All Blacks beat France 8-7 to win Rugby World Cup

ab needs one more...sixteen to beat mighty france by 1 point !

where are those 40 points everybody in this site had predicted ?

Bravo la France.

Well played France! They were ridiculed in the NZ media so much that they used this as motivation. Harinordoquy was easily the best player of the game, and that Trinh-Duc went alright too, apart from the penalty miss. Without the home-ground advantage, it seems extremely unlikely NZ could have matched the French lads.

So much for the thrashing!!!! Atleast France got some dignity....

Some questionable referring: 1) Two blatant height tackles were missed. 2) Two scrum calls were incorrect. 3) Ref was inconsistent regarding the tackler rolling away.

The better team lost but it was a great game.

1) Two blatant height tackles were missed.

I saw three actually. Also, the McCaw knees to the head of the French halfback that went unpenalised. Took him out of the game, so McCaw would have been delighted with that.

Whoooohooooo!!!!!

Lunchbox

Whoooohooooo!!!!!

for what ?

All Blacks take a leaf out of Australia's victory over the boks...carbon copy the best side lost and the ref allowed too many AB fouls(read McCaw..his laying in the ruck is criminal)...weepu choked horribly..henry hooks weepu and the coaches box has choking convulsions.....ps if youre not going to use sonny bill send him back to the country which taught him all he knows,wasted.. the best side in the world won...but it didnt win like the clear cut best should have,which leaves a hollow after taste.

You are right, calm down.

Lucky ab with the ref as the sixteen.

ab is the best of the world, but in anyway, not the real 2011 world champion !

Vive les Blancs

ouch! the better team lost. Not a big French fan, but gotta hand it to them.

Whoooohoooooo!!?! Because we got the cup back!

Haha, listen to all you sore loses. Weepu choked?? Like he cares! He's got a gold medal round his neck! It's not golf, it's rugby, team effort.

All Blacks a carbon copy of the Wallabies!? Haa!! Big difference. Abs have been the best team in the world for the last 4 years and the form team of the tournament. Aussie lost to Ireland, and even their own fans think they are crap. We deserve to finally win a cup. France have had their fair share of blind eyes from the ref over the years. So let us have our time in the spotlight. Actually, who cares, we won!

sssshhhhhhh, what's that noise? Sounds like car horns? Oh, it's us kiwis parting!!! Whoooooooohoooooooooo!!

Must have been a pretty intense and amazing game, to be so close between two great teams. Congrats to the All-Blacks!

weepu gets drop kicked out of the game-the world cup final- and you think he wouldnt care ????? he knows he was a whisker away from costing his side the cup,far too much of a professional to not look at that medal around his neck and have nightmares...and I said carbon copy of the GAME not the team...right ,there is a big difference,the Wallaby supporters acknowledge their fortune.

Great game. Intense final 40 for both sets of fans. Glad we won, glad the French showed their strength, and glad I don't need to repeat the experience next weekend. Now then, breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out.....

Congratulations to the All Blacks - they got the points on the board. And congratulations to France too, they showed up and bossed large parts of the game.

I'd agree that Joubert missed a few infringements at the ruck (McCaw got away with a lot as usual - the rule on bridging just doesn't seem to apply to him) but I don't think he cost the French the game. The just couldn't find the yards when they needed to.

Should be some party in NZ right now.

France played just one great game this RWC, tonight. Actually thankfully they did made for great nailbiter. They lost to Tonga and got thrashed by the Ab's in pool play. They were too inconsistent, one great game doesn't maketh a world cup. The Ab's have been the best team over the past 4 years and deserve the Cup, without doubt.

Seems some certain posters want to get a rise out of the NZ posters on this site with their niggly comments. Wont work. The Ab's won and are the World champs. well done.

Excellent Result. ABs shake off the monkey and all the other losing teams' supporters can bitch and moan but Kiwis are the world champions in the third most watched sports event in the world. French finally had a great game this tournament and watch out for them in 2015. Oh and Wayne Barnes should never be allowed near a RWC event ever again.. Couldn't spot a forward pass if he was paid to, actually he was and didn't.

