New Zealand will on Saturday make their first appearance in a World Cup final in the northern hemisphere after a narrow semi-final victory that their head coach, Steve Hansen, said should explode the myth that rugby union in the southern one is soft.
The All Blacks trailed 12-7 at the break but fought back in the second half as two of their cap centurions, Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, took charge in the pouring rain as South Africa suffered a repeat of 1999 when they lost at Twickenham in the semi-final.
“The Rugby Championship has taken a few smacks from people up this way, but it is a physical competition, as we have just seen,” said Hansen whose team are aiming to become the first to retain the World Cup. “If you have not got physicality you cannot play and if you have not got skill you cannot play. I am delighted at the composure the players showed in a do‑or‑die game but tribute should be paid to South Africa who played a full part.”
It will extend the international career of the Kiwis’ captain McCaw to 148 caps. “I am proud of what the guys did,” he said. “We knew it would be a big step up and it was. To come out on the right side is satisfying. Our indiscipline let us down in the first half and we were under the pump, but the difference in the end was the couple of opportunities we turned into tries.”
The South Africa had coach, Heyneke Meyer, said he was proud of the way his players had responded after the opening weekend defeat to Japan had led to widespread condemnation at home. “We gave it everything against New Zealand and in the end it came down to a kick,” he said. “We had our chance and we should have taken it. We should be in the final and I am never someone who will settle for second best. The game was in our hands and no matter how near we were to winning, coming close is never good enough for South Africa.”
Asked if he would like another four years in charge, he replied: “I am here to serve. I am really disappointed because I thought we would do it today. We wanted to make the country proud and some 80% of the squad will be around for the 2019 World Cup. It has the potential to become one of the best teams in the world.”
It was New Zealand’s seventh victory over South Africa in eight matches but for the Springbok flanker Schalk Burger it signified a victory of sorts just to be playing, after contracting bacterial meningitis two years ago. He said: “I did not think I would have this day then. We have come back well after losing to Japan, but unfortunately the All Blacks were just a little bit better in yet another close match with us. I’ve seen this movie before and it’s bloody horrible. It is painful to talk about; some days you get your reward and on others you do not.”
