Une Black Ferns Sevens lance sa médaille d'or à une fan de l’Australie
L’un des moments les plus emblématiques de la finale de la Coupe du Monde de Rugby 2015 ne s’est même pas déroulé pendant le match, mais juste après. Après que le capitaine Richie McCaw a soulevé en triomphe le Trophée Webb Ellis, et alors que les All Blacks faisaient le tour d’honneur, Sonny Bill Williams a fait cadeau de sa médaille à un jeune supporter.
On s’en souvient, l’histoire a fait le tour du monde. La générosité de Williams, qui a offert ce que tout joueur de rugby professionnel aspire à recevoir, résonnera dans l’histoire de l’événement le plus prestigieux de ce sport. Cet échange inattendu a sans aucun doute incité de nombreuses personnes à rêver en grand.
Si tu l’attrapes, tu la gardes
Mais ce n’est qu’un exemple. Il y a eu d’innombrables moments au cours des presque dix années qui ont suivi, et notamment lors de l’historique Cathay/HSBC Hongkong Sevens ce week-end.
Pendant la finale du tournoi masculin – que les All Blacks Sevens ont remportée 10-7 face à la France – la Néo-Zélandaise Shiray Kaka a proposé de lancer sa médaille d’or du Hongkong Sevens à une jeune supportrice qui se tenait au-dessus du tunnel nord-ouest. Si la jeune fille l’attrapait, elle pouvait la ramener chez elle.
La jeune Australienne a attrapé la médaille, qui lui appartient désormais. Toujours souriante, Shiray Kaka s’est entretenu avec les journalistes quelques secondes plus tard, mais la Néo-Zélandaise n’a pas évoqué ce moment passé inaperçu avec la jeune fan.
Lot de consolation
Mais après avoir entendu parler de ce moment incroyable, on a dû littéralement courir vers Kaka pour lui demander rapidement ce qu’il s’était passé et les raisons de ce geste.
« Elle m’a encouragé tout le week-end », a confié Shiray à RugbyPass, sur le chemin du vestiaire. « Elle porte le maillot de l’Australie, donc c’est un peu comme si je me sentais désolée. »
Quelques heures avant, la Nouvelle-Zélande avait en effet privé l’Australie d’une place en finale en battant les Aussies 28-14 en demi-finale.
« Elle est si mignonne. Elle est fan de l’Australie et adore le rugby. Je veux que les enfants comme elle continuent à aimer le rugby, c’est pourquoi je lui ai donné. »
Médaille du fair-play
Après avoir perdu en finale, en demi-finales puis en quarts de finale lors des trois premiers tournois de la saison, les Black Ferns Sevens ont redressé leur saison 2023/24 avec une étonnante série de victoires en finale de Cup.
Après avoir battu les États-Unis en finale, et l’Australie s’étant classée troisième, la Nouvelle-Zélande s’est hissée à la première place du classement général des SVNS Series à la différence de points. Les Néo-Zélandaises sont à égalité avec les Australiennes (106 points).
« À chaque fois que les Australiennes jouent, nous avons tendance à penser : “Oh, quelqu’un les a battues”, et je suis convaincue qu’elles ont le même sentiment lorsque nous jouons », a expliqué Kaka.
« C’est juste un peu de chambrage entre nous. Il n’y a pas de rancune.
« Je ne suis pas très humble. Je sais que je suis plutôt cool et que je suis plutôt bonne au rugby, alors je savais que mon heure viendrait », a plaisanté Shiray Kaka après avoir été désignée comme la joueuse la plus fair-play du tournoi.
Comments on RugbyPass
Barrett's try came from a forward pass, and perhaps the Bok game plan would have been different had the ABs remained with 15 on the pitch. We will never know. But if we are living in a world if what if's, then go back to the France v Bok game. France dominated the WC, and had they gotten past the boks, would have easily beaten the ABs in the Final
29 Go to commentsRehashed articles. But this piece does not do justice to how good the Boks had to be to win that tournament, and how immense some of their players were in that final. Peter Stef du Toit played one of the greatest games by a loose forward ever. All Blacks played well but not well enough and came up short. There are a million ‘if’s’ and none of the ‘if’s’ that don’t happen will win you a footy match.
29 Go to commentsSour grapes/ face it the allblacks aren't that good anymore LoL!!!
29 Go to commentsDear Internet, This is what sour grapes look like… It wont make any difference in down playing the SA win. The scoreboard is the ultimate statistic. I agree with Johnz, I would have liked a full 15vs15 for the whole game. Could have been even better or worse. What we as rugby supporters got, was a fantastic game where the result could have gone either way. It was great.
29 Go to commentsben loser smith. I haven't read the article. Just saw the headline and knew it was him. Rugbypass surely you can do better than this clickbate loser.
29 Go to commentsIf if if….If my aunt had balls she would be my uncle
29 Go to commentsBen is right, the RWC should be taken from SA and awarded to NZ. Rugby matches from now on will not be decided on points but rather on who deserved to win the most. This will be decided by 1 journalist sitting in a bunker.
29 Go to commentsThat's quite a wind up Ben. I'm an all black fan, and admittedly the loss felt a little hollow, given how well the boys played once Cane left the field. But that's finals footy, sometimes it's cruel. Let's look at the reality though. This was a team that spent an entire year thinking about how to beat Ireland, and did so magnificently. Come final time, they started the match looking overawed, fearful and unprepared. This led them to getting behind on the scoreboard, and chasing the game, which is never a good position to be in a final. SA started better, were confident and assured. That, in the end, was the game. The comeback led by Savea was phenomenal, but not quite enough. That's how comebacks often go. The real questions should be why they looked so unprepared? Why we needed to get behind and lose our so called leader to start playing? And why the best player against SA from a month or two before wasn't even in the team? