The All Blacks journey through the knockout stages to the final was one of contrast. In the quarterfinal, the All Blacks withstood a 37-phase assault from Ireland on the stroke of fulltime to sneak home 28-24. The semifinal was nowhere near as nail-biting with the All Blacks racking up seven tries in a comfortable 44-6 victory over Argentina. South Africa played out two dogged knockout matches which could have gone either way. In the quarterfinal, South Africa came back from an early deficit to knockout hosts France 28-29. Their semifinal against England was just as tense and hard fought. A long-range penalty from sharpshooter Handrè Pollard in the closing stages proved the difference in a 16-15 win over the 2003 champions.
- Event: New Zealand vs South Africa – Rugby World Cup 2023 Final
- Date: Saturday 28 October 2023
- Location: Stade de France, Paris
- Kick-off: 9pm CET. (Sunday 29 October, 8am NZT)
- Live Stream: WATCH NOW
All Blacks (caps in brackets):
1. Ethan de Groot (21) 2. Codie Taylor (84) 3. Tyrel Lomax (31) 4. Brodie Retallick (108) 5. Scott Barrett (68) 6. Shannon Frizell (32) 7. Sam Cane (c) (94) 8. Ardie Savea (80) 9. Aaron Smith (124) 10. Richie Mo’unga (55) 11. Mark Tele’a (8) 12. Jordie Barrett (56) 13. Rieko Ioane (68) 14. Will Jordan (30) 15. Beauden Barrett (122)
Reserves: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho (29) 17. Tamaiti Williams (7) 18. Nepo Laulala (52) 19. Samuel Whitelock (152) 20. Dalton Papali’i (31) 21. Finlay Christie (20) 22. Damian McKenzie (46) 23. Anton Lienert-Brown (69)
South Africa:
1 Steven Kitshoff 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi 3 Frans Malherbe 4 Eben Etzebeth 5 Franco Mostert 6 Siya Kolisi (c) 7 Pieter-Steph Du Toit 8 Duane Vermeulen 9 Faf de Klerk 10 Handre Pollard 11 Cheslin Kolbe 12 Damian de Allende 13 Jesse Kriel 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse 15 Damian Willemse
Reserves: 16 Deon Fourie 17 Ox Nche 18 Trevor Nyakane 19 Jean Kleyn 20 RG Snyman 21 Kwagga Smith 22 Jasper Wiese 23 Willie Le Roux
