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South Africa concede their first ever World Cup final try
By Josh Raisey
After 320 minutes across over three-and-a-half matches of action, South Africa have conceded their first ever World Cup final try.
The All Blacks tried in 1995 and failed even with extra time, then England had two bites of the cherry in 2007 and 2019 and came up short both times. It has taken four matches for a side to finally cross the Springboks' whitewash in a final, with the All Blacks' fullback Beauden Barrett doing the honours at the Stade de France.
Even then the All Blacks made hard work of scoring the try, and barely came close to breaching the Boks' defence throughout the entirety of the first-half as the reigning champions came out the blocks flying with the energy and aggression that they lacked the week before against England.
Barrett was in support to collect an offload from winger Mark Telea to dot down in the corner on 58 minutes following a period of sustained pressure on South Africa's line for what was the first try of the match following an hour of penalties. The try made the score 12-11 to South Africa after Richie Mo'unga failed to convert the try.
The All Blacks thought they had scored their first try a few minutes before when Aaron Smith was on the end of a Mo'unga break, but the try was ruled out for a knock on at a maul beforehand.
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Latest Comments
Don't think you've watched enough. I'll take him over anything I's seen so far. But let's see how the future pans out. I'm quietly confident we have a row of 10's lined uo who would each start in many really good teams.
Go to commentsHopefully Joe stays where he is. That would mean Les, McKellar, larkham and Cron should as well. It’s the stability we need in the state programs. But, if Joe goes, RA with its current financial situation will be forced into promoting from within. And this will likely destabilise other areas.
To better understand some of the entrenched bitterness of those outside of NZ and NSW (as an example 😂), Nic, there is probably a comparison to the old hard heads of welsh rugby who are still stuck in the 1970s. Before the days where clubs merged, professionalism started, and the many sharp knives were put into the backs of those who loved the game more than everyone else. I’m sure you know a few... But given your comparison of rugby in both wales and Australia, there are a few north of the tweed that will never trust a kiwi or NSWelshman because of historical events and issues over the history of the game. It is what it is. For some, time does not heal all wounds. And it is still festering away in some people. Happy holidays to you. All the best in 2025.
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