Kolisi on classic: ‘It will not happen in our lifetime again’
South Africa, New Zealand, New Zealand, South Africa — that’s how the last four champions are listed on the Webb Ellis Cup.
One of the Springboks or All Blacks will win again in Paris tomorrow when they collide in the World Cup final for the only the second time.
The first was so iconic, a movie was made about it. Jonah Lomu was corralled, Joel Stransky hit the winning dropped goal in extra time and Nelson Mandela wore a Springboks jersey and cap. It could only be 1995.
The fates have prevented rugby’s legendary rivalry from featuring in another final until now, and even this was unexpected.
It’s the first final in which both teams have lost a pool match., the All Blacks to France and the Springboks to Ireland. Stade de France rocked for both unsurprising results. But the old stadium was literally shaking on consecutive nights in the quarter-finals when the All Blacks stunned Ireland and the Springboks knocked out hosts France.
The Springboks have surprised nobody. They were big favourites before the tournament and have possibly ploughed the toughest path to the final in tournament history. Besides Ireland, they had to shake off Scotland and Tonga in pool play, then win one-pointers against France and England in the knockout stages.
The final will be their fifth bonerattling match in five weeks, perhaps one reason why they have gone for the unconventional 7-1 split of forwards and backs on the bench. Perhaps fatigue has forced the Boks to require two forward packs to grind down the All Blacks and hope no backs are injured.
Or perhaps because 7-1 worked when they first tried it, against the All Blacks just before the tournament, and gave their great rivals their worst defeat by 35-7.
The 7-1 didn’t work against Ireland but rolling the dice is a trait of the Boks brains trust of Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus. When they took over a broken team five years ago, they planned to win this World Cup. Winning the 2019 World Cup in Japan was a bonus.
The starting XV has 10 from that 2019 final, including halves Handre Pollard and Faf de Klerk, who have been reunited as starters for the first time in more than a year.
“The 23 we selected for a reason, and the reason is we think they can deliver and win us a back-to-back World Cup,” Nienaber said.
The All Blacks have gone with their usual 5-3 split and coach Ian Foster was nonplussed about South Africa’s 7-1.
“It’s what I love about the game. People try different tactics,” Foster said. “They’ve got their way of playing and we’ve got ours. It doesn’t change the way we prepare. Their strategy suits them, ours suits us and it makes it interesting.”
The All Blacks were written off after consecutive losses to South Africa and France. But they got their mojo back a month ago when their injury list cleared and captain Sam Cane, forwards Tyler Lomax and Shannon Frizell and back Jordie Barrett returned. The ideal line-up was completed when prop Ethan de Groot returned from suspension in time for the knockout stage. The All Blacks will field 1387 caps, their most experienced final team.
With the band back together, the All Blacks have played with a power and pace not seen in years, allied to an unexpected defensive grit.
The Springboks prefer a slower game, going to the air and bringing their bigger forwards into the contest as often as possible. It’s also suited to the wet conditions forecast for game time. Their semifinal was wet, too, but the Boks suffered from a mental dip after their quarter-final and came right against England just in time to force a late penalty to win.
Even then, their defence has been reliably tough, conceding only seven tries, joint fewest in the tournament.
This is their third meeting this year. The All Blacks won in Auckland, the Springboks in London. The winners were marked by explosive starts. The final should be different. They have been together longer and systems are synched.
The stakes are much higher, not just a first World Cup title for most on the field, but a possible second title for quite a few, and a possible third title for one, All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock. The winner between the three-time champions will also become the first four-time champ.
But its motivation enough for both teams that it’s All Blacks v Springboks.
“I don’t think it’s [a final] that you can dream about because it doesn’t happen often,” said South Africa’s Siya Kolisi, who could become the second captain ever to win two World Cups after Richie McCaw. “I don’t think it will happen in our lifetime again to have two teams like this.”