One Year ago today, South Africa dominated England to match New Zealand's tally of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup for a third time. Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe kicked England when they were down and Handre Pollard scored 22 points as magnificent South Africa won the Rugby World Cup final with a 32-12 victory.
The Springboks overpowered the favourites at International Stadium Yokohama to match the mark of three World Cup wins by New Zealand. South Africa dominated the set-piece in a brutal and relentless performance, with England unable to get going after suffering an early blow when Kyle Sinckler departed with a concussion.
Pollard produced a masterclass from the tee, while Mapimpi and Kolbe crossed in the second half as South Africa became the first team to be crowned Southern Hemisphere and world champions in the same year. Four Owen Farrell penalties were all England could muster as South Africa defended magnificently, enabling Siya Kolisi to become the first black captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.
Kolisi says RWC win shows South Africa can 'achieve anything if we work together'
After leading South Africa to victory in the Rugby World Cup final, Siya Kolisi highlighted the impact the win could have on his nation. Siya Kolisi believes South Africa's Rugby World Cup final victory over England shows the country can "achieve anything if we work together as one".
The Springboks overpowered England in Yokohama to secure a 32-12 triumph, second-half tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe sealing an emphatic win after six Handre Pollard penalties. As a result, 24 years after Francois Pienaar accepted the Webb Ellis Cup from Nelson Mandela in one of sport's most iconic moments, there was another inspirational scene as Kolisi - South Africa's first black captain - lifted the same trophy.
In a stirring post-match interview, Kolisi said he hoped South Africa's success could inspire people throughout the nation.
"The people of South Africa have got behind us and we are so grateful to the people of South Africa," said Kolisi, who grew up in poverty and watched the Boks' 2007 World Cup win in a township tavern.
"We have so many problems in our country, but to have a team like this, we come from different backgrounds, different races and we came together with one goal and we wanted to achieve it. I really hope we've done that for South Africa, to show that we can pull together if we want to and achieve something.
"Since I've been alive, I've never seen South Africa like this. Obviously in '95, what the World Cup did for us [was special], and now with all the challenges we are having, the coach [Rassie Erasmus] just came and told us [after] the last game, 'we're not playing for ourselves any more, we're playing for our people back home'.
"That's what we wanted to do today and we really appreciate all the support, people in the taverns, people in the farms, homeless people, there were screens there, and people in rural areas, thank you so much.
"We appreciate all the support, we love you South Africa and we can achieve anything if we work together as one."
Erasmus 'so proud' after South Africa stun England
A proud Rassie Erasmus felt South Africa's team cohesion was a vital factor in their Rugby World Cup triumph. South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus spoke of his pride after his players sealed the country's third Rugby World Cup with a stunning victory over England.
"I'm so proud of them, we fought hard until the end," Erasmus said after the match.
"I just think the boys believed in themselves, we are a bunch of guys who have been together for 19 weeks and we know one another really well.
"We have got so much respect for England and we really prepared well. I think we were also a little bit fortunate but we are really enjoying it at this stage.
"To the Springboks supporters I would like to say we never felt alone here in Japan, we felt them all the way.
"Not just the supporters here in Japan, but also those back home – all the messages on WhatsApp, Facebook, the Twitter feeds. We know there are millions there, we know they support us.
"We love them. We can't wait to get back home."
We've got a privilege of giving people hope, says Erasmus
"Rugby should be something that creates hope," said Rassie Erasmus, whose side embraced the privilege of inspiring South Africa's people.
Asked how South Africa kept their composure despite knowing the potential impact a victory could make, Erasmus delivered a detailed and moving response.
"This was my first World Cup as a coach and I think actually the first All Black game [a pool match South Africa lost 23-13] was a great test run for us in terms of handling pressure," he said.
"We were terrible that week, the way we were tense and talking about things. The whole week was just a terrible build-up for that pool game and that taught us a lot about how to handle the quarter-final, semi-final and so on. But overall, we started talking about what pressure is.
"In South Africa, pressure is not having a job. Pressure is one of your close relatives being murdered. In South Africa there is a lot of problems, which is pressure, and we started talking about things like that. And rugby shouldn't be something that creates pressure. Rugby should be something that creates hope.
"We started talking about how we've got a privilege of giving people hope, not a burden of giving people hope. But hope is not talking about hope and saying you've got hope and tweeting a beautiful tweet and things like that. Hope is when you play well and people watch the game on the Saturday ... and feel good afterwards.
"No matter your political differences or religious differences or whatever, for those 80 minutes you agree with a lot of things when you normally disagree. We just started believing in that and saying that is not our responsibility, that's our privilege to try and fix those things.
"And the moment you see it that way, it becomes a hell of a privilege and you start working towards that. I think that is the way we tackled this whole World Cup campaign. I hope that answers your question."
Erasmus also highlighted the incredible journey of Kolisi, who grew up in deep poverty and watched South Africa's 2007 World Cup win in a township tavern as he did not have a TV at home.
