RWC Final: NEW ZEALAND v AUSTRALIA, 31 October

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NEW ZEALAND v AUSTRALIA

31 October 2015
16:00 BST (UTC+01)
Twickenham, London

Live on ITV1

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Wayne Barnes (England)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

A. Head to Head

154 Played 154
105 Won 42
7 Drawn 7
42 Lost 105
3,126 Points 2,413

B. Recent Form

15 August 2015
Eden Park, Auckland
41 – 13 to New Zealand

8 August 2015
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
27 – 19 to Australia

18 October 2014
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
28 – 29 to New Zealand

23 August 2014
Eden Park, Auckland
51 – 20 to New Zealand

16 August 2014
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
12 – 12 draw

19 October 2013
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
41 – 33 to New Zealand

24 August 2013
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
27 – 16 to New Zealand

17 August 2013
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
29 – 47 to New Zealand

20 October 2012
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
18 – 18 draw

25 August 2012
Eden Park, Auckland
22 – 0 to New Zealand

18 August 2012
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
19 – 27 to New Zealand

16 October 2011
Eden Park, Auckland
20 – 6 to New Zealand

27 August 2011
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
25 – 20 to Australia

6 August 2011
Eden Park, Auckland
30 – 14 to New Zealand

30 October 2010
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
26 – 24 to Australia

C. TEAMS:

NEW ZEALAND

Ben Smith, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Julian Savea, Dan Carter, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (c), Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Joe Moody

Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Ben Franks, Charlie Faumuina, Victor Vito, Sam Cane, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Beauden Barrett, Sonny Bill Williams

AUSTRALIA

Israel Folau; Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; Scott Sio, Stephen Moore (captain), Sekope Kepu, Kane Douglas, Rob Simmons, Scott Fardy, Michael Hooper, David Pocock.

Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, James Slipper, Greg Holmes, Dean Mumm, Ben McCalman, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Kurtley Beale

emack2 wrote:The end of an era,and the laying of some ghosts,NZ v France 5-2,NZvSA 2-2,Aus vNZ 2-2.
Well done both sides,Well  all sides,especially those who pulled of the unexpected.Japan,
Argentina,and all the rest.
Players who gave there all hopefully the NH sides will step back before carrying out to
many changes.
Finally DAN the MAN finished a RWC on his feet written off by those who should have known
better.Farewell Captain Fantastic my you retire in peace.and the rest of the Giants.

Hope you enjoyed the tournament, Alan.

And the best team won, ultimately in some style though Australia made a game of it. A fine way for a handful of the greatest players ever to chase an egg to sign off.

Wow, Sonny Bill gave his winners medal away to some kid in the crowd.

What a guy

Probably figured his medal cabinet needs room for his Olympic gold medal coming up

Probably figured his medal cabinet needs room for his Olympic gold medal coming up

Congratulations NZ best team I've ever seen in 20 odd years of watching rugby...actually make that the best team in any sport....best final too - well done to the wallabies too for such an amazing performance on top of probably the toughest run to the final ever.

Totally lost for superlatives - what an awesome RWC. Watching that makes it easier that Ireland didn't make it because that was just on another planet and the NH teams have a lot of work to do.

Dan Carter was a deserving motm, we'll never see the likes of him and McCaw again

Congrats to both sides - superb final

New Zealand thoroughly deserved to retain their RWC and to be the first side to win it 3 times.

Respect to an awesome side full of awesome and really nice players. A credit to your country.

I thought the Aussies did really well and I am grateful that England were not exposed on such a stage.

Great game between the two best sides in the tournament. Some great rugby and a fast and flowing game!

Nigel did well, he missed that forward pass and the odd little knock on, but generally allowed the game to ebb and flow with the minimum of interruption. The only negative on his performance was allowing himself to be influenced by the TMO on the sin binning when he clearly though a penalty was enough.

Great tournament overall, my only complaint has been the bias shown against the smaller teams by the organisers and officials. I accept its all about money but still leaves a bitter taste.

Well won NZ, good game both sides and good enterprise to finish and good tournament

seemed a bit odd to hear swing low being sung a couple of times.....mind you if you have just shelled out £750 then I guess you are entitled to do whatever the hell you like.

Yes The English people made a great contribution to the event by doing the singing.

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Yes The English people made a great contribution to the event by doing the singing.

Good joke.

To be fair the supporters in england have done a great job supporting all teams at all the stadium. They are a major reason why this has been the greatest world cup to date.

hugehandoff wrote:seemed a bit odd to hear swing low being sung a couple of times.....mind you if you have just shelled out £750 then I guess you are entitled to do whatever the hell you like.

