2023-10-28 06:07:27
The haka of New Zealand players, before the match against South Africa, at Twickenham (United Kingdom), August 25, 2023. IAN KINGTON / AFP
Within two years, the number would have been round, and the perfect symbol. For one hundred and two years, and the Springboks’ first tour on All Black lands, in 1921, South Africa and New Zealand have been competing for supremacy in world rugby. The two leading nations of the Southern Hemisphere, winners each of three World Cups – a record, in this competition created in 1987 – face each other, Saturday October 28, in the final of the World Cup in France (9 p.m., on TF1) .
“The Springboks and the All Blacks are a part of rugby history and a long history of fights, described South African assistant coach Deon Davids during the week. Each confrontation is an incredible battle. » The ones that leave indelible memories. New Zealand fullback Beauden Barrett recounted, in 2021, the times he spent as a child, with his brothers and sisters – two of them, Scott and Jordie, are playing in the 2023 World Cup alongside him. They watched the All Blacks’ tours of South Africa together at 3 a.m. (due to the time difference), a cup of hot chocolate in their hands.
In both countries, rugby is both the national sport and a religion. “It’s the biggest rivalry in world rugby, and not just because they are the two most successful nations in historyrelates Jamie Wall, New Zealand journalist and author of a book on “the hundred years war” between the All Blacks and the Springboks (The Hundred Years’War : All Blacks vs Springboks2021, Allen & Unwin). For a large part, this can be explained by subjects that go beyond sport. »
Two diametrically opposed styles of play
Due to the apartheid regime established in South Africa – and embodied by the rugby team – the tours of the two rivals often spilled over into politics. New Zealand civil society has been protesting forcefully, since the end of the 1960s, each time the Boks visit the archipelago: in particular against the fact that the All Blacks agree to deprive themselves of their Maori players during their trips to South Africa. South, to comply with the racist rules of the local regime. “We moved from a shameful relationship to something much healthier, which refocused on sports entertainment and celebrated the best in rugby”insists Jamie Wall.
Opponents in the final of the 1995 World Cup in South Africa – won by the Springboks of captain François Pienaar, who became symbols of the national reconciliation desired by Nelson Mandela – the two nations have, from that moment on, cultivated their rivalry on the field. “After this victory, we were all in the streetsrecalled the South African coach, Jacques Nienaber, then at university, on Thursday. I watched this final again, in 2022, it’s crazy how rugby has changed. Today it is a much better quality product than back then. »
You have 55% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
#Zealand #South #Africa #final #supremacy #world #rugby