All Blacks coach Graham Henry hailed fourth-string playmaker Stephen Donald as “superb” after he steered New Zealand to their drought-breaking Rugby World Cup triumph.
Donald was the All Blacks unlikely fairytale hero at Eden Park as the world’s No.1-ranked team were finally crowned world champions for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987.
He played a pivotal role in a gripping decider, kicking the only penalty goal of the match which ultimately saw New Zealand sneak home 8-7 over an inspired France.
The England-bound five-eighth was fishing on the banks of the Waikato River just two weeks ago before New Zealand’s back-up flyhalf Colin Slade followed superstar No.10 Dan Carter out of the tournament with a groin injury.
The fairytale got better for Donald in the 34th minute of a gripping final when 22-year-old Aaron Cruden limped off with a serious knee injury.
The 28-year-old showed a cool head under pressure and a smart kicking game as the French came at the hosts over the final 33 minutes.
In a match where the first-choice kickers missed four penalty attempts, Donald took the role from an off-key Piri Weepu to slot a 36m attempt in the 45th minute to give the All Blacks an 8-0 lead.
As the French mounted raid after raid over the final half-hour, following a converted try to man-of-the-match Thierry Dusatoir, Donald managed to give New Zealand room to breathe.
He produced a string of canny touch-finders to ward off the immense challenge.
It was a far cry from 12 months ago when he delivered one of the most horrible cameos off the bench, replacing Carter late, to help Australia come from behind to win 26-24 in Hong Kong.
Asked whether he ever expected he’d need Donald to end the nation’s tournament drought, Henry was blunt: “No, but didn’t he do well, Steve Donald, superb.”
“Stephen Donald came on and played bloody well,” he said. “He kicked what turned out to be the winning goal and gave us field position when we needed it.
“I was nervous the whole game, not just about Stephen Donald, I knew he could handle it.
“I’m just delighted for the boys. We’ve been the top team in the world for a long time, so it’s been a long time coming.”
Both Henry and skipper Richie McCaw lauded Donald as a wonderful team player who was extremely popular among the squad.
“I had a wee thought during the week that he could kick the goal that would make the difference,” McCaw revealed
“He’s a hell of good man and I’m just pleased that he got the opportunity, a couple of weeks ago he never dreamed of being in a World Cup final and today he got to play 50 minutes of one.
“He said he probably he wouldn’t have had 51, that 50 was his limit.
“Everyone around him made it easy for him but he did his job.”
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