All Blacks rule the world
Kiwis seal historic back-to-back World Cups at Twickenham
EVERYONE wanted the Rugby World Cup final to be defined by the greats of this All Blacks team as they prepared to depart the stage they have graced for so long.
And it was about them. It was about Richie McCaw and Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith. But most of all, it was about the greatest of them all. Most of all it was about Dan Carter.
What a final and what a way for the best player in the world to call it quits. Just when New Zealand thought they had won it, Australia’s incredible defiance meant that they had to go out and win it all over again. And when they needed him, when they needed his magic, when they needed his character, Carter stepped up.
The Wallabies had reduced a 21-3 lead to four points and were threatening one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport when Carter took a pass just inside the 40metre line. He stepped to his left and launched a drop goal in a high, graceful arc towards the posts.
He shouted after it as it flew through the night sky. He shouted and shouted, willing it on and willing it over. He knew it had the distance. He knew he had hit it true. It sailed between the posts.s.
A few minutes later, er, man-of-the-match Carter r kicked a penalty from even further out. As it passed over the bar, the touch judges watched it fall and gave that curt little nod they give to each h other when a kick has s been successful.
Carter had put the e All Blacks 10 points in the lead again. He had put them out of reach. That is what the greats of the game do.
Victory meant New Zealand became the first team to retain the Webb Ellis Cup and the first nation to win the trophy three times. They symbolise the joy and the spirit of rugby and now, at last, they can say that their success matches the enchantment they spread.
It was a fitting climax to a tournament that has bolstered the image of rugby around the world. England did their best to spoil the party by becoming the first hosts to crash out of the competition before the knock-out stage, but their absence could not diminish the spectacle.
There were some spectacular moments, most obviously Japan’s stunning upset victory over South Africa in Brighton. Those who were there to see it will never forget Australia’s heroic 13-man defence against Wales at Twickenham in the group phase, either.
Argentina provided the most compelling evidence of the widening influence and depth of the game by outclassing Ireland in the quarter-finals and reaching the last four. The tournament kept its momentum. It was a fantastic feast of sport.
But it was New Zealand that captured the imagination most of all. They came into the tournament being billed as the greatest team there has ever been. We can argue about that all we want but they proved without doubt they are the greatest team of the moment.
They raced through this competition with panache and skill. They provided one of the stand-out moments when their try-scoring machine Julian Savea channelled the spirit of Jonah Lomu and bounced off three French tackles to score in the last eight.
And when they needed to, against their great rivals South Africa, they hung tough. They maintained a twopoint lead for the last 11 minutes but they managed to do it without ever being threatened. It was a masterpiece of game management.
New Zealand started at a furious pace and Australia struggled to contain them. Michael Hooper was rocked back by a huge hit in the openingp g seconds, Stephen Moore had b blood streaming from his nose within the first minute and only a last-ditch tackle thwarted Nonu.
Australia’s defiance ended when they conceded a penalty, though, and Carter kicked it unerringly between the posts to put New Zealand ahead. Austr Australia refused to be overrun. Bernard Foley kicked the Wallabies level a few minutes later.
The game was tight and tense. It was unyielding, too. The All Blacks were enjoying more possession but breakdown specialists Hooper and David Pocock ripped it away from them with turnover after turnover.
The engagements were unrelenting and on the edge. Carter was nailed by a late tackle from Scott Sio that left him needing treatment but it was decided that it had stayed just within the bounds of legality and Sio escaped a yellow card. Carter replied midway through the half by kicking New Zealand ahead again.
In the end, though, the All Blacks’ domination of possession wore Australia down. Carter kicked a penalty by the touchline when the Wallabies strayed offside and then, on the stroke of half-time, New Zealand took a decisive lead.
They worked the ball swiftly from left to right, Conrad Smith to Aaron Smith to McCaw to Nehe MilnerSkudder, so fast that the Australians could not contain the danger. Milner-Skudder went over in the corner, Carter kicked the conversion and New Zealand ran down the tunnel with a 16-3 lead.
The game seemed to be over three minutes into the second half. Nonu collected the ball just inside the Australia half and accelerated. Kurtley Beale stepped up to try to tackle him but Nonu’s change of direction put him on the seat of his pants. Nonu sprinted for the line and even though Drew Mitchell brought him down, he could not stop him. It was a scintillating try, a fitting farewell for one of New Zealand’s greatest rugby warriors.
Carter missed the conversion, his first blemish, but New Zealand were 21-3 up now and looked as if they were out of sight. They gave Australia a glimpse of hope when Ben Smith was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle and Pocock bundled over for a try that reduced the New Zealand lead to 11 points.
Then Australia scored. A brilliant kick over the top by Will Genia was offloaded to Tevita Kuridrani and he held off a couple of desperate tacklers to hurl himself over the line.
Suddenly, Australia were just four points behind with 14 minutes still to play. Smith came out of the sin-bin then and New Zealand stopped the bleeding. Carter provided the magic they needed with his drop-goal. It halted Australia’s momentum.
Five minutes from the end, Carter kicked again. This time it was a penalty, further out than his drop-goal. The result was the same. The ball sailed between the posts. New Zealand were 27-17 ahead and out of reach.
Beauden Barrett sealed victory in the dying seconds with a breakaway try. Carter kicked the conversion. It was the perfect goodbye.