2011 Rugby World Cup Final

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2011 Rugby World Cup Final
200px
Event 2011 Rugby World Cup
France New Zealand
France New Zealand
7 8
Date 23 October 2011
Venue Eden Park, Auckland
Man of the Match Thierry Dusautoir (France)
Referee Craig Joubert (South Africa)[1]
Attendance 61,079
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The 2011 Rugby World Cup Final was a rugby union match between France and New Zealand, to determine the winner of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The match took place on 23 October 2011 at Eden Park, in Auckland, New Zealand. New Zealand won the match 8–7, the slimmest margin by which any Rugby World Cup Final has been decided.

New Zealand were considered to be favourites, as they went into the final unbeaten and the French had lost two pool games, including one to New Zealand.[2] The French team also experienced a player revolt against their coach Marc Lièvremont, confirmed after the tournament by veteran back-rower Imanol Harinordoquy.[3] The match was a close-fought and tight contest with few line-breaks. Each side scored one try and the outcome was determined by kicks – the All Blacks kicked a penalty goal whereas the French managed only the conversion of their try. The result was the lowest score of any final in World Cup history.

The match echoed the 1987 Rugby World Cup Final which was also held at Eden Park between the same teams, and also the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final in that both teams had progressed from the same pool. In the 2011 pool stage, France lost to New Zealand and Tonga, and it was only Canada's previous upset 25–20 victory over Tonga that allowed the French to progress. New Zealand won every match it played in the tournament.

New Zealand's victory marked the first time that a nation had held the World Cup and Women's Rugby World Cup, as the Black Ferns had held their title since 1998.

Path to the final

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See also: 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool A and 2011 Rugby World Cup knockout stage
France Round New Zealand
Opponent Result Pool stage Opponent Result
 Japan 47–21 Match 1  Tonga 41–10
 Canada 46–19 Match 2  Japan 83–7
 New Zealand 17–37 Match 3  France 37–17
 Tonga 14–19 Match 4  Canada 79–15
Team
Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
 New Zealand 4 4 0 0 36 240 49 +191 4 20
 France 4 2 0 2 13 124 96 +28 3 11
 Tonga 4 2 0 2 7 80 98 −18 1 9
 Canada 4 1 1 2 9 82 168 −86 0 6
 Japan 4 0 1 3 8 69 184 −115 0 2
Final standing
Team
Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
 New Zealand 4 4 0 0 36 240 49 +191 4 20
 France 4 2 0 2 13 124 96 +28 3 11
 Tonga 4 2 0 2 7 80 98 −18 1 9
 Canada 4 1 1 2 9 82 168 −86 0 6
 Japan 4 0 1 3 8 69 184 −115 0 2
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
 England 19–12 Quarter-finals  Argentina 33–10
 Wales 9–8 Semi-finals  Australia 20–6

Match summary

Choice of colours

France won the toss for choice of colours ahead of the final at Eden Park, but agreed to play in their white change kit to allow New Zealand to play in their traditional all-black kit.[4]

Haka and French response

After the national anthems, the New Zealand players performed their traditional haka as the French team stared back and then advanced towards them in a V-shaped formation before fanning out into a straight line.[5] The French had decided to meet the haka in this fashion on Sunday morning, and French captain Thierry Dusautoir stated that "it was a great moment".[6] They were later fined £2,500 by the IRB for crossing the half-way line,[7] a decision that was labeled "pedantic" and the "final insult".[8]

First half

In a match of "grim physical attrition",[9] New Zealand scored first. From a line-out in the French 22, Tony Woodcock received the ball and broke through a hole in the French defence to score his first try of the World Cup. Piri Weepu, who had already missed a penalty kick, failed with his conversion effort. Weepu missed another attempt in the 25th minute.[10] Nine minutes later, New Zealand's Aaron Cruden, the team's third choice fly-half, only playing due to injuries to Dan Carter and Colin Slade, hyper-extended his knee, and was replaced by Stephen Donald.[11] The French were forced to defend stoically for much of the first half, due to New Zealand playing a good running game, but late in the half François Trinh-Duc missed a drop goal attempt and had a run to the line cut off by Weepu.[10]

Second half

File:Thierry Dusautoir..jpg
French captain Thierry Dusautoir was named man of the match.

The French came back into the game in the second half, although it did not begin well for them: Dimitri Yachvili missed the team's first penalty attempt after two minutes, and Stephen Donald pushed New Zealand further into the lead by successfully kicking a penalty two minutes later. The French reacted straight away: Trinh-Duc made a run towards the line, and after several attempts, Dusautoir scored a try, which Trinh-Duc converted to take the score to 8–7. Trinh-Duc attempted a penalty kick from 48 metres in the 65th minute, but missed the goal, and thereafter there were few chances for either side.[10] The French captain, Dusautoir, who was described as "enjoying a heroic game in defence" by The Daily Telegraph's Brendan Gallagher, was named man of the match.[12]

Another historic milestone occurred when Jean-Marc Doussain came on as a late substitute for France. He became the first player ever to make his Test debut in a Rugby World Cup Final.[13]