Asked to describe Kolisi, Erasmus said: "It's easy to talk about going through hard times and struggling to get opportunities where other people do, but I think it's tough to tell people that there were days when I didn't have food, there were days when I didn't have a lift to go to school, or I couldn't go to school or I didn't have shoes to wear.
"The moment you hear that a lot, you almost get used to that, as a team-mate or as a rugby supporter or anybody, maybe you guys sitting here. Maybe you hear that a lot.
"But when you sit down and you think about it clearly - that there was a stage when Siya went through stuff like that, where he didn't physically have food, or he didn't have shoes to wear or he couldn't get to school. And then you think here he sits as a captain and he led South Africa to hold this cup.
"I think that should sum up what Siya is."
South Africa make history by doing the double
No team had ever won the Rugby Championship, or its previous incarnation the Tri Nations, and the World Cup in the same year until the Springboks did so last year.
South Africa made history after beating England 32-12 in the Rugby World Cup final. The Springboks had already lifted one trophy in 2019 year after winning the Rugby Championship in August, and, in Yokohama, Rassie Erasmus' team achieved something that had eluded rivals New Zealand and Australia in the past.
In the previous five years when there has been both a Rugby Championship – or its previous incarnation the Tri-Nations – and a World Cup, the winners of the first tournament had subsequently failed to also deliver success on the global stage.
South Africa succeeded where these teams failed...
1999: TRI NATIONS WINNERS – NEW ZEALAND, WORLD CUP WINNERS – AUSTRALIA
The All Blacks won the first two Tri Nations and made it three in four years by thrashing South Africa 28-0, beating Australia 34-15 and claiming another victory over the Springboks.
However, a 28-7 loss to the Wallabies in the final fixture suggested New Zealand were not so invincible...
At the World Cup, the great Jonah Lomu scored eight tries yet France stunned New Zealand 43-31 in the last four, with Australia then winning the final against Les Bleus.
2003: TRI NATIONS WINNERS – NEW ZEALAND, WORLD CUP WINNERS – ENGLAND
Four wins out of four delivered another Tri Nations triumph for New Zealand.
The All Blacks scored 282 points in their four World Cup pool games in Australia too before easing past South Africa 29-9 in the quarter-finals.
But Elton Flatley's accuracy from the tee consigned New Zealand to another semi-final loss and sent Australia back to the final, where Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal in Sydney delivered a famous success for England.
2007: TRI NATIONS WINNERS – NEW ZEALAND, WORLD CUP WINNERS – SOUTH AFRICA
Neither Australia nor South Africa could deny the All Blacks another Tri Nations title in 2007, though it was a Northern Hemisphere nation who would stop their run at the World Cup.
New Zealand led 13-3 in the first half of their quarter-final against France only to suffer another knockout loss to their World Cup nemesis as Yannick Jauzion scored a brilliant converted try 11 minutes from time to seal a 20-18 success.
Defending champions England beat France in the semi-final but Percy Montgomery won the battle of the boots with Wilkinson in the final as South Africa secured their second World Cup.
2011: TRI NATIONS WINNERS – AUSTRALIA, WORLD CUP WINNERS – NEW ZEALAND
In the final Tri Nations before Argentina joined to form the Rugby Championship, Graham Henry's team lost their last two matches as Australia triumphed for the first time in a decade.
The World Cup was hosted in New Zealand and after years of being the nearly men, it was the All Blacks' turn to taste global glory again.
France were their final opponents and, in a tense, low-scoring contest, New Zealand won 8-7.
2015: RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS – AUSTRALIA, WORLD CUP WINNERS – NEW ZEALAND
Four years ago, Australia beat the other three nations to win the Rugby Championship, and came out on top of a World Cup pool that included Wales and hosts England.
The Wallabies narrowly saw off Scotland 35-34 and ousted Argentina 29-15 to set up a final with a New Zealand side that had hammered France 62-13 in the last eight.
No team had ever retained the World Cup before but Dan Carter shone on his international farewell to ensure Steve Hansen's side lifted the Webb Ellis Cup again.
England the latest favourites to suffer final shock
England's shock loss in the Rugby World Cup final was not the first occasion when a showpiece went dramatically against expectations.
England went into the Rugby World Cup final as strong favourites to defeat South Africa, only to go down to a 32-12 defeat in Yokohama.
Eddie Jones' side were stunning winners against New Zealand in the semi-finals, destroying the title ambitions of the mighty defending champions.
That 19-7 triumph set England up for a shot at the Springboks in the final and they were quickly tagged as firm favourites.
But the South Africa side that edged past Wales to reach the showpiece match defied expectations, with Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe scoring the only tries of the game, as Handre Pollard added 22 points off the tee.
England's shock defeat is one of many notable examples where a highly fancied team has fallen at the last hurdle.
Indeed, history is littered with examples of teams bringing out their best for semi-final matches, only to fall short on the big day.
Here is a look at some of the occasions when sides have not saved their best until last.
