If there has been a theme of the World Cup, a lesson for us all to take from these long seven weeks, it is this: the game sometimes runs on strange and powerful currents. It is not necessarily the sharpest, smartest, fittest, fastest or strongest team that wins, but the one who wants it most. Listening to South Africa’s captain, Siya Kolisi, and coach, Rassie Erasmus, talk about what this victory meant in the minutes after they had won it, you began to understand exactly what England were up against and the way the Springboks were thinking about it, England had lost the match before it even began.
Nobody had won the World Cup after losing a game earlier in the tournament. That was one of Eddie Jones’s favourite facts, one he quoted more than once along the way, as his team reeled off their five consecutive victories. Then they met the Springboks, who were beaten by New Zealand in the opening week. This time, the end was in the beginning.
Related: England 12-32 South Africa: Rugby World Cup 2019 final – as it happened
Related: 'Our first win with a black captain': Springbok rugby fans celebrate
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