In an electrifying match that had the world on the edge of its seat, South Africa&#8217;s Springboks made history by clinching their fourth Rugby World Cup title. Defeating the formidable New Zealand All Blacks 12-11, the Springboks claimed the Web Ellis Cup for the fourth time.



On October 28, 2023, the Springboks etched their names into the annals of rugby history. For the first time ever, a team hoisted the coveted Webb Ellis Cup four times. The moment was profound, and its ripple effect was felt far beyond the walls of Paris&#8217;s Stade de France. South Africa defeated New Zealand 12-11 in a nail-biting battle for rugby supremacy, marking their fourth win in the history of the Rugby World Cup.


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="700" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762438181.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60048" style="aspect-ratio:1.4628571428571429;width:654px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762438181.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762438181-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762438181-768x525.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo by Julian Finney &#8211; World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


In 80 tense minutes that could have gone either way, South Africa displayed a level of intensity that was palpable from the get-go. Leading 6-0 just 13 minutes into the game thanks to two penalty goals from flyhalf Handre Pollard, the Springboks signaled their intent early. The All Blacks notched their own penalty goal in the 17th minute, but Pollard&#8217;s third penalty four minutes later kept South Africa ahead; by halftime, the Boks led 12-6.



The New Zealand All Blacks left no room for complacency. Despite being a man down for much of the game due to red cards and injuries, they nearly clinched it. Their first try was disallowed due to a clear knock-on, but when Beauden Barrett scored the first valid try of the match, the tension was almost unbearable.



However, South Africa managed to hold their lead during the All Blacks&#8217; sensational second-half performance, driving the Springboks constantly back toward the try-line but never quite managing to cross it again. By the final bell, South Africa had clinched the victory by a single point.



South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was on the sidelines of the match itself and joined the team to hoist the Webb Ellis Cup. His office congratulated the team in a statement: &#8220;Stronger Together is a belief that came to life for Springbok supporters all around our country, continent, and the world. Sport has the power to transform lives and lift the spirits of entire nations.&#8221; The President also extended his congratulations to New Zealand for a hard-fought campaign, calling them &#8220;deserving finalists.&#8221;



In South Africa, fans swarmed public venues like the Durban International Conference Centre and Montecasino, many of which reached full capacity hours before kickoff. &#8220;Tonight, Siya Kolisi and the 2023 World Cup champions have gifted us an extraordinary, inspired, and inspiring national achievement that lifts our hearts and hoists our flag even higher,&#8221; President Ramaphosa added.


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762113459.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60050" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762113459.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762113459-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762113459-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, with Springboks. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


This win has lifted the gloom of a nation plagued by corruption, power outages, and social strife, allowing South Africans, for a moment, to dare to dream again. &#8220;We found a way,&#8221; said Springbok Captain Kolisi in the post-match interview, still breathless from the game. &#8220;Honestly, I don’t think people not from South Africa understand what this means for our country… Our country goes through a lot, and we are that glimmer of hope that they have.&#8221;


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<figure class="alignleft size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="724" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762435141.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60047" style="aspect-ratio:1.4143646408839778;width:462px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762435141.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762435141-300x212.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1762435141-768x543.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(Photo by Julian Finney &#8211; World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


As the dust settles on this monumental victory, one thing is abundantly clear: the Springboks have done more than win a tournament; they&#8217;ve won the hearts of a nation desperate for unity and triumph. And that, perhaps, is the greatest victory of all.

New Zealand v South Africa: Final – Rugby World Cup France 2023

South Africa’s Springboks Make History with Fourth Rugby World Cup Win: A Nation Rejoices

It was never going to be a normal night. I remember my friend getting his South African rugby cap autographed by Springbok wing James Small just before our shift, among the bottles, glasses and bustle of a Johannesburg restaurant, started. A few hours earlier, South Africa won the Rugby World Cup for the first time, beating New Zealand’s All Blacks in the final and sparking a massive party around the country. The players were in a party mood as well and decided to have some drinks where I worked. It was a memorable night and something that was only possible before professionalism gripped rugby.
I was in my second year of studying graphic design, and paying it off by working as a waiter at one of the busiest restaurants in Johannesburg. Storyville was reputed for its Cajun cuisine, celebrities and a dance floor that often only died down when the kitchen started serving breakfast. I always wanted to be the barman because they earned around three times as much as the waiters.
The crowds poured in, most of them already drunk from celebrating the Springbok victory, making it difficult to navigate from the bar to the balcony.
I remember the piercing shrieks of the fans as Small and his Springbok teammate Kobus Wiese arrived at the club. They arrived with a handful of the All Black players they had just beaten, including Jonah Lomu, Zinzan Brooke and Sean Fitzpatrick. After some high fives and handshakes, they disappeared into the heaving mass of revellers.
Around a week before, I saw Lomu having lunch with a young blonde girl at a restaurant next door. I was told that he met a South African girl and fallen madly in love with her. I remember thinking it was quite rock ‘n roll of him. The New Zealander, then, seemed like a blissful giant with a delicate flower in his hands. But now Lomu was talking to another colossus, the two-meter-tall Wiese, at the end of the bar. It seemed like they were reliving the intense battle they shared hours before at Ellis Park, a 20-minute drive away.
The club was heaving, it was almost impossible to make your way towards the exit. I went through the kitchen to the back for a cigarette when one of the managers asked me to help behind the bar. Finally, I had my chance. I flicked my smoke away and ran in to help. Small decided he would help as well. He jumped behind the bar, took his shirt off and haphazardly served drinks to the ladies.
Behind the bar, the sludge from spilled drinks soaked my feet while broken glass was piling up in a corner. Smoke was thick in the air and the bar was bursting with thirsty customers.
I had a searing headache and was trying to think straight while looking at a slip that a waiter had given me. I felt like I was forgetting something but I was distracted by something in the corner of my eye. I looked across the bar – Fitzpatrick, the All Black captain, was dancing on a table to a Michael Jackson song, attracting the attention of all the ladies. I still, however, had a nagging feeling that I was forgetting something.
I decided to escape the chaos and made my way to the kitchen when a hand grabbed my shirt and dragged me back. I could feel the short, prickly hairs of his fingers on the back of my neck. I am a big guy, but the sheer strength of my assailant made me feel helpless. It was Brooke, the gigantic All Black, reaching from the corner of the bar.
I suddenly remembered him ordering a fruit juice a while ago. Still clutching my shirt, he brought his large head close to my ear and explained sternly that, although he was a patient man, he was concerned that he had to wait 20 minutes for a juice. The calmness on his face was more frightening than the wrath he was capable of unleashing. I wriggled out of his grasp and said that the orange juice was coming while slowly moving away from him. As I looked for a glass, he grabbed me again. “One mango juice, please,” he said from his unsmiling mouth.
That’s when I learned not to mess with an All Black, especially when thirsty after they’ve lost the most important match of their life.

