Rugby World Cup final: Six game breakers

The Springboks and All Blacks go head to head in a blockbuster Rugby World Cup final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Saturday night.

It has been one of the most competitive tournaments so far and both teams head into the final having suffered a loss in the build-up.

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The All Blacks went down to France in their tournament opener while the Boks lost to Ireland in the pool stage, but both have bounced back superbly with the All Blacks beating Ireland 28-24 and the Boks edging France 29-28 in the quarterfinals.

The All Blacks then thrashed Argentina 44-6, while the Boks again snuck through with a 16-15 win over England in the semifinals to get to the finale of the showpiece event.

With it all on the line now here are six potential game breakers for the World Cup final:

Springboks

Handre Pollard

Originally having missed out on selection for the competition due to injury, Pollard has become the hero of the knockouts for the Boks with two massive halfway line clutch penalties proving crucial in their wins over France and England.

The experience and big match temperament that Pollard has brought to the side since coming in as an injury replacement for Malcolm Marx has been invaluable and he will again be a key player against the All Blacks on Saturday.

The Boks struggled with their goal kicking before the arrival of Pollard, but he has now sorted that out and although Manie Libbok is desperately unlucky to be missing out on the final having played so well, Pollard’s game is suited more to the expected wet weather.

Eben Etzebeth

The Boks’ main enforcer Eben Etzebeth will have a massive role to play during the 50 or so minutes he is on the field during the match against the All Blacks. With the Boks backing a 7-1 bench split he is likely to be subbed early in the second half, so has the freedom to empty the tank.

Etzebeth has been in superb form this season and was duly rewarded earlier this week as being one of the nominees for the World Rugby Player of the year awards and he will probably be keen to back that up with a big performance on Saturday.

He will have to deal with All Blacks monster Brodie Retallick at the lineouts and will need to physically impose himself on the game as he has been doing, especially at the breakdown where the Boks will need to get the upper hand.

Ox Nche

The powerful loose head prop has, along with Handre Pollard, become the Boks most valuable player of the knockout phase. His massive performances off the bench have been integral in getting the Boks vital match winning penalties.

Nche is arguably the most powerful scrummer in World Rugby and although many will question while he doesn’t start, his impact as part of the famed Bok ‘bomb squad’ is immense and hard to overlook.

Against the All Blacks Nche will again be tasked with bringing the heat in the second half and as he showed in the Boks knockout wins over France and England, he could again prove to be the match decider in the final.

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All Blacks

Will Jordan

Arguably the most dangerous man in World Rugby, flyer Will Jordan will be chasing history when he takes to the field for the final against the Boks. Jordan has been ruthless in the World Cup so far and has scored a tournament leading eight tries so far.

He is on the brink of breaking the record for most tries at a World Cup, which he currently shares with Jonah Lomu (1999), Bryan Habana (2007) and Julien Savea (2015) and will have a chance to be the first player to dot down nine times if he scores in the final.

Jordan also heads into the match in terrific form having scored a hattrick in their massive semifinal win over Argentina and he will hope to make just as big an impact against the Boks in the grand finale.

Richie Mo’unga

All Black fans will have breathed a heavy sigh of relief when mercurial flyhalf Richie Mo’unga was named in the starting line-up for the final, after he picked up a knock in training and was reportedly in serious doubt for the match.

Mo’unga is a massive cog in the All Blacks attacking backline and his vision, eye for a gap and attacking kicking out of hand have been crucial in the teams brutally effective running game, which will be looking to fire against the Boks.

It is also Mo’unga’s final appearance for the All Blacks as he will join Japanese club Toshiba Brave Lupus after the competition, and players who don’t play in New Zealand are ineligible for the national side, so he will be eager to end things off with a bang.

Ardie Savea

The All Blacks eighthman is box office. He has arguably been their best player over the past World Cup cycle and has taken that form into the tournament with him putting in monstrous performances over the competition so far.

Savea put in a man-of-the-match performance in their crucial quarterfinal win over Ireland and was again superb in their semifinal thrashing of Argentina. He will be looking to take that superb form into the final against the Boks.

Savea has also been recognised for his brilliant form by being named as a nominee for World Rugby’s player of the year award, along with Bundee Aki, Antoine Dupont and Eben Etzebeth, and he will be keen to put in a stand out performance on Saturday.