1987: Rugby World Cup - France stun hosts, surrender to All Blacks
In the days before World Cup semi-finals were automatically played in super stadia, Sydney's modest Concord Oval staged Australia's semi-final against France. A thriller was locked at 24-24 going into the dying moments, with Michael Lynagh having missed kicks to put the game to bed, when a jaw-dropping French attack resulted in Serge Blanco diving in at the left corner for the winning try. France were ecstatic, through to the first World Cup final, but New Zealand were behemoths lying in wait and the Eden Park final was a one-sided affair, the All Blacks powering to a 29-9 victory.
1999: Rugby World Cup - Quelle horreur! France falter at the last again
Jean-Claude Skrela's apparently formidable French swept through the group stage unscathed before dropping 47 points on Argentina and - mon dieu! - demolishing the All Blacks 43-31 in the semi-finals. France scorched back from 24-10 behind to sink the Kiwis in a Twickenham classic, inspired by the brilliant kicking of Christophe Lamaison and the gallivanting Christophe Dominici. Having edged out South Africa a day earlier, the Wallabies had considerably more left in the tank than Les Bleus when it came to the final, Rod Macqueen's men roaring to glory as 35-12 winners on the back of 25 points from the boot of Matt Burke and tries from Ben Tune and Owen Finegan.
2003: Premiership - Twickenham agony for dominant Gloucester
Gloucester looked bankers to be crowned kings of English rugby for the first time, after a stunning 2002-03 regular season saw them finish 15 points clear of distant nearest rivals Wasps at the pinnacle of the Premiership. Nigel Melville's side were far and away the best team over the campaign but then collapsed when it mattered most. The Cherry and Whites went straight into the final, which was the privilege at the time for the table-toppers, with Wasps and third-placed Northampton scuffling it out in a single semi-final for the right to join them. Wasps edged that game and then the side captained by Lawrence Dallaglio defied all logic by thumping Gloucester 39-3 at Twickenham to take the trophy.
2007: Premiership - Cherry and Whites off colour as Tigers pounce
Dean Ryan this time led Gloucester to the top of the Premiership table, albeit only marginally ahead of Leicester, but again there was crushing disappointment around the corner. A seven-try, 50-9 destruction of Saracens in their Kingsholm semi-final pointed to Gloucester being in great shape to gun at glory. At the very least they should have been highly competitive against Leicester in the championship match, so the 44-16 outcome in favour of the Tigers was a baffling outcome. Ryan admitted there was "mismatch.... across the field", while the Guardian memorably described the final as being "like watching field mice fleeing a combine harvester".
2015 Super Rugby: Hurricanes' hopes blown away
Everything was set up for the Hurricanes. They played a supreme regular season, finishing streets ahead of the Super Rugby pack with 14 wins from 16 matches, and after bulldozing the Brumbies 29-9 in the semi-finals they had home advantage at Westpac Stadium in Wellington for the title match. Chris Boyd's team looked nailed on, yet sport is rarely that straightforward. The Highlanders, who had never before won the competition, produced a powerful performance in the final and emerged 21-14 victors, silencing the home support who had showed up for a coronation. As Boyd said: "We were just a little off." And that can be enough in finals, where the switched-on invariably get their reward.
Gatland jibe haunts ragged England as South Africa play their final
Warren Gatland's mischievous words after his Wales team were edged out by South Africa in their semi seasoned this error-strewn stew.
"We have seen in previous World Cups that teams sometimes play their final in semi-finals and don't always turn up for a final," he said.
England undoubtedly left a peak they never troubled on Saturday, but not turning up suggests a team shrinking from the challenge and disappearing from view. All of England's toils, from errors with ball in hand to being obliterated at the set piece, came in plain sight. Only during a period of herculean Springbok defence after the half hour did they look something like the world's number one team.
Scrum half Faf de Klerk caught the eye as a yapping nuisance behind a formidable pack, although the introduction of South Africa's "Bomb Squad" replacement forwards did not turn the screw as expected, at least not initially. The changing personnel after half-time coincided with the penalty count climbing. Referee Jerome Garces was a busy man as each passage played out on the borderline of fair and unfair. Owen Farrell and Handre Pollard stepped up to kick the points and we were moving in accelerated three-point bursts.
South Africa won their previous two World Cup finals without touching down. That arrangement would have suited the majestic Pollard and the Rainbow Nation roaring him on down to the ground. Makazole Mapimpi had other ideas, popping a devilish kick over the England defence that Lukhanyo Am gathered smoothly. Two men hailing from South Africa's townships ensured another, Siya Kolisi would lift the Webb Ellis Cup – a triumph of symbolism and significance to arguably outstrip Nelson Mandela, Francois Pienaar, 1995 and all that.
England were now a bedraggled, disconsolate rabble, barely recognisable from the team that brought the All Blacks to their knees as they wearily stooped to their own haunches. Cheslin Kolbe rubbed their noses in it with a delirious romp down the right wing. The Rugby Championship winners were world champions again, having made a total mockery of their pre-match underdog status.