No more odder than hearing Fields of Athenry being sung at the Millenium Stadium during the ABs France game

wrfc1980 wrote:To be fair the supporters in england have done a great job supporting all teams at all the stadium. They are a major reason why this has been the greatest world cup to date.

Yes the Australian and New Zealand supporters in England were fantastic in the way that they supported their teams, this was made easier for them due to the availability of tickets at the business end of the tournament.

Some of the English media werent too kind to some of their visitors though.

Congratulations AB fans.

That was a masterclass in rugby and a fitting way for your greats to end their epic careers on a very high note.
At 21-17, I thought there was maybe a glimpse of hope for Australia but your guys simply stepped up another gear and Carter lead the late final surge with that magnificent field goal.

Valiant show by the Wallabies but they were monstered by Kiwis through the middle and again had trouble with holding onto possession at critical moments and then getting more continuity in their play. Still, this WC has been a positive experience for them and hopefully they can further improve in the coming years with a decent core of talented players.

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Some of the English media werent too kind to some of their visitors though.

Really ? How so ?

Steve_rugby wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Some of the English media werent too kind to some of their visitors though.

Really ? How so ?

Because our media are generally not nice to anyone, especially 'visitors'. Not much they can say about that final though, on another planet to our dross and both sets of players afterwards acted like real gents, especially the Aussies.

I was out earlier and have just watched the match as expected Wayne Barnes got
an AB a yellow card[it was a yellow offence].BUT again Nigel Owens has consulted
the TMO said "Just a Penalty" then changed his mind.
Lot of comments about Aus being hard done by on decisions including a Kaino
high tackle.No mention of Moore`s deliberate trip an offence Barnes yellow carded
McCaw for in there first match.
Or Number 3 who could have been yellow carded too frankly there were dozens
of instances when both sides could be penalized for something.
Losing Kane and Giteau didn't help them either,Nz`s attitude to penalties in
first half was interesting.At least 4 straight forward kicks for someone of Carters
calibre.
Instead going for tries,indee d with the exception of Argentina match,and SF in
4 matches they only attempted and kicked one.
The Scrums the few there were pretty even,Aus lineout a mess,and even the
Breakdown they came of second best.
McCaw had a blinder a perfect10,Carter deservedly MOM,Read was really struggling
on that leg.Would`nt be surprised to hear he`ll be sidelined for a while.
Cheika had the players already but has them playing together instead of as individuals
going overseas for key players was a success.BUT have they commited to Aus for
Super 18 and RC?
NZ start the defence in rebuild mode 10,12,13,is a big hole to fix Dagg at 15,Ben Smith
13,Crotty 12,Cruden 10,Savea,Milner-Skudder/Naholo[if you can get him fit].
Beauden Barrett/Sopanga/Fekitoa as super subs.

Wow great game and fantastic for the old men to win their final match.
I thought Carter and McCaw were superb. I'll admit I thought Carter was past it last year with the injuries and everything.
Fortunately for NZ we've got some young talent ready to take over the mantle of those departing.I look forward to seeing Cane/Savea, Cruden/Barrett, Fekitoa etc battle it out to cement themselves in the ABs.
But what about Sam Whitelock? For me he is the AB of the tournament and he will only be 31 at the next world cup! Can he get three in a row?

Sam Whitelock is.and has ben arguably the best Lock in the World for a couple of years.
No fuss,or bull just does his stuff winning lineouts/restarts,scrums well does the grunt
work.so the seagulls can run around.

Just in case anyone missed Sonny Bill giving his medal away to an 8 year old Kiwi lad, this video shows all of it and explains the reason why:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby-world-cup-2015/news/video.cfm?c_id=522&gal_cid=522&gallery_id=155459

Nice.

Can anyone explain was it really all that necessary for the Security guard to tackle the kid?

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Can anyone explain was it really all that necessary for the Security guard to tackle the kid?

I think that was Sonny Bill's point.

You can't criticise the security really, though. They probably just saw a blur heading for the players and didn't really have time to work out how old the kid was or whether he had a weapon, etc. They're damned if they do and also if they don't.

That said, I wouldn't fancy any pitch invader's chances against Williams.

