New Zealand captain Richie McCaw holds aloft the Webb Ellis Cup as he celebrates with teammates after defeating Australia 34-17 in the Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham stadium, London, on Saturday.
Twickenham (England): Dan Carter left the international stage as New Zealand’s hero in their historic World Cup win over Australia that opened up a new era of All Black domination of rugby.
The 33-year-old world record points scorer hit a decisive drop goal for the second straight game to guide his side to a 34-17 triumph that left rivals wondering what they have to do to knock the rugby kings off their throne.
New Zealand became the first team to win the cup three times, the first to win two straight tournaments and it was the first time they have won the World Cup away from home.
“This was all about New Zealand. They thoroughly deserved their win. They’ve been the best team all tournament, they’ve played really well,” said Australia’s battered captain Stephen Moore whose side staged a stunning second half fightback when New Zealand were reduced to 14 men for 10 jittery minutes.
Carter said winning was the “ultimate achievement.””Becoming the first team to retain the trophy shows how special this side is,” he added. The New Zealand victory was an incredible end to what World Rugby president Bernard Lapasset has called the “best” World Cup ever — 48 matches in front of record attendances.
Carter kicked 19 points in his last international to take his record points tally to 1,598. Team skipper McCaw, 34, has been tipped to retire but said he was so excited by the win that he would not think about his future until he returns home.
“I still don’t want it to end to be honest,” he said. “At the moment I am still part of this team. I am going to enjoy today, and how could you get enough of this?” McCaw said he was “hugely satisfied” with the win.
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