The 2023 Rugby World Cup came to an end on Saturday night when South Africa defeated New Zealand to win the William Webb Ellis Cup for the fourth time.

It was an exciting few months, with many twists and turns, during the tenth edition of rugby’s premier competition. From an inspiring Sia Kolisi lifting the trophy for the second time, to Portugal shocking the rugby world with a sensational victory over Fiji, this World Cup has been one to remember.

But not everything was simple: there were many things in France that could have been done a little better. rugby correspondent Stefan Tomás looks at the winners and losers of the World Cup as a whole.

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Winners

Ian Foster

Yes, I know New Zealand ended up losing to South Africa in the final, but after a tumultuous few years, the All Blacks looked more like their old selves when the competition ended. Just 18 months ago, Foster faced the very real possibility of becoming the first All Blacks coach to be sacked, but a back-to-back win at Ellis Park over the Springboks and the team’s senior players behind him. , saved his skin. Join the new WalesOnline Rugby WhatsApp channel here

The All Blacks got better and better as the World Cup progressed, and their surprise victory over arguably Ireland’s best team was one of their best knockout victories. Foster came under heavy criticism after suffering the ignominy of becoming the first All Blacks coach to lose a Test series to Ireland at home last summer.

Some of the criticism directed at him was personal and downright unpleasant, but Foster showed a lot of class and dignity in dealing with it. This All Blacks team may not be in the same class as their predecessors, but they bounced back from adversity and came close to becoming world champions, playing with 14 men for most of the final, and Foster will get some credit. .

Portugal

They were also expected to be sore, a team that would be seriously overlooked in every World Cup match, but that never happened. Portugal were a revelation during the group stage and former France coach Patrice Laguisquet was a key factor in their success.

It was a pleasure to see Os Wolves with their fast play causing problems even for the best teams, with their forwards punching above their weight. They caused Wales and Australia serious problems and the victory over Fiji could have been their finest hour of the World Cup.

What made it even better was the reaction of the thousands of fans when they returned to Portugal and, if they had the support of World Rugby, they could become a competitive rugby nation.

The Springboks are overcoming adversity

Just a few years ago, Peter-Steph du Toit almost lost his leg after a bruise turned into a rare condition called acute compartment syndrome. Doctors seriously considered amputating his left leg, but in the end he was saved and the rest is history.

The 31-year-old has had a hugely successful career and his man-of-the-match display in Saturday’s final was perhaps his finest hour. Du Toit made 28 magnificent tackles, tirelessly hand-holding and relentless physicality that laid the foundations for South Africa’s victory.

But he is not the only member of South Africa’s World Cup-winning squad to overcome adversity. In 2016, Springbok star Handre Pollard also almost lost a limb, in his case an arm, following complications from what was supposed to be surgery.

Pollard had to spend another five weeks in hospital due to a serious infection, but luckily he managed to save his hand. If you also consider Siya Kolisi’s rise from the slums of South African townships, the Springboks have players who have overcome serious challenges in life to get to where they are today.

High octane drama

The round of 16 of the World Cup was pure theater, especially the quarterfinals. New Zealand’s epic victory over Ireland and South Africa’s 1-point victory over hosts France were two of the best games of the modern era.

Although much of the rugby was not as fluid as some would prefer, the tension was at times unbearable. When it comes to elite sports, what counts is what’s at stake.

One hit or one foul and you’re out of the World Cup. South Africa’s dramatic semi-final victory over a plucky England was for the purists, but in terms of pure drama it was up there.

These matches were decided by the best result and another day someone from Ireland, France, New Zealand or even England could lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

Losers

world rugby

World Rugby has been criticized for the lack of opportunities facing Tier 2 nations, and rightly so. Portugal was the World Cup’s biggest success story, putting immense pressure on Australia and Wales before drawing with Georgia and claiming a historic victory over Fiji.

Uruguay also performed respectably, competing well against a second division French team, while Chile partially impressed, but the problem is that neither of these nations will have the opportunity to grow and develop over the next four years. The Rugby World Cup last week announced the creation of the biennial Nations Championship, which will include all teams from the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship, with two more teams expected: Fiji and Japan.

It will launch in 2026, but promotion and relegation will not begin until 2030, while the Six Nations is closed. Although the World Cup has increased from 20 to 24 teams in 2027, developing countries will be ill-prepared due to the lack of regular test matches against those in Tier 1.

Portugal was a huge success story in 2023, but what let the tournament down was the huge inconsistency in the group stage, with tier 2 nations not being as prepared as they should have been due to a lack of opportunities to play big. guys between World Cups.

Eddie Jones and Australian rugby

When Rugby Australia made the ill-advised decision to replace Dave Rennie with Eddie Jones, it should have taken the Wallabies to another level. They were right, only things didn’t go well when the Wallabies failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Jones chose to leave seasoned campaigners Quaid Cooper and Michael Hooper at home, placing his faith in youth, but this backfired spectacularly. Despite Jones’s cheekiness with reporters at press conferences, the Wallabies regressed at a breakneck pace, suffering a record 40-6 defeat to Wales and their first defeat to Fiji in 70 years.

Jones has now resigned as Wallabies coach and is likely to return to the Japanese national team, leaving Australian rugby union in a precarious position. The Wallabies were seen by many as the competition’s real underdogs, especially given Jones’ record of instant results.

But this time that hasn’t happened, and with them hosting Rugby Australia in four years’ time, answers need to be found very quickly, especially given the pressure on the union from other sports in Australia.

Inconsistent refereeing

Don’t get me wrong, the referees put in some great performances during the World Cup, but the inconsistency around penalties for headers is a huge problem. World Rugby’s new bunker system was a relatively positive step in reducing pressure on the referee, but the results of many incidents left much to be desired.

The “game has gone soft” brigade will disagree with me, but rugby is on a slippery slope because it is still not strict enough when it comes to punishing direct contact to the head. More and more former professional players are developing irreversible life-altering conditions such as dementia as a result of repeated concussions suffered while playing. Read my weekly column in our rugby newsletter.

Any direct hard contact to the head should be an automatic red card to force players to change their habits. It is inevitable that more and more players will suffer the lifelong effects of concussions and, as a result, the biggest threat to the game is parents who do not allow their children to play sport.

Disagreement over the final decision on whether an incident merits a yellow or red card also ruins the game as a spectacle. What is considered a red card in one match is considered a yellow card in another, even though the incidents were almost identical.

The worst happened when Argentine lock Guido Petty applied force to the head of Welsh center Nick Tompkins, who was sent off the field with an HIA. Inconsistency kills the game.

There is no peace in the Union

Since the first Rugby World Cup in 1987, the song World in Union has been at the heart of the tournament. Historically, ITV’s coverage always started with a quick rendition of the song, although it was always sung at the opening ceremony and the final, but for some inexplicable reason it wasn’t this time.

This is nothing compared to some of the other problems the game faces, but it would be a shame to abandon the tradition and it would be a nice return in 2027.