The All Blacks have finally done it! After 24 years of heartbreak they have beaten France 8-7 in a Rugby World Cup final of great theatre at Eden Park tonight.
Written off by everybody, France came to play tonight and dominated the second half after inspirational captain Thierry Dusautoir closed the gap to one point with half an hour remaining.
New Zealand nerves had already reached breaking point when the much maligned Stephen Donald entered the contest late in the first half for the injured Aaron Cruden but ironically it he who landed the decisive penalty before France stormed back into the contest.
He was needed after Mr fix it Piri Weepu had a nightmare evening, especially with the boot in missing three shots of goal.
As the clock wound down, France launched assault after assault at the All Blacks but the black wave stood strong under the sternest of examinations.
However a handling error by Jean Marc Doussain with three minutes remaining gave the All Blacks the break they needed and as the 60,000 strong crowd roared in one it was all but official the best rugby nation in the world were finally World Champions again.
After being dramatically knocked out of the World Cup four years ago by the same nation, the All Blacks had taken the early lead through a try to prop Tony Woodcock but their 5-0 advantage hardly gave justice to the amount of territory and ball they had enjoyed.
The French to their credit scrambled well in defence by pushing the All Blacks towards the sidelines with man-of-the-match Dusautoir leading from the front with a game high 22 tackles.
The stats were turned around in the second half with the All Blacks forced to make 20 more tackles and objectively speaking, France perhaps deserved to win.
Nevertheless, even though the All Blacks won the lowest scoring World Cup final in history by the narrowest of margins no one could deny they were the best team at this tournament.
Victory may not have been theirs without the outstanding efforts of captain McCaw and number eight Kieran Read, who led the New Zealand defence with 15 tackles.
In many ways Read's effort epitomised the whole teams spirit who despite wilting never quite choked.
France began the final well, linking a number of phases together and varying their game with some deft insides touches while bringing their wingers Vincent Clerc and Alexis Palisson into play.
The All Blacks plague like defence remained strong and when Woodcock forced a breakdown penalty, Weepu had the first chance to bring up points from 45 metres out on the angle but pulled it badly.
Things started go downhill for France when first five-eighth Morgan Parra, all of 77 kilograms, tackled Maa Nonu front on and was forced to leave the field after 12 minutes.
Moments later, on the back of a penalty the All Blacks lineout pulled out a move from the training ground in scoring a try that was surprisingly easy.
Keven Mealamu tossed the ball into the middle of the lineout to provincial partner Jerome Kaino who tapped the ball down for Woodcock who strolled 10 metres for a great prop forwards try.
It was indeed the Blues connection of the All Blacks forward pack combining but if anyone can take credit for the set move it would probably be forwards coach Steve Hansen, who was conspicuously patted on the back by Graham Henry once the try was awarded.
Weepu missed the conversion and then a penalty 10 minutes later as the All Blacks failed to build on their 5-0 lead despite dominating both territory and possession.
Panic levels rose all around New Zealand when 22-year-old first five-eighth Cruden limped of the field with a bung knee in the tackle of opposite Francois Trinh-Duc.
With Daniel Carter and Colin Slade long gone the next cab off the rank was Donald who despite being the scorn of a nation received a warm round of applause as he ran on to the field.
His introduction in the 34th minute coincided with France looking at their dangerous of the half however. Trinh-Duc, who replaced Parra and was among the best players on the field, was at the forefront of the late French assault as he narrowly missed with a drop-goal and then made a searing linebreak only to be pulled down 10 metres short.
France continued their surge after the break and on the back of McCaw infringing at the breakdown had the first opportunity for points however Dimitri Yachvili was unable to convert from a difficult angle.
Donald, who replaced the out of sorts Weepu with the goal-kicking duties, extended the lead to 8-0 after Thierry Dusautoir gave away a penalty at the breakdown.
Seconds later and with a comfortable buffer, the All Blacks fell asleep. A terrible mix up at the ruck saw Weepu kick the ball into the arms of Trinh-Duc who broke down field to put France hot on attack and two rucks later it was captain Dusautoir who powered over next to the posts.
Yachvil added the extras and after Weepu kicked the restart out on the full, ala Quade Cooper last week, France was starting to believe that could crush All Black dreams once more.
Viral superhero Weepu was pulled from the field after his calamity of errors but that didnt stop the French charge. Far from it.
Yachvil missed the chance to put France in the lead with 20 minutes remaining with a missed penalty from 49 metres out after the All Blacks scrum buckled.
The All Blacks were forced to tackle like their life depended in the final 15 minutes but they held out to be the winning side in what was arguably the greatest World Cup final.
Quoted from TV 1 News, New Zealand.
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