Congratulaitions to New Zealand on winning the world cup. They showed precisely why they have been the best team in the world for the past few years with that wonderful scintillating performance

A couple of other points... Will McCaw get cited for the knee? And why has there been no national condemnation of the French for having the temerity to where an all white kit...

Will McCaw get cited for the knee?

waiting for that point :

http://www.lequipe.fr/Rugby/breves2011/20111023_145233_examens-pour-parra.html

Wearing white...it was a graceful gesture for the abs, the host !

"la galanterie francaise" !!!

Shocker of a game I thought - very little brilliance on display and easily could have gone either way - whichever team scored any points in the final 20 mins would have won.

Total nailbiter, but after all the words are spoken, it's the team with the most points on the board that wins, and tonight I'm mighty proud to be a Kiwi!! -)

A.W.E.S.O.M.E job by the whole team and management.

Total nailbiter, but after all the words are spoken, it's the team with the most points on the board that wins, and tonight I'm mighty proud to be a Kiwi!!

good for you ! bravo !

Me ?

a little sad to be french, for some seconds...

...and forever proud, to be French.

Bravo for the abs too.

So much for the thrashing!!!! Atleast France got some dignity....

And NZ got the cup. Dignity for four more years. I think I'd rather have the cup.

France played with passion but outplayed by the All Blacks. Good game. Good result.

We won, it's not how you win but the fact you won, yeeeehaaaa so all you sniping dogs can go toss we dont care !!

Well done french you really brought the big game to us last night, what a game ! You should be very proud of the way les blue played.

All i can say now is thank god we won, the best team over the last 4 years i hear you say, no the best team over the last 100 years is what the all blacks are

.

GONE BLACK

We won, it's not how you win but the fact you won, yeeeehaaaa so all you sniping dogs can go toss we dont care !!

@ExportExpert - What happened to "this world cup is a farce", "biased refs"..."we don't care about the world cup anyway" ? You seem to have changed your tune now.

Anyway, with the exception of Richie McCheat, well done on the cup to all the other All-Blacks, in particular the great Brad Thorne. Well played to the French too - hopefully the Kiwi media are hanging their heads in shame after witnessing their passion and ability after the awful tripe they wrote about them.

Not only the kiwi press most international press were giving it hard to the frogs prior to the game.

Anyway, with the exception of Richie McCheat, well done on the cup to all the other All-Blacks, in particular the great Brad Thorne.

McCaw McCheat? If a tree falls in the forest... McCaw lead the most successful rugby country ever. His impact as a captain was immense. New Zealand are deserved World Champions.

I agree with what ee wrote earlier the cup is a farce..anyone crowned champion of the world by beating Japan Tonga Argentina and France twice(dont start telling me they're a good side )and the weakest Wallaby side thats ever been assembled in the modern era says theres something desperately wrong with the system...tri nations is so much tougher to win..who's got that by the way I forget ?

Calm down you are such a sour loser get over yourself.

NZ won the tri nations 10 times aussie won it three times what does that tell you,

Calm Down.... I totally agree with exportexpert... you are a sad case. The ABs were magnificent - utterly magnificent. Down to their 4th playmaker, Captain on one foot and a half back having a poor game they STILL managed to out passion, out play and out ticker the best French display in 8 years. This is why people are calling this (rightly so) the best World Cup final ever. You can moan, you can troll you can hate. It matters not one jot mate. We are winners and grinner's.. you know how the rest goes I'm sure.

As for all the NZ media pouring scorn on France before the game... it was actually the international media. In FACT the only place ofering caution was the NZ media. But never let fa ts get in the way of a JEALOUS rant.

Rugby's premier team - the most successful team in international sport: The First and the last word in rugby. The World Champion All Blacks. Get used to it.

hahaha love watching the aussies bend over on this message board!!! Love it!!!

World Champions!!!

We can say whatever we like and everyone else can only but listen, because we won!!!!

Richie and Carter and Thorn are gonna get such a welcome in Christchurch tomorrow! Cantabrians aren't gonna let them on the plane to Wellington.

