Videos: South Africa crush England to win the Rugby World Cup - how Springboks fans reacted
Rainbow nation celebrates as captain Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Cup
Rugby World Cup final: England 12 South Africa 32
England points
- Penalties: Owen Farrell (4)
South Africa points
- Tries: Makazole Mapimpi (66 mins), Cheslin Kolbe (74 mins)
- Conversions: Handre Pollard (2)
- Penalties: Handre Pollard (6)
South Africa have won the 2019 Rugby World Cup after a crushing 32-12 victory over England in Yokohama.
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The Springboks scored two second-half tries through Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe. Fly-half Handre Pollard was lethal with the boot as he kicked two conversions and six penalties.
Owen Farrell slotted over four penalties for England, however, the South African defence put on a masterclass to give their country a third World Cup win - equal with New Zealand.
Siya Kolisi, South Africa’s first black captain, lifted the trophy and fans celebrated in the townships of his home town Port Elizabeth.
Speaking after the win Kolisi said: “It is really special and it was more than just a game for us. We are really grateful to have our families here and all I want to do is to inspire my kids and every other kid in South Africa. I never dreamed of a day like this at all.
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“When I was a kid all I was thinking about was getting my next meal. A lot of us in South Africa just need an opportunity and there are so many untold stories. I’m hoping that we have just given people a bit of hope to pull together as a country to make it better.”
The Guardian’s Lee Calvert wrote: “All the talk now is about Siya Kolisi, a black Springbok captain, lifting the trophy. Anyone who knows about the history of the country and the sport of rugby will know what this means and we should not underestimate what a moment this will be.”
It’s a second World Cup final victory over England for the Springboks after winning the 2007 tournament in France. They won their first World Cup in 1995, beating New Zealand 15-12 on home soil.
The 20-point margin of victory in the 2019 final is the biggest since 1999 when Australia beat France 35-12.
South Africa reactions
Rassie Erasmus, South Africa head coach
“It’s weird as I didn’t think two years ago we could do it, then in the past few months I thought we could. I’m so proud of my team, I’m proud of my countrymen and I’m a proud South African right now. We have to use this to build for next six, seven, eight years, we have to use this to put South African rugby back at the top.”
Faf de Klerk, South Africa scrum-half
“It’s mixed emotions but we are so unbelievably glad to do it for our country and for ourselves. We had to play great against England because we know what a great tournament they had had. We exploited them out wide, then it was massive forward performance from our boys up front. It’s a massive win. Our forwards have been phenomenal at scrum time, they came out, gave me great ball and time for the boys to play pout in the back. We’re so happy.”
England reactions
Eddie Jones, England head coach
“We just couldn’t get on the front foot. We were dominated in the scrum particularly in the first 50 minutes. When you’re in a tight, penalty-driven riven game, its difficult to get any sort of advantage.
We needed to fix up the scrum, little things around the line-out, then get a bit more accurate in how we attacked. We did that for a while, got ourselves back into the game, but in the end we had to force the game and gave away a couple of tries.
“They were too good for us at the breakdown. That’s the great thing about rugby, one day you’re the best team in the world and the next a team knocks you off.”
George Ford, England No.10
“We weren’t good enough. Congratulations to South Africa, I thought they executed their plan brilliantly. We were far too inaccurate in the first half. We always knew they based their game on what they do up front.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the lads, they’ve been brilliant all tournament up front, they just did a job on us. They played really well, you cant take anything away from them. It’s obviously a huge disappointment for our side. We wanted to finish it off but we were nowhere near good enough to do that.
“We’ve come a long way and it’s probably the most together squad I’ve ever been a part of. We’ll come back.”#
Ben Youngs, England scrum-half
“We’re devastated mate. It’s hard with the set-piece issues as you’re always vulnerable, and the bus being late made no difference. Thanks to everyone back home and everyone who travelled.”