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New Zealand have overcome a nerve-racking final half hour from a feisty France side to win the Rugby World Cup final 8-7 at Eden Park in Auckland and be crowned world champions for the first time in 24 years.
The All Blacks were expected to dominate a French team that had struggled for momentum, points and unity during the tournament, but the red-hot favourites struggled to puncture a defence that was dogged after conceding a soft early try.
The home team got on the board in the 15th minute courtesy of the most unlikely of channels, with prop Tony Woodcock the beneficiary of a slick lineout move.
Hooker Keven Mealamu threw to Jerome Kaino at the back of the lineout and the athletic No.6 immediately dished the ball back inside to Woodcock, who only needed to palm off French tighthead prop Nicolas Mas on an eight-metre scoot to the tryline.
Half-back Piri Weepu, who had assumed New Zealand’s main kicking duties following the injury to Dan Carter in the pool stages, was off-target with the conversion attempt after earlier missing a difficult penalty kick from 41 metres.
France were willing to use the full width of the field from the start, but were too often overwhelmed by the physicality of the All Blacks, especially their counter-rucking.
The visitors’ best chances of getting on the scoreboard in the first half came when replacement five-eighth Francois Trinh-Duc, who came on for a groggy Morgan Parra midway through the opening stanza, missed a field goal attempt in the 36th minute.
And just a minute late, Trinh-Duc counter-attacked from his own 22-metre line and only a desperate ankle tap from Weepu prevented the busy playmaker from potentially going all the way.
Trinh-Duc lined up against New Zealand’s fourth-choice five-eighth Stephen Donald for the final 45 minutes of the match after Aaron Cruden hyperextended his right knee and was immediately carted off to continue the curse of the All Blacks’ No.10 jersey.
Donald, who was fishing in Waikato just two weeks ago when given the shock call-up, was calm and assured despite his last appearance for the All Blacks being an erratic effort off the bench in a last-minute loss to the Wallabies in Hong Kong last year.
Donald booted a penalty in the 45th minute to put the All Blacks up 8-0, but just two minutes later the game was blown wide open when French captain Thierry Dusautoir scored next to the posts to stun the capacity crowd.
The blindslide breakaway produced a nicely timed run off veteran centre Aurelien Rougerie to spark the French into action, and with Trinh-Duc’s conversion making the score 8-7, All Blacks fans would’ve been dreading the possibility of the French ruining another World Cup for them after downing the Kiwis in the 1999 and 2007 editions.
However, only a Trinh-Duc penalty attempt in the 64th minute that sailed well wide to the right was the only clear-cut chance the French got to pulling off a huge upset despite enjoying a glut of possession in the final 30 minutes.
The All Blacks resisted waves of French attacks to snuff out a brave fightback and Richie McCaw lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time since David Kirk’s men won the inaugural tournament in 1987, also held in New Zealand.
Earlier, the French adopted a brave strategy during the haka by lining up in a V-formation and then advancing on the New Zealanders to signal they were ready to play.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.