All Blacks’ Sam Cane: Have to live with red card forever،
PARIS, France — All Blacks captain Sam Cane says he will have to live with the pain of being sent off in the Rugby World Cup final for the rest of his life as South Africa beat New Zealand 12-11 in Paris on Saturday. .
Cane received a yellow card in the 28th minute for a high tackle on South African Jesse Kriel. The map was under review in the bunker system and then was upgraded to red. The decision meant the All Blacks would have to play the final 52 minutes of the World Cup final with 14 men, with Cane becoming the first player in men’s World Cup history to be sent off in the final.
“At that point, I wasn’t even aware of it,” Cane said. “It kind of caught me off guard that he backed out. But look, we’ve been in this tournament for two months now, and anything head-related has ramifications.
“I’m not here to argue whether it was right or wrong. It can’t be changed. It’s unfortunately something I’m going to have to live with forever.”
Cane said the team was heartbroken by the loss. “[There’s] I’m in so much pain right now,” Cane said. “It’s actually hard to find the words to explain it. It’s hard because you feel so hurt, but at the same time you’re so proud of the group and the way they fought.
We really gave ourselves a good chance to win this game. I think that says a lot about the group as a whole. It’s a fantastic group of men who care so much about playing for the All Blacks and giving back proud New Zealand. There’s a “There’s a lot of grief in the sheds at the moment. It’s hard.”
All Blacks coach Ian Foster rallied behind his captain after the match. “It’s a tough day at the office when this happens. He’ll be feeling a lot of emotion, I suspect. There are some issues there.
“You look at the call and think it is what it is. We can’t control that, unfortunately. I didn’t feel like we had the upper hand on the green in that first half , so we had to try and take our chances. It was a move that went against us.
“I think we’ve all seen the way Sam has contributed to the game, to our team behind the scenes, it’s fantastic. Worthy of being captain of the All Blacks, which is an honor and a privilege and I think “He carried that beautifully. I’m incredibly proud of him and proud to coach him.
For Foster, it was his final game in charge of the All Blacks with Scott Robertson in line to take charge of New Zealand. He said there had been more “ups than downs” in the journey from the 2019 World Cup to the 2023 final, but he also paid tribute to the Springboks.
“They know their game,” Foster said. “They’re strong, they’re experienced and they’ve clearly learned to fight in dark places. You can’t argue with the three close wins they’ve had in this tournament. They have a lot of toughness in this space. They have the ability to play the game at their own pace.
