by Pierre Grange (level B2)
This Saturday, October 28, the South Africa - New Zealand final marked the end of the 10th Rugby World Cup, after two months of competition.
For the second time since 2007, France was in charge of organising the World Cup.
What to
remember from this event?
Once again,
it is a team from the Southern Hemisphere which wins.
The North has
only won once: it was in 2003, when England (at home) inscribed their name on
the prize list.
This year,
the most playful nations (France, Ireland, New Zealand) were not rewarded and,
for the most part, were beaten by the rigour and physical struggle imposed by
South Africa.
It’s probably not rugby that pleases, but it’s rugby that wins.
Positive points / Images that will stay in my memory:
*First of all, a successful organization. Full stadiums. In short, a real popular success.
*Secondly, Portugal's fantastic
performance against Fiji.
At the end of the match, the Portuguese captain declared - tired but happy - “I can die now!”
*But in my
opinion, I will only remember one match: Ireland -New Zealand.
What a
fantastic battle between these two teams!
In terms of
the game but also in terms of the atmosphere.
All you had
to do was listen to the Cranberries' song, Zombie, sung by the
green tide of Irish supporters in the Stade de France.
Click on the photo to hear the atmosphere!
Unfortunately,
this was not enough for Ireland to reach the semi-finals.
However, Ireland was ranked first in the world rankings at the beginning of the World Cup.
The negative points and disappointments.
To be brief, I will only remember two disappointments:
*Of course
and above all: France's defeat in the quarter-final against South Africa.
Years of work
and training to get there. What a disappointment!
This defeat
broke the beautiful national atmosphere.
All French
people dreamt of a France-New Zealand final, like for the opening match of
this World Cup.
Unfortunately
the Springboks and the refereeing were present.
Yes, it is
one of the causes (but it is not the only one!) of the defeat of the French
team.
The French
supporters are not ready to forget the referee in charge of the quarter-final between
France and South Africa.
Criticism of
refereeing, although quite rare in rugby, seemed to become more widespread as
the competition progressed,
Of course,
the rules are complex, the referee can make mistakes. But when certain teams
are penalised for faults and other teams not punished for the same mistakes?
Where is the
fairness? This influenced the result for several matches, particularly for
France…
So, in the end, what do we think of the South Africans’ victory?
Springboks
have always seemed to be on mission for their country.
First of all,
we must mention the South African national anthem (Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika) sung
at the beginning of each match.
Do you know
that this anthem is written in several languages?
It truly
serves as a link for this nation, the rainbow nation!
South
Africa's matches and victories always have a very special flavour.
I don't know
if you have seen the film INVICTUS directed by Clint EASTWOOD with Matt Damon
and Morgan Freeman about the world cup of rugby in South Africa in 1995?
It sums up well the state of mind that drives this team.
The
plot:
This film
tells about the relationship between Nelson Mandela, elected president the year
before, and Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African rugby team.
To unify the
country and give each citizen a reason for pride, Mandela focuses on sport.
What was
their crazy bet? Win the World Cup. And they suceeded!
Finally, for Springboks, the most important is not really the ranking but rather what victory can represent.
The one who
best sums up this state of mind is Siya Kalisi, the South African captain at
the end of the final:
"People who
are not from South Africa don’t understand what it means for our country. It's
not just about the game. Our country goes through such a lot,” he said. “I want
to tell the people of South Africa, Thank you so much. This team just shows
what you can do.”
This will be
the final word!
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