he told The Telegraph.

‘Two teams want to win and they will do everything in their power to win, and that’s aggression and passion. You can’t mix the two up. It is a complex sport and there will be a huge amount of passion involved.’

The Wallabies flyhalf tore his ACL in Friday’s third-place play-off against Wales. It is yet to be confirmed, but he is likely to be sidelined for the next six months.

He will miss the Wallabies’ coming games against Wales and the Barbarians, and the injury will also effect his involvement in the 2012 Super Rugby competition.