South Africa won its third Rugby World Cup title on Saturday. The Springboks secured a 32-12 win over England.
England had gone into the match as favourites after having easily beaten the 2015 winners, New Zealand, in the semi final.
The first half had been a tight affair, with the Springboks going into the break 9-6. However, South Africa had pulled away in the second half with tries by Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe. These were also the first tries scored by South Africa in a final.
South Africa are unbeaten in World Cup finals having won all three that they have appeared in. This was England’s fourth final, and they only have one victory, in 2003, to show for it.
The team and its captain, Siya Kolisi, were widely hailed, both on social media and in the traditional media both for their win and for the way the team has handled itself in Japan.