South Africa Wins 2nd Consecutive Rugby World Cup... New Zealand Defeated by 1 Point

New win with 12-11… Defeated rival New Zealand to become the first 4-time champion

South Africa won the 2023 World Rugby (WR) World Cup, achieving the feat of winning the tournament for the second time in a row.

The South African national team narrowly defeated New Zealand 12-11 in the final of the tournament held at the Stade de France in Paris, France on the 28th (local time) and became the final winner.

With this, South Africa succeeded in winning the Rugby World Cup for the second time in a row, following the victory in the 2019 Japan Tournament. 바카라사이트

South Africa, which won the world championship after participating in the 1995 competition held in its home country for the first time, made history by winning the title four times by standing at the top again in 2019 and 2023, following the 2007 competition in France.

South Africa is the only country to have won the title four times.

Previously, it was tied with New Zealand (3 times).

South Africa, which led 12-6 in the first half, fell behind by one point, but maintained its lead until the end, beating its southern hemisphere rival team New Zealand and winning the championship.

For New Zealand, it was painful to see captain Sam Kane sent off in the 29th minute of the first half after receiving a second yellow card.

Despite being outnumbered, they fought hard in the second half, but were unable to overcome South Africa, who had a 6-point lead in the first half.

According to the Associated Press, Kane became the first player in Rugby World Cup history to receive a red card in the final.

The last time the two teams met in the final was during the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, the third tournament.

At that time, the home team South Africa narrowly beat New Zealand and won the game, 15-12.

South Africa also defeated France and England by one point in the quarterfinals and semifinals, 29-28 and 16-15, respectively.

England defeated Argentina 26-23 in the 3rd and 4th place match and took third place.

In South Africa, rugby is a representative and popular sport, and is attracting attention as a medium for overcoming social conflicts such as racial discrimination.

South Africa, which was unable to participate in the 1987 and 1991 Rugby World Cups due to apartheid issues, created a scene at the 1995 domestic tournament to spread a strong message of promoting racial harmony.

When his country's team defeated New Zealand to win the championship, former President Nelson Mandela personally handed the championship trophy to the white captain, creating a scene where rugby, which had been recognized as the exclusive domain of whites, was transformed into a tool to herald the end of racism.

Siya Kolisi, the first black captain of the South African Rugby Team, told reporters including AFP after the game, "If you're not South African, you won't understand what this win means to our country.

It's not just about rugby."

At the same time, he said, “I want to say ‘Thank you so much’ to the people of South Africa,” he said, adding, “If we are together, anything is possible.

We have shown that we can achieve it in any field and any workplace.”