Must say the Security back off quite sheepishly when he realised.

kid came out a winner, hes got a World cup winners medal and not everyone in London can say theyve got one of those.

emack2 wrote:I was out earlier and have just watched the match as expected Wayne Barnes got
an AB a yellow card[it was a yellow offence].BUT again Nigel Owens has consulted
the TMO said "Just a Penalty" then changed his mind.
Lot of comments about Aus being hard done by on decisions including a Kaino
high tackle.No mention of Moore`s deliberate trip an offence Barnes yellow carded
McCaw for in there first match.
Or Number 3 who could have been  yellow carded too frankly there were dozens
of instances when both sides could be penalized for something.
Losing Kane and Giteau didn't help them either,Nz`s attitude to penalties in
first half was interesting.At least 4 straight forward kicks for someone of Carters
calibre.
Instead going for tries,indee d with the exception of Argentina match,and SF in
4 matches they only attempted and kicked one.
The Scrums the few there were pretty even,Aus lineout a mess,and even the
Breakdown they came of second best.
McCaw had a blinder a perfect10,Carter deservedly MOM,Read was really struggling
on that leg.Would`nt be surprised to hear he`ll be sidelined for a while.
Cheika had the players already but has them playing together instead of as individuals
going overseas for key players was a success.BUT have they commited to Aus for
Super 18 and RC?
NZ start the defence in rebuild mode 10,12,13,is a big hole to fix Dagg at 15,Ben Smith
13,Crotty 12,Cruden 10,Savea,Milner-Skudder/Naholo[if you can get him fit].
Beauden Barrett/Sopanga/Fekitoa as super subs.

Jeez.

After such a good match is there really a need to whinge and whine about the officials?

Steve_rugby wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Some of the English media werent too kind to some of their visitors though.

Really ? How so ?

But even more unkind to the English team and management. But I'm not here to defend our scummy tabloids.

Big congratulations to NZ, on a result I predicted three weeks ago, including Australia getting there but falling. Congratulations to both teams in fact for a fantastic tournament. At least the RFu have been shown a masterclass in how rugby should look at Twickenham.
Well done you lads.

Fantastic final, truly one of the best. The AB's just on another level. Still cant believe what SBW did for that wee lad but what an absolute quality person for making that boys dream come true.

Have to say that Moore's speech after the match was superb, totally humble

It was a fantastic tournament, and a great final won by the best rugby team I have ever seen.


We may not be able to play rugby, but at least we can put on a party.

All is well in the rugby world. New Zealand truly worthy triple champions back to back and away from home. Farewell to Richie and Dan as well as Nonu and C.Smith et al. What a challenge to fill their boots! Brave Wales struggled mightily against their injuries. Scotland showed promise. Sadly England as confused as ever, but surely only a decent coach away from a return. Ireland well we all believed the hype, almost, t but true to WC form found out at this level. The sadness for me is that post 2011 I thought Wales would kick on, own the 6Ns and start beating the SH. We started and then went backwards. It almost feels like the trajectory of WG's career is done. I hope I'm wrong and promising new shoots were seen at the WC to shine briefly and then smashed in the mud. The shock is that the SH are another level and the promise if I can call it that is the rapid progress made by Argentina and Japan. We might follow their light or the might of club rugby might keep us in our old defeated ways

Great game. Great tournament and obviously a very happy kiwi. Thanks to England for putting on a great tournament. Thought it was the most competitive yet. Feel like I've seen the final act of a golden generation. Feel very privileged to have seen this team over the last 12 years. Next year should be interesting for everyone.

London tiger,my comment was in answer to the carping and whinging on this and other
threads,NOT doing it myself.

LondonTiger wrote:
Jeez.

After such a good match is there really a need to whinge and whine about the officials?

InZidders moan about the ref when they lose (see Wayne Barnes) and moan about them when they win.

[quote="emack2"]I was out earlier and have just watched the match as expected Wayne Barnes got
an AB a yellow card[it was a yellow offence].BUT again Nigel Owens has consulted
the TMO said "Just a Penalty" then changed his mind.
Lig hole to fix Dagg at 15,Ben Smith
13,Crotty 12,Cruden 10,Savea,Milner-Skudder/Naholo[if you can get him fit].
Beauden Barrett/Sopanga/Fekitoa as super subs.[/quote]


You seem to have missed a great game of rugby.

