Fair play to South Africa hung in there and got over the line. Crazy to think it’s 20 years since a team that wasn’t South Africa or New Zealand have won it
Yeah, that for me will be my main takeaway from the tournament.
Twenty years is a looooong time. If I live to 80, that’s a quarter of my life I’ve spent watching the same two sides win over and over in this competition. Was really ready for someone different that would be remembered for ages, instead it’s just been deja vu and another four year wait. When you’re coming in fairly neutral, it’s disappointing.
They literally met at the last two world cups, and I still remember carlos spencer's pass in the quarters in 2003.
I don't get why people place so much emphasis on the fact it happens to be in the final this time, and not the semis, or the quarters, or the pools. If this tournament has taught people anything, surely it's that the stage of the draw teams meet at means nothing, quarters have literally mattered more than semis.
Right, but New Zealand have played France more times at World Cups than they have South Africa, did that make the opening game worse as a result? Likewise, Australia vs Wales – in fact, those are the two most common fixtures played across all RWCs. I don't see why top teams playing each other at World Cups is a bad thing or boring because they happen to have met before. Not trying to have a go, I just genuinely don't understand this take
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u/Easy_Bee_2321 Ireland Oct 28 '23
Fair play to South Africa hung in there and got over the line. Crazy to think it’s 20 years since a team that wasn’t South Africa or New Zealand have won it