2019 Rugby World Cup: The moment South Africa won the final against England and the Kiwi who had the last say

Name: Beyond the Game - RWC 2019 - Final - England v South Africa
Uploaded: 2019-11-02T21:48:30+13:00
Duration: 1631 s
Description: Join host Alex Chapman with special guests Buck Shelford and Michaela Blyde as they review the England v South Africa RWC Final and the All Blacks v Wales Bronze Final. VIDEO/Spark Sport/RWC/Mark Mitchell/AP/SNTV/Photo Sport/Getty Images/allblacks.com/TVNZ

NZ Herald

2 Nov, 2019 05:18 PM2 mins to read

Join host Alex Chapman with special guests Buck Shelford and Michaela Blyde as they review the England v South Africa RWC Final and the All Blacks v Wales Bronze Final. VIDEO/Spark Sport/RWC/Mark Mitchell/AP/SNTV/Photo Sport/Getty Images/allblacks.com/TVNZ

The All Blacks have been dethroned as Rugby World Cup champions by South Africa but a Kiwi played an important part in the 32-12 defeat of England in Yokohama on Saturday night.

New Zealander Ben Skeen ruled there was no "clear and obvious" infringement to rule out Springboks wing Makazole Mapimpi's 68th-minute try, that stretched the Boks' lead to 23-12 - and effectively ended England's challenge.

Mapimpi dotted down after some slick handling and a good kick-chase from the Boks but on-field referee Jerome Garces decided to send it upstairs to check for a possible forward pass to Mapimpi from teammate Malcolm Marx.

Mapimpi's try was the first-ever for South Africa in World Cup final rugby.

Despite TV replays being inconclusive, several fans seemed to agree that the pass was in fact forward and that England were "robbed".

Robbed. That was so forward #RWCFinal
— Nicky Green (@Nickyquin) November 2, 2019

Two forward passes and a try for South Africa. We were robbed
— David Braithwaite (@DABraithwaite) November 2, 2019

Forward pass?!?!?!
— Sam Billings (@sambillings) November 2, 2019

That was a forward pass wasn’t it 🤷🏻‍♂️
— Richard Lavender (@Lavender_901) November 2, 2019

It's not the first time at this tournament that a decision from Skeen has had a big impact on a match.

He was heavily criticised for his performance as TMO during the crucial pool match between Australia and Wales with former All Blacks coach John Hart calling it "tedious and ridiculous".

England, who stunned the All Blacks by 19-7 in last weekend's semifinal in Tokyo, answered with a period of sustained pressure but were unable to keep the Boks from claiming the 2019 title - to add to their triumphs in 1995 and 2007 - when Cheslin Kolbe dotted down with six minutes to play.