Match details

23 October 2011
21:00 NZDT (UTC+13)
France  7–8  New Zealand
Try: Dusautoir 47' c
Con: Trinh-Duc (1/1)		 Report Try: Woodcock 15' m
Con: Weepu (0/1)
Pen: Weepu (0/2) Donald (1/1) 46'
Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 61,079[14]
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
France
New Zealand
FB 15 Maxime Médard
RW 14 Vincent Clerc Substituted off 46'
OC 13 Aurélien Rougerie
IC 12 Maxime Mermoz
LW 11 Alexis Palisson
FH 10 Morgan Parra Sent to blood bin 12' to 18' Substituted off 23'
SH 9 Dimitri Yachvili Substituted off 76'
N8 8 Imanol Harinordoquy
OF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c)
BF 7 Julien Bonnaire
RL 5 Lionel Nallet
LL 4 Pascal Papé Substituted off 70'
TP 3 Nicolas Mas
HK 2 William Servat Substituted off 65'
LP 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux Substituted off 65'
Replacements:
HK 16 Dimitri Szarzewski Substituted in 65'
PR 17 Fabien Barcella Substituted in 65'
LK 18 Julien Pierre Substituted in 70'
FL 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo
SH 20 Jean-Marc Doussain Substituted in 76'
FH 21 Francois Trinh-Duc Substituted in 12' Substituted off 18' Substituted in 23'
FB 22 Damien Traille Substituted in 46'
Coach:
France Marc Lièvremont
350px
FB 15 Israel Dagg
RW 14 Cory Jane
OC 13 Conrad Smith
IC 12 Ma'a Nonu Substituted off 76'
LW 11 Richard Kahui
FH 10 Aaron Cruden Substituted off 34'
SH 9 Piri Weepu Substituted off 50'
N8 8 Kieran Read
OF 7 Richie McCaw (c)
BF 6 Jerome Kaino
RL 5 Sam Whitelock Substituted off 49'
LL 4 Brad Thorn
TP 3 Owen Franks
HK 2 Keven Mealamu Substituted off 49'
LP 1 Tony Woodcock
Replacements:
HK 16 Andrew Hore Substituted in 49'
PR 17 Ben Franks
LK 18 Ali Williams Substituted in 49'
FL 19 Adam Thomson
SH 20 Andy Ellis Substituted in 50'
FH 21 Stephen Donald Substituted in 34'
CE 22 Sonny Bill Williams Substituted in 76'
Coach:
New Zealand Graham Henry

Man of the Match:
Thierry Dusautoir (France)

Touch judges:
Alain Rolland (Ireland)[15]
Nigel Owens (Wales)[15]
Television match official:
Giulio de Santis (Italy)[15]

Statistics

New Zealand France
Tries 1 1
Conversions 0 1
Penalties
(attempts)		 1(3) 0(2)
Drop goals
(attempts)		 0(0) 0(1)
Scrums
(won/lost)		 (7/0) (6/0)
Line-outs
(won/lost)		 (14/2) (15/2)
Turnovers 3 4
Tackles
(made/attempts)		 (111/120) (87/97)
Line breaks 2 2
Possession 45% 55%
Territory 45% 55%
Time in opp. 22 4'34" 6'35"
Errors
(hands/kicks/restart)		 (3/2/1) (7/3/0)
Possession kicked
(in play/touch/errors)		 1 2
Penalties conceded 7 10
Replacements 5 7
Yellow cards 0 0
Red cards 0 0
Reference: IRB[16]

Controversy

Craig Joubert's refereeing was heavily criticised by the French team[17][18][19][20] but also by many international observers:[21][22] "ignoring offside play and breakdown indiscretions that should have cost the home team penalties" according to Australia's Sydney Morning Herald Greg Growden,[23] he "refereed France but not the All Blacks",[24] "infuriating even neutrals" according to British newspaper The Guardian .[25] The Irish Independent stated laconically that "France were significantly better over 80 minutes" and "Craig Joubert did not referee evenly" and "some of the decisions were disgraceful for a game of this magnitude".[26]

Richie McCaw and New Zealand coach Graham Henry pointed out that New Zealand had deliberately tried to play the game in a way that did not result in them conceding penalties, especially in the second half.[27][28] After the game McCaw expressed surprise that Aurélien Rougerie was not cited by the IRB for gouging at his eyes and noted that the final became "filthy" as it went on but made no mention of Joubert or his performance.[29]

Dramatisation

In July 2013, it was announced that a made-for-TV movie, to be called "The Kick", would be made.[30] The telemovie focused on Stephen Donald, and his successful penalty kick early in the second half that ultimately provided the winning points. Donald had been unwanted for the All Blacks squad prior to the final, due to some previous poor international performances. However, injuries to Carter, Slade (both earlier in the tournament), Cruden and Weepu led to the opportunity for a "charming story of redemption".[31] David de Lautour was cast as Donald.[32] The movie debuted on New Zealand television on 10 August 2014.[33]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ McCaw, Richie and McGee, Greg, The Open Side published Hachette New Zealand Ltd
  28. ↑ Howitt, Bob, Graham Henry: The Final World published Harper Collins Limited
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
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