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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
PARIS, France — All Blacks captain Sam Cane said he’ll have to live with the pain of being sent-off in the Rugby World Cup final for the rest of his life as South Africa beat New Zealand 12-11 in Paris on Saturday.
Cane was shown a yellow card in the 28th minute for a high tackle on South Africa’s Jesse Kriel. The card was under review in the bunker system, and was then upgraded to a red. The decision meant the All Blacks would have to play the last 52 minutes of the World Cup final with 14 men, with Cane becoming the first player in men’s World Cup history to be sent-off in the final.
“There at the time, I wasn’t even aware,” Cane said. “It sort of caught me off guard the fact he stepped back. But, look, we’ve been at this tournament for two months now, and anything around the head has ramifications.
“I’m not here to discuss whether it was right or wrong. It can’t be changed. It’s something unfortunately I am going to have to live with forever.”
Cane said the team were heartbroken by the defeat. “[There’s] So much hurt right now,” Cane said. “It’s actually hard to find the words to explain it. It’s hard because you are feeling so much hurt but at the same time you are so proud of the group in how they fought back.
“We really gave ourselves a good shot of winning that game. I think it speaks volumes of the group as a whole. They are a fantastic group of men who care so much about playing for the All Blacks and making New Zealand proud. There’s a lot of heartbreak in the sheds right now. It’s hard.”
All Blacks coach Ian Foster rallied behind his captain post-match. “It’s a tough old day at the office when that happens. He’ll feel a lot of emotion, I guess. There are a few issues there.
“You look at the decision and think it is what it is. We can’t control that, unfortunately. I didn’t feel we got the rub of the green in that first half so we had to try and make our own luck. That was one that went against us.
“I think we’ve all seen the way Sam has contributed to the game, to our team behind the scenes, it’s fantastic. Worthy of being captain of the All Blacks, which is an honour and a privilege and I think he has carried that magnificently. I’m incredibly proud of him and proud to coach him.”
For Foster, it was his final match in charge of the All Blacks with Scott Robertson in line to take charge of New Zealand. He said there were more “ups than downs” in the journey from the 2019 World Cup through to the 2023 final, but he also paid tribute to the Springboks.
“They just know their game,” Foster said. “They’re strong, they’re experienced and clearly they’ve learned how to fight in dark places. You can’t argue with the three close wins that they’ve had in this tournament. They’ve got a lot of tenacity in that space. They’ve got the ability to play the game at their pace.”