Dontheman2 wrote:All is well in the rugby world. New Zealand truly worthy triple champions back to back and away from home. Farewell to Richie and Dan as well as Nonu and C.Smith et al. What a challenge to fill their boots! Brave Wales struggled mightily against their injuries. Scotland showed promise. Sadly England as confused as ever, but surely only a decent coach away from a return. Ireland well we all believed the hype, almost, t but true to  WC form found out at this level. The sadness for me is that post 2011 I thought Wales would kick on, own the 6Ns and start beating the SH. We started and then went backwards. It almost feels like the trajectory of WG's career is done. I hope I'm wrong and promising new shoots were seen at the WC to shine briefly and then smashed in the mud. The shock is that the SH are another level and the promise if I can call it that is the rapid progress made by Argentina and Japan. We might follow their light or the might of club rugby might keep us in our old defeated ways

Yeah, Ireland was found out, straight after suddenly losing their versions of Richie, Dan, Nonu and C. Smith.  
Even Wales didn't lose such central figures and how well would they have performed without Warburton, Roberts, AWJ and Biggar?  
Would New Zealand have won yesterday without the boys now retiring?  Next year, they might very well win without them, but I think they'd have been pretty much weakened, and Australia would have scented more blood, had the ABs suddenly had to do without their X-men yesterday through injury in the semi-final.

Well, they had their version of Dan, but he was only a certainty because Cruden was out (although there can be doubts about whether or not Cruden would have played as well as Dan, I don't think anyone can seriously debate that he hasn't been the better player for the last two and a bit years). They could lose McCaw, but I think if we're all honest, McCaw has been carried a bit, so I don't think he'd be a big loss. All he does now is fail to come in from the side, or fail to collapse a maul. Take out Nonu, you've got to take on SBW. Teams can complain about their injury luck, but the old adage still stands (possibly now more than any point in history): The best side in the world is New Zealand. The second best side in the world is New Zealand 2nd XV

They'd have been disrupted and weakened had they suddenly lost those four players to injury the week before the final. But yes, New Zealand is New Zealand and the nature of the weakening would be relative in comparison to a side like Ireland.

rodders wrote:Congratulations NZ best team I've ever seen in 20 odd years of watching rugby...actually make that the best team in any sport....best final too - well done to the wallabies too for such an amazing performance on top of probably the toughest run to the final ever.

Totally lost for superlatives - what an awesome RWC. Watching that makes it easier that Ireland didn't make it because that was just on another planet and the NH teams have a lot of work to do.

Dan Carter was a deserving motm, we'll never see the likes of him and McCaw again

I've been a Wales supporter for 60 years and agree with you about this NZ team. There may have been more brilliant and exciting individuals in many positions from different countries over those 60 years, but I've never seen a better, more consistently excellent team - fantastic!

All Blacks were clearly the stronger team out there and Nigel Owens by no means influenced the outcome of the game. That said, there is almost a cult of personality surrounding Owens, whereby infringements missed are instead praised as "allowing the game to flow"... Laws still need to be applied, regardless of what spectacle he is hoping to nurture.

kingraf wrote:Well, they had their version of Dan, but he was only a certainty because Cruden was out (although there can be doubts about whether or not Cruden would have played as well as Dan, I don't think anyone can seriously debate that he hasn't been the better player for the last two and a bit years). They could lose McCaw, but I think if we're all honest, McCaw has been carried a bit, so I don't think he'd be a big loss. All he does now is fail to come in from the side, or fail to collapse a maul. Take out Nonu, you've got to take on SBW. Teams can complain about their injury luck, but the old adage still stands (possibly now more than any point in history): The best side in the world is New Zealand. The second best side in the world is New Zealand 2nd XV

Apparently Fox has let it slip yesterday, if Carter hadn't performed in the last game against Australia at Eden park he would have been dropped and Sapoaga would have gone as the first choice.

https://www.606v2.com/t61090-world-rugby-awards-2015

NZ cleaned up here too.

And Sonny Bill was given a new medal, which was nice.

Would have been nicer if they give it to him during presentation, and he did the Mourinho thing and gave that one away as well

Great game in the end. I expected the Wallabys to try and start the game fast, but the ABs didn't let them and showed their intent from the outset. When the ABs play like that you know the opposition have to be close to or at their best for the whole 80min.
I said it before the game, but Aus just didn't have the gas in the tank to do that and the first half defensive effort would have taken most of what they had left.
Great show of character by Aus for 10 min in the second half and may have rattled past AB teams, but this NZ team is different.
Fair result in the end and I think the margin probably reflects the difference between the teams on the day. Would it have been much closer if Aus hadn't had such a punishing schedule? Probably. But I still think Aus were being talked up just a bit too much based on a great first half against England and a strong defensive 20 min against Wales.