2019 Rugby World Cup: Wynne Gray - The reason why the Springboks raised the Webb Ellis Cup

COMMENT:

The dancing steps of Cheslin Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi will grace the highlight reels for the Springboks.

Their work iced South Africa's third World Cup triumph which was built on a defensive screen and left England floundering.

Crowds thrilled to the pair's speed and flashing footwork which lit up the tournament in Japan but deep within the coaching world, all the technical admiration starts with a side's defensive heart.

England took the stuffing and semifinal confidence out of the All Blacks with their speed and defensive accuracy and then felt that same blowtorch when the Boks marched to the top of the rugby tree in Yokohama.

Thou shalt not pass was inscribed on every Springbok's soul and all that technique, courage and esprit de corps poured through them as they held their line in one extraordinary stretch of defiance.

Late in the first spell after some early wobbles England turned up the attacking wick and pounded at the Springbok line with a variety of plays.

They went short with the thunderous Vunipola brothers, tried a blindside dab or two, went wide and then back to the middle as the Springboks kept making their hits and getting off the ground. After 14 phases referee Jerome Garces signaled a penalty advantage and England went through another 14 phases until Elliot Daly lost the ball in a tackle.

Four minutes of searching attack was met by four minutes of exhausting but watertight resistance.

England won their penalty which Owen Farrell kicked but the Boks had made a bigger statement. They stared down the men in white and knew they had their measure. More of the same, up the tempo at scrums and lineouts, and chances would come as England wilted against the defensive flames.

The Boks danced home in the last 15 minutes through their skill helped by an abdication from TMO Ben Skeen about assessing a forward pass to Mapimpi--the sort of non-ruling which sent New Zealand into a frenzy in 2007 when France completed another outrageous comeback against the All Blacks.

No matter this time as the Springboks launched into overdrive for Kolbe to seal the deal when he zig-zagged past four weary white shirts.

Where did the result leave teams? Japan were ecstatic about the way they hosted the tournament and made the quarter-finals for the first time, the Springboks were in raptures about a third crown and the rest wandered off into the sunset thinking about how they could be better in 2023.

Sadly there were only a handful of memorable matches, the rest went according to every expectation while the laws and the strict officiating spoiled too many of the pool games.

The All Blacks played brilliantly and then flopped, England did likewise, Ireland simply flopped, Wales made others battle hard against their restricted gameplan, Australia rarely looked like it while France gave themselves an uppercut when they had Wales on the canvas.

The tournament made a record profit and attendances were near capacity and by those measurements, the tournament was a blazing success and will help spread the game through Asia. As an investment in quality sport and high-tension contests there was a dip in the ratings and that will continue as long as officials offer places to 20 sides in their search to fill World Rugby coffers.

The Springboks won't care. They deserved their victory and left everyone else staring at their shattered hopes and wondering how they can improve for the next event in France.