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As far as rugby games go this wasn’t Homebush in 2000 or Ellis Park in 2013. But as far as world cup finals go, this was pretty darn good – physical, willing, open and skilful, and tension filled.
At least until Australia’s gutsy second half comeback was absorbed and ultimately rejected by the world champion All Blacks.
New Zealand’s reign at the top of the world rugby tree – a measly three losses since the 2011 World Cup – neither guaranteed them a result in this final nor made them deserving winners. This was a cup that had to be won on its merits.
But it is undeniably healthy and just that the world’s premier side, playing the best rugby on the day, was able to lift the cup, in a manner which provided no room for argument or dispute as to their legitimacy.
No longer will New Zealand players and fans have to endure taunts about choking, suffering Gallic phobia, or winning only at home. That’s a lot of hoodoos snuffed out in one fell swoop right there.
In the aftermath, attention will now turn to the All Black careers of several great players, who will no longer be seen in black. These players will treasure and respect the fact that they were able to bow out on their own terms, at the pinnacle of achievement.
Few players are so lucky.
Other coaches will see this as a window of opportunity. No side can lose so much experience and capability in one hit and not be affected in some way.
They will need to move quickly however. No matter how shrewdly Steve Hansen has planned this World Cup assault, he has also been careful to bring new talent into the program, to smooth the transition as much as possible.
Accordingly, he will be able to call on a nucleus of players who are relatively young in years but old in experience. Dane Coles, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Aaron Smith, Aaron Cruden, Julian Savea, and skipper-in-waiting, Keiran Read to highlight a few.
The next wave contains players of talent and potential, like Codie Taylor, Nepo Laulala, Patrick Tuipolotu, Akira Ioane, Ardie Savea, Nehe Milner-Skudder and Waisake Naholo for starters. With that kind of resource, predictions of New Zealand coming back to the pack may be nothing more than wishful thinking.
The midfield may prove to be the hardest hole to fill, and there will be high hopes and expectations set for players like Malakai Fekitoa and George Moala.
The All Blacks also won plenty of friends off the field, their willingness to engage fans greatly appreciated. This was reflective of the general spirit in which the rugby was played by all sides – time and time again acts of sportsmanship and warm respect for opponents shone through.
Not only a credit to the players involved, it undoubtedly paints the game, and the values contained within it, in a positive light to anyone with a passing interest.
This was highlighted in remarkable fashion post-game, when Sonny-Bill Williams handed over his winners medal to a young fan who had been tackled by a security guard, as the All Blacks took their lap of honour.
This was no slight on the guard, who was simply (and effectively) doing his job. And, despite the feel-good factor among the fans, ground managers around the world will curse Williams for potentially emboldening other potential pitch invaders, seeking similar reward.
Certainly the ground managers for this World Cup deserve accolades for providing pitches conducive to positive rugby. Even Cardiff, a perennial slab of rolled mud, looked a picture. Which leaves only Paris and the Blacktown cricket oval to get their act together.
It was obvious that this was a special World Cup early on, when 90,000 fans attended Wembley for New Zealand versus Argentina, a ‘neutral’ pool match if you please. Despite England’s early exit, enthusiasm for tickets never abated, with a dash under 2,500,000 seats being occupied, a fantastic 97 per cent fill rate of available tickets.
There were plenty of other winners beyond the All Blacks. Despite Australia coming up short in the final – and let’s face it, the predictions by many experts of a Wallabies win were a classic case of the heart ruling the head – they have made massive strides in this tournament.
All fans want their side to win, but where that doesn’t happen, the default position is to lose with honour, to go down fighting. This Wallabies side has a healthy culture, an improving scrum and a smart and respected coach, and they finish the tournament with great momentum.
Michael Cheika does have some difficult days ahead however, if he is to unlock further improvement. The Wallabies lack real steel in the middle and back row. Praise was rightly heaped on Scott Fardy for his fine World Cup, yet Jerome Kaino’s imperious final put that into perspective.
Will Skelton will potentially add missing grunt, although he won’t help a weak lineout. Likewise, David Pocock, Michael Hooper and Sean McMahon are individually three of Cheika’s very best players, yet to fix the lineout, ball carrying and offensive defence problems, he may have to face the reality that he can afford only one of those players on the field at any one time.
If the All Blacks showed one thing in the final, it was that for all the hot air and ‘mine’s bigger than yours’ discussions about scrum dominance, the lineout is the ‘new black’ of attacking weaponry. The speed of the ball off the top and the flatness of Aaron Smith’s pass instantly put their midfield runners over the advantage line.
Compared to the depth at which other backlines operated, Argentina in particular, this was a telling difference between the very best and the also-rans.
The refereeing fraternity was another group to emerge from the tournament as winners. Rugby can be an exceedingly complex game, and those fans who can’t let go of the occasional missed forward pass or 50/50 call which falls the wrong way, totally miss the point.
Despite nervousness about over-eager TMO’s and an inconsistent judiciary process, there is ample evidence that, for the most part, the on-field control of the game is in very good hands.
Like no other World Cup before it, the standard of rugby played throughout the pool matches and sudden-death phase, was uniformly high. All sides showed positive intent and there is no question, even if we pretend that Japan v South Africa didn’t really happen, that global improvements in coaching and conditioning are bringing the sides closer together.
Where previous mismatches might have seen 12-14 tries scored by the tier one sides, those match-ups in this tournament typically yielded 6-8 tries. World Rugby has a real opportunity, off the back of a massive financial injection from this World Cup, to continue to invest in the development of the game worldwide, and deliver greater competitiveness again.
They must strive to ensure that countries aren’t left to their own devices, that Japan continues to progress, and that they take the USA and Canada with them. And that Georgia becomes the next Japan, and so on.
They must also be pro-active in not allowing the Pacific Island nations to lose any ground. Fiji were better than their results showed, but Tonga and Samoa showed signs of vulnerability.
Previous semi-finals and finals have largely been tight and dour, with few tries, but this World Cup delivered 11 tries across the semis and final.
What this shows is that the lawmakers have the balance about right. There is value in pursuing experimental laws in competitions like the NRC, but on the evidence of this tournament, there is one compelling reason not to introduce three-point conversions or a conveyor belt of short-arm penalties – the game is not broken and doesn’t need that sort of fixing.
So while this is a wonderful week for All Blacks fans, it is also a great time to be a rugby fan. To borrow the words of one high-profile, celebrity fan, perched in the Twickenham stands for the final, we should all be feeling ‘lucky, lucky, lucky’.