South Africa defended their Rugby World Cup crown on Saturday with a hard-fought one-point win over New Zealand, becoming the most successful nation in the tournament's history.
By taking a 12-11 victory at a soggy Stade de France, the Springboks have now won all four Rugby World Cup finals they have reached -- in 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023 -- and now lead for most tournament wins, one ahead of New Zealand's three.
"At the last World Cup the country was hopeful that maybe there was a chance we could win it, and what transpired afterward was the belief between this team," said South Africa captain Siya Kolisi.
"There is not a lot of things going right in our country and we have the privilege to be able to do what we love and inspire people in life, not just sports people."
A 28th-minute high tackle by All Blacks captain Sam Cane that resulted in a yellow card which was upgraded to red proved a turning point in the match.
"I am so proud of the group the way they fought back and gave ourselves a shot of winning that game. It speaks volumes for the group as a whole...there is a lot of heartbreak in the sheds right now," said Cane.
When Cane was sent to the sideline, New Zealand were already trailing a penalty-kicking duel 9-3. With a one-man disadvantage, their task became all the more difficult.
A penalty to each team before the break meant the score was 12-6 as the players walked off the pitch.
A six-point lead and man advantage put the Springboks, who won each of their knockout games at the tournament by a single point, in a strong position for the second half.
Soon, though, it was South Africa who were without their captain as Kolisi was shown yellow for head-to-head contact in a 45th-minute tackle.
Buoyed by this, New Zealand went on the attack, with Aaron Smith crossing for a try in the 54th minute after a Richie Mo'unga line break, only for the score to be waved off for an earlier knock on.
The All Blacks responded quickly to this setback, with Beauden Barrett crossing minutes later to make the score 12-11. Mo'unga missed the chance to take the lead when he sent his conversion attempt wide.
Jordie Barrett had a chance to play hero for New Zealand with a long-range penalty after a 73rd-minute yellow card to Tokyo Sungoliath's Cheslin Kolbe, but he missed his opportunity and South Africa held on to seal the title.
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