The 2023 Rugby World Cup final was a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

match played on 28 October 2023 at the

Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

in Saint-Denis,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It marked the culmination of the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

and was played between

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and defending champions,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, with the latter winning by a single point to claim their fourth

Webb Ellis Cup The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the men's Rugby World Cup, the premier competition in men's international rugby union. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as being the inventor of rugby foot ...

, becoming the first nation to do so. South Africa became the first team to ever win back to back Rugby World Cup tournaments away from home, with Siya Kolisi the first ever captain to accomplish the away double. New Zealand and South Africa last played in a Rugby World Cup final in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, which South Africa won 15–12. The two sides had met in five previous World Cup encounters with New Zealand winning three and South Africa winning two. This was the first time that both finalists had already lost a game during the World Cup. For New Zealand this was a record fifth appearance in a final, while South Africa made a fourth appearance and also entered having never lost in a final. The final saw South Africa win a record fourth World Cup title, with both sides having already won the World Cup on three occasions.

Route to the final

New Zealand

New Zealand began their World Cup campaign with a defeat to hosts

in the opening match of the tournament. They would put that result behind them as they went on to win by a considerable margin in all of their remaining

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

matches to qualify for the

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

, with a 71–3 victory over

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, 96–17 against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and 73–0 against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. In the quarter-finals, New Zealand faced

Pool B Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

winners and number 1 ranked in the world

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, where they came out winners in a tight affair with a scoreline of 28–24. In the semi-final at the Stade de France, New Zealand played

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, where The All Blacks defeated Los Pumas 44–6 to reach their fifth Rugby World Cup final, a record as they went ahead of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

who had both reached four finals. The All Blacks were also looking for their record fourth Rugby World Cup title, having won in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

followed by victories in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

South Africa

Defending champions South Africa had reached what was their fourth Rugby World Cup final following a spell of tight margins in the lead up. The Springboks had managed to breeze through

, where despite falling at the Ireland hurdle in a 13–8 defeat, they secured victories over

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

to finish second in the pool and advance to the knockout stage. In the quarter-finals, they faced the hosts France, who had topped Pool A ahead of New Zealand. In a World Cup thriller at the Stade de France, South Africa overcame their French counterparts with a 29–28 victory. In the semi-final, South Africa played England, in a repeat of the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

final. In another tight affair in Saint-Denis, South Africa completed a comeback through a late

Handré Pollard Handré Pollard (born 11 March 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team and in the United Rugby Championship. His regular playing pos ...

penalty to win 16–15 and advance to their fourth Rugby World Cup final where they would attempt to defend their trophy.

Match

Summary

First half

In the 2nd minute, New Zealand's

Shannon Frizell Shannon Michael Frizell (born 11 February 1994) is a Tongan born New Zealand rugby union player. His position is flanker. Early life Frizell was born and raised in Folaha, Tonga and started his childhood playing football for Folaha Football C ...

received a yellow card for falling on top of the leg of

Bongi Mbonambi Mbongeni Theo Mbonambi (born 7 January 1991), known mononymously as Bongi, is a South African professional rugby union player. He currently plays as a hooker for the as well as the South Africa national rugby team. He previously played for th ...

. Mbonambi was forced off for the remainder of the match with a knee injury. South Africa went on to take a 6–0 lead with two penalties converted by

before

Richie Mo'unga Richie Mo'unga (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a first five-eighth for Japan Rugby League One club Toshiba Brave Lupus and the New Zealand national team. Early life Mo'unga was born in Chris ...

scored for New Zealand with a penalty after 17 minutes. Pollard scored another penalty two minutes later to make it 9–3. In the 28th minute, New Zealand's captain

Sam Cane Samuel Jordan Cane (born 13 January 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a flanker for the Japan Rugby League One club Tokyo Sungoliath and the New Zealand national team. He is also the former Captain of the New Zealand n ...

was given a yellow card for a high shoulder tackle to the head of South Africa's

Jesse Kriel Jesse André Kriel (born 15 February 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the Canon Eagles in the Japanese Top League and South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national rugby team. Hi ...

which was later upgraded to a red card after a bunker review. Pollard scored another penalty in the 34th minute before Mo'unga replied with his second penalty to leave the score 12–6 at half-time.

Second half

In the 45th minute, South African captain

Siya Kolisi Siyamthanda "Siya" Kolisi , (born 16 June 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently captains the South Africa national team. Having formerly played for the and Racing 92, he currently plays for Sharks in the URC. ...

received a yellow card for a head high tackle on

Ardie Savea Ardie Suemalo Savea (born 14 October 1993) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a Number 8 or Flanker for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby and Wellington in the Bunnings NPC. He was named the 2023 World Rugby Player of th ...

which was also reviewed for a potential red card. On review, it remained a yellow card. In the 54th minute, New Zealand thought that they had scored a try. Aaron Smith went over the try line in the left corner. However, the TMO review showed that the ball had been knocked on by Ardie Savea before it was released from the initial lineout. They did get a try in the 58th minute.

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a First five-eighth or Fullback for the Blues in Super Rugby and Taranaki in the Bunnings NPC. Barrett won the World Rugby Player of the Year awards ...

went over the try line on the left after an offload from

Mark Tele'a Mark Evander Tele'a (born 6 December 1996) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a Wing for the Blues in Super Rugby and North Harbour in the Bunnings NPC. Club career After showing promising form for during the 2019 Mitre 10 Cu ...

. Richie Mo'unga missed the conversion from the left that would have put New Zealand in front. With 7 minutes to go,

Cheslin Kolbe Cheslin Kolbe (born 28 October 1993) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for Tokyo Sungoliath in the Japan Rugby League One and the South Africa national team. His regular position is wing, but he also plays a ...

received a yellow card for a deliberate knock on and New Zealand missed the critical penalty to seal their victory. South Africa held on to win 12–11 and claim their fourth World Cup title.

Details

Notes: * South Africa became the first team to win a fourth World Cup title. * South Africa became the first team to win successive World Cup titles away from home. * South Africa became the second team (after New Zealand in

) to retain the World Cup. * This was the third time that the World Cup final winner earned their victory without scoring a try – a feat previously achieved by South Africa in

and

. *

(New Zealand) became the first player to receive a red card in a World Cup final. * The four cards issued in the match (one red and three yellows) set a new record for most cards issued in a World Cup final. There had been just one card issued across the previous nine finals – a yellow card against New Zealand's Ben Smith in

. * This was the first World Cup final in which both finalists had lost a match during the pool stages. * This was the first World Cup final in which all four match officials were appointed from the same union (

). * Brothers

Jordie Barrett Jordan Matthew Barrett (born 17 February 1997) is a New Zealand-born rugby union player who currently plays as a centre or fullback for Irish side Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. He represents New Zealand internationally. He previous ...

and Scott Barrett all started for New Zealand – the first time that three siblings played in a World Cup final. *

(New Zealand) became the first player to score a try in 2 separate Rugby World Cup finals, having scored a try in the 2015 RWC Final and another try in the 2023 RWC Final.

Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup Final, 2023

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2020s in Île-de-France Sport in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis 2023 in South African rugby union 2023 in New Zealand rugby union History of rugby union matches between New Zealand and South Africa New Zealand national rugby union team matches South Africa national rugby union team matches

Rugby World Cup final The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition established in 1987. It is contested by the List of rugby union playing countries, men's national teams of the member unions of the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and takes plac ...