Boks v All Blacks at the World Cup: Five classic clashes

The Springboks and All Blacks have met on five occasions in the Rugby World Cup, with the results a mixed bag.

In the only final between them in 1995, the Boks came out on top in Joburg, for their first title.

Here, ahead of Saturday’s 2023 Rugby World Cup final between the Boks and All Blacks in Paris, we take a look back at those five previous World Cup clashes

1995 in South Africa — Final

The Boks and All Blacks met at the World Cup for the first time in the final of the showpiece event in South Africa, at the iconic Ellis Park in Johannesburg. It was also the Boks’ first appearance in the tournament after they missed out on the 1987 and 1991 events due to apartheid.

To reach the final the Boks topped their pool by beating Australia, Canada and Romania. They thumped Samoa 42-14 in the quarterfinal and edged France 19-15 in the semis. To reach the final the All Blacks topped their pool by beating Ireland, Wales and Japan. They beat Scotland 48-30 in the quarterfinal and England 45-29 in the semis.

In the final it was then the duel of the kickers in a low scoring encounter. Andrew Mehrtens and Joel Stransky exchanged penalties in the first half, before a 32nd minute Stransky drop goal put the Boks 9-6 up at the break.

A Mehrtens drop goal was then the only points of the second half, sending the game to extra time. The two flyhalves traded a penalty each in extra time before Stransky struck that famous drop goal winner.

1999 in Wales — Third/Fourth Playoff

This was the second time that the Boks and All Blacks met at the World Cup, after their thrilling final in South Africa four years earlier. The game was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff after both teams were knocked out in the tournament semifinals.

In the third/fourth playoff two penalties from the boot of Andrew Mehrtens and a drop goal from Percy Montgomery and penalty from Henry Honiball saw the sides level after 25 minutes.

Breyton Paulse then scored the only try of the game, converted by Honiball, while two more Mehrtens penalties and one from Honiball saw the Boks leading 22-16 at the break.

An early Honiball penalty in the second half put the Boks 19-12 up, but two more Mehrtens penalties made it a one-point game, before Montgomery sealed the 22-18 win with a late drop goal.

2003 in Australia – Quarter-final

For South Africa, the 2003 Rugby World Cup is best associated with Kamp Staaldraad, the military-like boot camp that was put together before the tournament by coach Rudolf Straeuli. The Boks’ performance in the tournament went under the radar as they exited in the quarter-finals.

They met with co-hosts and rivals New Zealand in the last eight in front of more than 40,000 spectators at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

The Boks had a fairly young team at the tournament and included the likes of John Smit, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw, Ashwin Willemse and a 20-year-old Derick Hougaard, who started at flyhalf in the final-eight match.

Straeuli’s side was dominated by the All Blacks in the encounter as they were second-best in almost every department. The All Blacks won the match 29-9, scoring three tries. The Boks had opportunities to score five-pointers but were not clinical. The Boks’ nine points came from the boot of Hougaard.

2015 in England – Semi-final

In the 2015 edition of the Rugby World Cup hosted in England, the Springboks and All Blacks met once again; this time around they would clash in the semi-finals.

The Boks, who were under the guidance of Heyneke Meyer, went into the game with the tag of underdogs, after earlier losing to Japan in pool play.

The game proved to be an arm wrestle of some sort as both teams gave it their all, with the All Blacks winning the tussle 20-18. The Boks kept themselves in the contest through penalties; Handre Pollard kicked five with Pat Lambie scoring one.

The experience of the loss in the last four match left a sour taste in the mouths of the young players, many of whom would be back in four years time to win the title. These players included Pollard, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Duane Vermeulen, Trevor Nyakane, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel and Willie le Roux.

2019 in Japan — Pool stage

The Springboks and All Blacks got the 2019 edition going with a much-anticipated pool game at the Yokohama Stadium.

The sides had met before the tournament in the Rugby Championship where they drew 16-16.

Their Pool B clash was expected to be a tight encounter and it lived up to expectations. The All Blacks ran away with the game though when they scored two converted tries in three minutes through George Bridge and Scott Barrett that saw them lead 17-3 at halftime.

The Boks clawed their way back into the game with a converted try from Pieter-Steph du Toit and a drop goal by Handre Pollard, but penalty goals from Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett saw the All Blacks win the game 23-13.

Following the defeat, the Boks went on an unprecedented run that ended with them winning the Webb Ellis Cup in Japan, becoming the first team to win the tournament after losing a match in the pool stages.

Additional reporting by Ross Roche.