Springboks’ remarkable self-belief; Foster won’t forget; defences win World Cups; Pollard’s pivotal call-up; pride in the fall for All Blacks
RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn celebrate with their medals after South Africa's Rugby World Cup final victory over New Zealand. Photograph: James Crombie/InphoAs Jean Kleyn put it afterwards: “Rassie said it a few weeks ago: ‘It is a sign of a really good team if you win the matches you are not supposed to win’. Last week was definitely a match that we won in the last minute, at the death. I think today we earned it, quarter-finals we earned it.
The Springboks have won four World Cup finals out of four, and in three of them, they didn’t score a solitary try. Even the tries by Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe four years ago added varnish after Handré Pollard had kicked them 18-12 ahead. The outhalf kicked from three from three, including a 78th-minute match-winning penalty in the semi-final and four from four in the final, compared to eight from 10 in his 22-point haul in 2019. Pollard has now landed his last 18 kicks in a row at the Stade de France, dating back to 2017!New Zealand captain Sam Cane looks on with team-mates after the defeat to South Africa.
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