2007 Rugby World Cup final

2007 Rugby World Cup final

The England team collect their silver medals.
Event	2007 Rugby World Cup
England South Africa 6 15
Date	20 October 2007
Venue	Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Man of the Match	Victor Matfield (South Africa)
Referee	Alain Rolland (Ireland)[1]
Attendance	80,430
← 2003 2011 →

The 2007 Rugby World Cup final was a rugby union match, played on Saturday, 20 October 2007 at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris, to determine the winner of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. South Africa beat England 15–6. Having also won the 1995 tournament, South Africa became the second country to win two World Cups, following Australia, who won in 1991 and 1999.^[2]

England and South Africa, who won their semi-finals against France and Argentina respectively, had met during the pool stage of the competition, when South Africa won 36–0.^[3] South Africa began the final undefeated in the competition. The final was refereed by Irish referee Alain Rolland.

The match itself was try-less with each team scoring only penalties, South Africa five – four by fullback Percy Montgomery and one by centre François Steyn – and England two, both by fly-half Jonny Wilkinson. Each team had one major try scoring opportunity; South Africa's came late in the first half, while England's came early in the second, as wing Mark Cueto had a try disallowed in the 42nd minute after he was ruled to have put a foot in touch during a tackle by Danie Rossouw before grounding the ball. Television match official Stuart Dickinson stood by his decision, though he encountered a language barrier with the French broadcaster preventing his access to frame-by-frame pictures.^[4]