Never Turn Your Back On A Thirsty All Black

Money, money everywhere—what a contrast to the first time an African nation won the trophy 16 years ago in the twilight of the amateur game.
<div id="attachment_111" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-111" class="size-large wp-image-111" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Morne-657x1024.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="739" />February 1980. South African rugby legend and Springbok rugby captain Morne du Plessis.</div>
On 24 June 1995, a collection of South African schoolteachers, estate agents and business professionals achieved something very rare; they won the Rugby World Cup on home soil at the first time of asking. What a different game it was just over 16 years ago. At the time, toplevel rugby in the world was run as an amateur sport with players being paid under the table through so-called ‘shamateurism’. On the field, the forwards were a heavy-footed collection of giants and portly gentlemen, who pummeled each other in the scrums and loose, while the backs were a group of lithe speedsters who claimed all the glory. Modestly built men such as Wilf Rosenberg and Hugh Bladen were masters of the sidestep and looked it up the middle’, in the manner of England’s Mike Tindall, France’s
Mathieu Bastareaud or the imposing All Black No 12—Ma’a Nonu. That golden tournament in 1995 will be remembered for Mandela in a Springbok jersey, a last-gasp winning kick from Joel Stransky and a juggernaut of a man called Jonah Lomu.
Here was a 20-year-old man from New Zealand. He was 1.96 meters and around 120 kilograms and yet played on the wing, where he struck fear into the hearts of those who dared get in his way. One Springbok said the mere sight of Lomu striding from the team bus listening to music through oversized headphones put the fear of God into him. Lomu arguably won the semi-final for the All Blacks by shellacking England, in the process bulldozing their tough fullback, Mike Catt, to score four tries in a 45-29 victory. The sport had rarely seen such an athlete and Lomu’s explosive impact pushed the game towards professionalism within a year.
Cut to 2011: the Springboks are in New Zealand to defend the Webb Ellis trophy and a small player in the backline is a rarity. There are now more like four or five ‘Jonahs’ on a team. Players spend five days a week, eight hours a day, working at their game. Highly paid fitness experts, sports psychologists and doctors all play a huge part in preparing players for peak performance and for this there is one requirement—money. Compared to 1995, the present day South African Rugby Union (SARU) is awash with money. According to its financial report for 2010, SARU had R102 million ($14.6 million) in cash reserves, with R82 million ($11.7 million) of these cash reserves attributable to deferred broadcasting and sponsorship revenue.
Television has put many times more money into the coffers of rugby and its players than gate receipts ever could. On top of that, the South African team has three hefty sponsors: Absa, Canterbury and BMW are all pouring millions into the game. Former Springbok captain Morne
Du Plessis, who played from 1971 to 1980 and was also the manager of thevictorious ’95 South African team, believes that although players these days are well paid, the salaries are nowhere near those of professional footballers. “It’s a different game now. It’s a profession. It’s from 08h00 to 17h00— even more. We were amateurs, we practised twice a week,” says Du Plessis. “If you look at footage from my day, it looks like a different sport now. The skills today and the strength is something to behold, the guys today are just so powerful. Professionalism and money in the sport has made it a better sport.”
<div id="attachment_110" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-110" class="size-large wp-image-110" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Trophy-689x1024.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="704" />24 Jun 1995: South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar receives the William Webb Wellis Trophy from President Nelson Mandela after they defeated New Zealand to win the Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa. Mandatory Credit: Dave Rogers /Allsport</div>
Looking to the World Cup, Du Plessis, who led the Springboks, is optimistic about the defending champions’ chances. “Don’t take anything that happened in the Tri-Nations as a marker for the World Cup. There are probably three important matches at the World Cup—the quarter final, the semi-final and the final. To be ready on those days will be key. I think we will go in as underdogs but I believe it’s the best position we play from. “I think we can do it. We’ll be up against the Australians and the All Blacks, the Irish team is to be reckoned with and England is also a good team. There are no real favorites,” adds Du Plessis. The final will be on October 23. For South Africa it is the chance of retaining the trophy and winning it for a third time in the land that bore the mighty Jonah Lomu. Win or lose, the Springboks will return home with bigger bank balances than the heroes of ’95 could ever dream of.
<div id="attachment_109" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-109" class="size-large wp-image-109" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Rugby-1024x809.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="374" />New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu is tackled by South African scrumhalf Joost Van der Westhuizen during the Rugby World Cup final played against New Zealand June 24. On left is South African centre Hennie le Roux, on right No 8 Mark Andrews</div>

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South Africa’s Springboks Make History with Fourth Rugby World Cup Win: A Nation Rejoices

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