All Blacks captain Sam Cane makes unwanted history after red card in World Cup final
Christophe Ena/AP
All Blacks captain Sam Cane was forced to watch the majority of the World Cup final from the sideline.
All Blacks captain Sam Cane hadn’t looked so torn apart since coming up on the wrong side of the Super Rugby final in June.
The first player to be sent off in a men’s World Cup final, Cane could not hide his disappointment after watching the majority of his team’s 12-11 defeat to South Africa in Paris on Sunday morning (NZT) from the sideline.
“Obviously extremely gutted and disappointed, first of all, that the boys had to play with 14 men for the last 50 odd minutes," Cane said moments after the agonising defeat.
“So many s... emotions I’m feeling at the moment, on a personal level and on behalf of the team, but mixed in there is a heck of a lot of pride in the way that the boys fought out there tonight and gave ourselves an opportunity. They’re just a bunch of warriors, to be honest.”
The New Zealand skipper was sent off late in the first half, after clobbering Springboks centre Jesse Kriel high.
Cane was initially yellow carded for the tackle in the 27th minute, before it was later upgraded to red after an off-field review.
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Referee Wayne Barnes flashes a red card at All Blacks captain Sam Cane during the Rugby World Cup in France.
“To a red?” a stunned Ardie Savea asked referee Wayne Barnes when he was told it had been upgraded.
The English referee confirmed Cane’s night was done, telling Savea “there’s a high degree of danger and there’s no mitigation”.
Cane, seated on the sideline, buried his head in his hands for a moment, before closing his eyes and shaking his head.
The openside flanker also copped a costly card (yellow) during the Chiefs’ Super Rugby final defeat to the Crusaders in June.
Asked by former All Black Jeff Wilson if there was a sense of bad luck, Cane refused to dish up excuses.
“No, not unlucky. We know that collisions have got to be low. If anything, I got a little bit surprised that he stepped back in my direction, but it’s no excuse. We’ve been here for two months, and we’ve seen how things have been ruled,” he said.
Christophe Ena/AP
All Blacks coach Ian Foster pictured after his team fell short in the World Cup final against South Africa.
“So gutted, so proud of how far we've come, but it hurts so much to fall at the final hurdle and probably in the style we did.”
The All Blacks also had flanker Shannon Frizell yellow carded a few minutes into the match, after he was deemed to have put his weight on Bongi Mbonambi leg during a breakdown clean out.
Mbonambi was hurt during the act and ruled out for the remainder of the match, and the Boks took an early 3-0 lead, one they eventually turned into a 12-6 halftime buffer.
The Springboks also found themselves on the wrong side of the law, receiving two yellow cards, one to captain Siya Kolisi and one to wing Cheslin Kolbe (deliberate knock down).
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The Springboks celebrate their World Cup triumph over the All Blacks in Paris on Sunday.
Kolisi made head-to-head contact with Savea early in the second half, but the off-field review deemed there was a “change in dynamic” in the tackle, ensuring mitigation was applied, and it was not upgraded.
The match finished 14 on 14, after Kolbe was sent to the bin for the final seven minutes, an infringement that offered the All Blacks the chance to take the lead.
However, having earlier turned down a string of penalty attempts and opted for touch, Jordie Barrett yanked his long-range penalty goal wide-left.
The All Blacks had other opportunities inside the South African half, but forced passes and a general lack of accuracy, mixed with some stout defence, ensured the Springboks became the first team to win four World Cup crowns.
"I don't think we did, no,” departing coach Ian Foster said when asked if the All Blacks didn’t get the rub of the green.
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The Springboks celebrate on fulltime of the World Cup final against the All Blacks in Paris on Sunday.
“Certainly in the first half we were pretty frustrated with a number of things that were happening. But it's finals football, you've got to make your own luck in some ways, and we weren't getting any handed to us.”
On the other hand, Springboks captain Kolisi was overwhelmed after his team recorded their third straight one-point win.
“Honestly, I don't think people that are not from South Africa understand what this means to our country, it's not just about the game on the field. Our country goes through such a lot, and we are that bearing hope that they have.”
