New Zealand and South Africa have won six of the nine World Cups. Whoever triumphs will make history by lifting the Webb Ellis Cup for a fourth time.
Of course, this is not even the first final between the All Blacks and the Springboks — and yet both consider this Stade de France contest as unique.
The history and supremacy of both teams would argue otherwise. But when Sam Cane, Ian Foster, Siya Kolisi and Jacques Nienaber talk, the entire rugby globe listens.
“I don’t think it will happen again in our lifetime to have two teams like this meet in a World Cup final,” said South Africa captain Kolisi.
The defending champion Springboks against the resurgent All Blacks. The immovable object against the irresistible force.
When South Africa battered New Zealand 35-7 at Twickenham on August 25, no one predicted this final.
The Springboks flexed their World Cup champion status by inflicting the All Blacks’ heaviest defeat in history.
Ireland entered this World Cup as No1 in the world. Some eight weeks later, the final is a battle of the top two in the rankings.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 27, 2023 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 27, 2023 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
The era of longevity is almost upon us. But can our minds really keep up?
A post-ageing world is just around the corner, says longevity scientist AUBREY DE GREY, and it’s going to change the way we live
Hidden London
SECRET SPOTS YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO DISCOVER
How Christian Louboutin fell in love with Melides in Portugal
The wild beauty of this seaside village charmed the French fashion designer so much that he made it his home
Actor Millie Bobby Brown romances in Hyde Park, feasts at Sheesh and buys thelot at Harrods
Interview with Actor Millie Bobby Brown
How will Arteta manage without influential Edu?
Arsenal need smooth transition between eras just like Man City
"I had no one in Manchester apart from my PlayStation"
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was a young man rated among the country's most promising footballers when Manchester United came calling in the summer of 2019.
The battle for the soul of Soho
Inside the war between London's porn baron family and the council they say is killing the vibe
At the table: Sad steaks seasoned with despair
Fetch the smelling salts, you're in for a shock: A Restaurant Critic Hates a Famously Terrible Restaurant. Low-hanging fruit? Perhaps.
Class portrait Nobody else writes about middle England so acutely
Tessa Hadley's first novella depicts women in refreshing ways
How a tiny cult radio station in Hackney took over the world
I think the most obscure place I've had a listener email from so far was probably a guy in the Yukon,\" laughs Flo Dill, the host of NTS Radio's flagship morning show.