Hard luck, All Blacks - the Springboks deserved to win

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi lifts the Rugby World Cup following the final against the All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images

EDITORIAL

The saving grace of the Rugby World Cup final was the after-match comments by Springboks captain Siya Kolisi. He said people outside his country might not know what winning meant to South Africa. “Our country goes through such a lot and we are the hope they have,” he said. “It shows if we work together, anything is possible.”

Rugby means a great deal to New Zealand too. It is our most successful activity on a world stage. The All Blacks are our best-known international brand. They carry the pride and hope of the nation in a way that nothing else does. But to hear what it means for South Africa put the agony of the result into perspective for us.

The final needed a saving grace. The Springboks deserved to win. They played their game with more strength and composure. Right from the kickoff, the All Blacks lacked a spark for some reason. They were laboured and uncertain even before the dreaded TMO (Television Match Official) came into the game.

Rugby really has to rethink its use of TMOs. Their interventions are arbitrary, inconsistent and often inexplicable for players and spectators alike. As former All Blacks and Black Ferns coach Sir Wayne Smith said in the Herald on Wednesday: “[There’s] a penalty in just about every ruck if you want to see it.”

The same can be said about head contact when a ball carrier runs into a tackler, the cause of New Zealand captain Sam Cane being sidelined for most of the game that carried the highest hopes of his career. His opposite number, Kolisi, was sin-binned for the same offence but officials saw “mitigation” in his case that they could not see in Cane’s.

Sam Cane got a red card during the match. Photo / Getty Images

Rugby is a contact sport played at pace. Refereeing is an art requiring a good deal of discretion if a game is to flow. English referees appear to put rigid rule enforcement ahead of discretion, though Wayne Barnes should not be blamed for this game. It was his countryman behind the TV monitor, Tom Foley, who made the final a farce at times.

The All Blacks deserve credit in adversity. They played most of the match a man short, scored the only try of the game and lost by one point. They have not let anyone down, certainly not their coach. As was said here on Saturday, Ian Foster has been vindicated by bringing his team to the final.

He will be forever remembered as the coach who was going to lose his job regardless of the outcome. The character he has displayed, and the dedication he has inspired in his players, surely ensures him an international coaching career abroad.

Likewise, the many players whose New Zealand careers finished in the final can be proud of their last match in the All Blacks jersey. Many sporting matches are so close there is honour for both sides.

New Zealanders achieved that sort of result twice at the weekend. At the Cricket World Cup in India, the Black Caps batted superbly to almost reach a seemingly impossible target set by Australia. Like the All Blacks, they came achingly close. That’s the glory of sport.