adminAUCKLAND. — New Zealand underlined their global superiority by becoming the first country to win back-to-back Rugby World Cup crowns, the perfect send-off into retirement for inspirational captain Richie McCaw.
The flanker, widely regarded as one of the all-time greats, has stepped out of the All Blacks limelight after a record 148 Tests, while teammates Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith headed to the French Top 14.
“That last game, to have that as the lasting memory of the last time on the pitch – pretty satisfying,” said the 34-year-old, a three-time world player of the year, of the 34-17 win over Australia in the World Cup final at Twickenham.
His retirement came hot on the heels of news of the death of ex-All Black winger Jonah Lomu, unexpectedly at his Auckland home at the age of 40 from cardiac arrest related to the chronic kidney disease that cut short his playing career.
“He’s an icon in rugby and I have to represent all the fans that Jonah had in the world,” World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset said.
“This fantastic man delivered a very great message about rugby to the world . . . he terrified defences and thrilled spectators with a brand of running rugby that had never been seen before.”
The Rugby World Cup dominated the year and if the composition of the final, which saw perennial superpower New Zealand defeat Australia, was no surprise, the path to the Twickenham show-piece featured far more upsets than at the previous seven tournaments.
There had long been complaints that the pool phase was all too predictable, with the same usual suspects in the quarter-finals.
Yet on the first weekend of this tournament, Japan beat two-time world champions South Africa 34-32 – the biggest upset the World Cup has known, which bodes well for the hosts of the next World Cup in 2019.
“It sets us up very well commercially for that (2019) World Cup and beyond and it is great for the growth of rugby because all that money will be invested in the game in Japan,” said World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper.
Japan beat Samoa and the United States too, only to become the first side in World Cup history to win three pool matches but not qualify for the knock-out stages.
Tellingly, one of the coaching casualties was Stuart Lancaster, whose England side did not make it out of a tough pool that included the Wallabies, Wales and Fiji.
He has since been replaced by Eddie Jones, who was in charge of Japan. — AFP.
Online Reporter