Congrats to the AB's!!

Nothing about being a sore loser I've said countless times NZ are the best side in the world...but grab a breath of reality about that game here.To call that the best final ever is fairy tale stuff youre confusing a close game with a good game..your half back wasnt just having a 'poor' game,there was a fish bone caught in the back of his throat,your captain must have not only had a sore foot but suffering from paraylsis in both legs for all the unchecked illegal ruck work he was doing..fact,check the video..theres no jealousy the best side won ..but it was plain as day for the world to see the ABs just arent as good as we thought they were and, if the ref wasn't so sympathetic to them -they were toast. Keeping it real.

I watched the second half. For the final of an international sporting event it was the most boring I have ever seen. Total lame-fest.

Calmdown:

Yup, most kiwis will be with you there, it wasn't the best Rugby WC final ever. Doesn't compare to SA vs NZ in '95, or Eng vs Aus in '03. Both games going in extra time etc. But it was the best ever for us kiwis. Beating our nemesis France, and winning a game when we were in big big trouble, those two aspects make it such a big win. Plus, home tournament, and been such a long time, so makes it all the more special. We aren't gonna come down from our high for a long time.

Yup, the boys sure had paralysis, but they won. Cheaters? Yeah right, nothing even worth talking about. There's always one side that gets away with a bit more than the other in Rugby. Nothing worth talking about though. A controversy free final.

A certain Queen song has been playing in the back of my head all day. We... are ... the ....champions...

Lunchbox

it wasn't the best Rugby WC final ever. Doesn't compare to SA vs NZ in '95, or Eng vs Aus in '03. Both games going in extra time etc. But it was the best ever for us kiwis. Beating our nemesis France, and winning a game when we were in big big trouble, those two aspects make it such a big win. Plus, home tournament, and been such a long time, so makes it all the more special. We aren't gonna come down from our high for a long time.

Well said lunchbox - we won we dont care about nothing, we won thats all that mattered was winning, AND WE DID !!

Thats the nice aspect of it Lunchbox,New Zealand is the true home of rugby in the world and no other population would feel the width and depth of a world cup victory in your national sport like you..I didnt want the french to win I wanted the Blacks to tear them apart because well,thats the true difference in ability to some extent but more importantly it would have reflected the gulf between the professionalism and committment of the entire AB organization and the runners up

Great game, great tourney, great memories! Now back to regular life....

i guess new zealand won a rugby tournament. Although no one at my office talked about it or even knew about it so i guess it wasnt any big event

ihavearrived - yeah you're right it wasn't so big it was only the world cup.

France remain the only nation of the `big five' not to taste victory at a World Cup. They have now lost three finals - in 1987, 1999 and 2011.

WWF, Fifa and the IRB - anyone know what they have in common?

Hint - the script has already been written for the 2015 world cup in england, now guess who the winner is going to be.

Oh and by the way calm down let me take this opportunity to remind you that NZ is also the rugby league world champions, the rugby seven world champions, the under 20 rugby world champions, the womens rugby world champions and the womens rugby league world champions - have I missed anybody? Oh yeah we also have the bledisloe cup.

So what i want to know is what are you aussies going to have your coffee out of in the morning? Coz you havent got many cups .

No one talking about the eye gouge by the IRB player of the year? Good thing it wasn't an AB who did it cause then the sore loser Aussie fans would totally lose their heads.

and you'd swap every single one of those clayton trophies in a flash for the Tri Nations..doesnt matter how many times youve won it in the past,you dont have it now..thats all that matters...enjoy the world cup,dont worry about how dusty the win was,a win is a win..then get back into training for the tri-n...oh,and the super 15 cup that Quades been drinking his morning latte out of...but be happy with those womens trophies in lieu

Calm down, the primary focus for all teams this year was the WC. They all stated it, but enjoy your parallel universe. The ABs will be back to take the silverwear the Aussies have been watching next season. Reds have had their day in the sun. Wallabies need to get an Aussie coach again.

