The Rugby World Cup final has delivered the ultimate grudge match. Seven weeks of drama, heartbreak and audacious ambition have been stripped away, and what remains is exactly what this sport produces when the stakes are at their absolute highest — New Zealand against South Africa. The French euphoria and the wall of Irish green feel like ancient history. Instead, the two southern hemisphere giants who have claimed six of the nine World Cups between them stand toe to toe in Paris.
Rugby World Cup Final Stakes Have Never Been Higher
Siya Kolisi, the Springboks captain, said it plainly: “It’s huge. We’ve prepared as hard as we can. We know what to expect. I don’t think as a player it will ever get any bigger.” That is not coachspeak. That is a man who understands history in his bones.
Kolisi was four years old when the Springboks lifted the trophy in 1995. That final — Jonah Lomu terrorising defences, Joel Stransky’s drop-goal, Nelson Mandela presenting the Webb Ellis Cup to Francois Pienaar — remains one of sport’s most iconic moments. Twenty-eight years on, South Africa chase a fourth title, a feat no nation has achieved. Head coach Jacques Nienaber will move to Leinster after this tournament. Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus’ contract expires in 2025. Several of this squad are the wrong side of 30. This is their moment, and they know it.
Furthermore, ten of the starting fifteen were on the pitch for the 2019 final against England in Yokohama. There is nothing accidental about this Springboks machine. Erasmus and Nienaber first met Kolisi at the Western Province academy, and that trio has since masterminded back-to-back World Cup campaigns with ruthless precision. The 7-1 bench split — seven forwards, one back — has defined their tournament. Against Ireland in the pool stage and then brutally against France and England in the knockouts, the “bomb squad” turned matches on their axis with crushing forward power.
Manie Libbok, their first-choice fly-half throughout the competition, was withdrawn after 30 minutes against England and subsequently cut from the 23-man squad entirely. Handré Pollard steps in at ten. Faf de Klerk starts at nine. No specialist scrum-half on the bench, with Willie le Roux the sole back among the replacements. The message could not be clearer: this will be decided up front, in the dirt, where it always is. “World Cup finals are not necessarily the most spectacular affairs,” Nienaber said. “It’s going to be a grind.”
All Blacks Rebuild in the Shadows — Now They’re Ready to Strike
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s journey to this final has been quietly extraordinary. BBC Sport and the wider rugby world had written Ian Foster’s All Blacks off after a miserable run that saw them lose six of eight matches in 2022. The New Zealand Herald ran a front-page editorial on 7 August 2022 demanding change after a 26-10 defeat to South Africa in Mbombela — their worst run of form in modern history. Six days later, the All Blacks beat the Springboks 35-22 at Ellis Park. Foster kept his job.
The rehabilitation has been remarkable. They opened this World Cup with a heavy defeat to France, then methodically built momentum in the background. By the time the knockout rounds arrived, they were ferocious — eliminating Ireland 28-24 in a match of pulsating intensity before obliterating Argentina 44-6 in the semifinal. Their replacements even have a name: “Easy Company”, drawn from the story of the 101st Airborne Division in the Second World War, inspired by the television series Band of Brothers which the squad have been watching at their hotel on the western edge of Paris.
Richie McCaw and Dan Carter — two of the greatest All Blacks of any generation — visited the camp this week. Sam Whitelock, named on the bench with Brodie Retallick starting, stands 80 minutes away from becoming the first player in history to win three Rugby World Cups. Star fly-half Richie Mo’unga, despite injury concerns, retained his number ten jersey. The All Blacks made just one change to their starting XV and one to their bench — no tactical overhauls, no panic. Just quiet, steely confidence.
Scrum-half Aaron Smith will play his final Test match in an All Blacks shirt on Saturday. “He needs a tap on the head sometimes when he gets too excited, but he is in a good place,” Foster said. Hooker Dane Coles, who retires from rugby after this tournament, was omitted from the matchday squad entirely — the toughest selection Foster admitted he has made as a coach.
A Rivalry That Transcends Rugby
Ultimately, both camps understand that what happens inside the Stade de France reaches far beyond the scoreboard. “I don’t think it will happen in our lifetime again to have two teams like this,” Kolisi said. “When we win, South Africa wins.” Brodie Retallick echoed that sentiment from the All Blacks’ perspective: “We are here representing New Zealand. We’ve got a lot of messages over the last couple of weeks. We’re here to represent the country, the jersey, and ourselves as individuals.”
The sport itself faces significant challenges — financial uncertainty, governance questions, and a clouded future. World Rugby spent much of this week trying to chart a course forward. Those conversations will resume on Sunday. But on Saturday, none of that matters. For 80 minutes, the most compelling rivalry in rugby settles the biggest question in the game. The 1995 final echoes down the years — but these two teams are here to write something entirely their own.
Foster put it best: “That was an epic, and everyone’s hoping this will be the same.” After everything that has unfolded over seven extraordinary weeks, how could it be anything less? Find out how the final unfolded in our Springboks Rugby World Cup history feature.