Tense final was a game to savour

SUNDAY’S World Cup final was a pleasure to behold for many reasons, not least the honesty of endeavour and the sportsmanship on display from both sides.

Even more significantly, perhaps, was the demonstration that you don’t need a Super 15 scoreline in the region of 35-25 to provide a real game of rugby.

A final scoreline of 8-7 to New Zealand fitted the bill admirably. They certainly didn’t deserve to win by more than a single point, many would argue they didn’t deserve to win at all, and it would have been harsh on France had they gone down by more than the minimum amount. It was hard and bruising both mentally and physically and the All Blacks were forced to dig deep.