The hosts, France, England and the All Blacks, have lost a single point to a Springboks who do not know when they will be defeated, which makes them the top specialists in the knockout stages of rugby.
New Zealand overcame a red card for captain Sam Cane for a dangerous move and led a thrilling final to the end and even had a chance to clinch the South African crown.
But the repeat champions – now the most successful country in men’s World Cup history with four titles – fought back superbly and returned home on Tuesday as heroes.
Prop Ox Nche, England’s scrum-destroyer in the semi-final, said: “This shows our resilience. In South Africa, that’s what we’re made of. “
“When you think we’re down, that’s when we go out, surprise you, and show you that we can accomplish anything.
“I don’t know how to describe that feeling, it’s a feeling that’s out of this world. If we stick together, we can accomplish anything. That’s what it means to me.
“This team has a never-say-it-or-die attitude. Now it’s more about containment and damage control. Even though they scored, we limited them to five points,” Pollard said.
It can now be argued that a South African team that won back-to-back world titles and beat the Lions in 2021 is the all-time team and there is no doubt that they won the Webb Ellis Trophy at their expense.
Full-back Damian Willemse is very happy to have triumphed on behalf of a country beset by problems.
“We do it for the rest of South Africa. We do it for everyone else. We do it for our families. People don’t really have money, but they came here to us,” Willemse said.
“I’m proud of everyone who puts their bodies on the line and sacrifices.
“That’s what we have to do to win a World Cup. It’s special to be a part of it. I’m proud to be South African.
“We knew it would take a huge effort to beat the All Blacks. They’re a wonderful team and they’ve been in wonderful form over the last few weeks.
“The red card was a real change from a technical point of view, but we knew the All Blacks weren’t going to die.
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