Haha calm down real is a one eyed fan isnt he, 6 or 7 trophies including the most coverted trophy in the sport isnt worth his one tri nations cup, ? clutch it tightly mate its all you've got, the all blacks let you have it so you would'nt be too upest about getting tipped out of the WC by them. LOL

Wait till next year we will be the inaugural 4 nations champions and the blues or the crusaders will grab the super 15 cup back from your grubby mits so just make sure you keep it well polished for us eh bro !!

Export, The Chiefs are the new Crusaders, Rennie will take them all the way with Wayne Smith helping out.

Spudman you could be right too actually.

Yeah french gouging eyes and scotums during the game, being reported now on the news. Bit like when buck shelford played half a game with his scrotum ripped open from the french forwards during a ruck in 1987.

Dirty tactics still didnt get them the win.

ee has the gall to call the french dirty-the word mccaw means nothing to you ?keep it on the field no whinging to the press...sound like the wusses you arent

Hey JT Rugby threads are almost as good as whaling threads for fanatical postings. Calm Down is the Davidattokyo of the sports world. Thanks for the coverage JT and thanks for the laughs Calm Down. Roll on Super Rugby 2012 and Four Nations.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD, calm down has a now obsolete tri nations trophy. i can understand your bitterness mate.

Keep ya chin up we are now going to try to hold onto this world cup like we have with the bledisloe cup and the tri nations cup for the better part of when that cup meant something.

Daring to be the first nation to successfully defend this world cup something that has never been done before.

Henry is gonna coach the Babarians later this year against, Australia!!! Henry vs Deans again!! Should be great! Damn shame Cooper will miss you, hope he has a speedy recovery.

All Blacks!!!

No more Whaling!!!

How is a comment of 'leave what happened on the field-on the field,bitter ??You blokes spit the dummy and call ME the whinger ???Chiefs the new crusaders ?? Reds are the new crusaders..yet, according to the final just a tad better !!! Any more XXXX in the fridge,love ??

Reds are no where near to be the new crusaders, how many titles have the reds won? ONE a whole one man wake up from your dream, you're dribbling out the corner of your mouth again.

ee you keep on referring to the past..get with the present a new dynasty has begun..the king is dead,long live the king !!

Wow, the Reds win one final game over a homeless team devastated by an earthquake and they think they are a dynasty. Dreams from the banana benders. Pure fantasy.

The Reds have a natural advantage in the new comp. Because of the Home/away for local teams the Reds get easy points (3 of the Aussie teams are completely rubbish). All of the NZ teams are competitive and 4 of the 5 SA teams are competitive. This means that the Reds have a greater chance of gaining home advantage come semi and finals time.

It probably makes sense to lessen the points for a win within the each conference - or increase the points for over seas wins... It won't matter. Genia and Cooper have been worked out now. The Reds will make the Finals on the back of the pathetically weak Oz conference - but a more settled NZ and SA comp will deal with them easily in 2012.

Reds wining back to back titles is abit like saying harry potter is real. Dream on mate your spurious rubbish is just becoming too pathetic now.

NZ WON THE W.C., Won more tri nations titles, Won more super League titles, Held the Bledisloe cup longer, has more oval ball titles and is just great.

Aussie won one game once, hahahahahaha country of 4 million consistantly and continually thrashes a country of 23 million in ball sports.

Kiwi Kiwi Kiwi Kiwi............................................Kia Kaha Bro !

nec you're writing as off almost as quickly and as thoughtlessly as you did the French leading into the game..'roadkill' was how you referred to them,wasn't it...expect better things from the waratahs next season and the force are still developing but theyll be better ...as ee still clings to the glorious past when things were brighter than 8-7 over 'roadkill'

Yup the GLORIOUS PAST when we Won the World Cup YEAH !

Mod, cant you stop these supid conversations between Aussies and abs ?

Nothing to do with the World Cup that the abs stole from France with help of the ref.

This McCheat was and is an has been.

RIP.

It happens pacific08 in 2007 we got dumped out by the cheating french and the blind pommie ref, this was pay back, deal with it and we'll see you again in 2015.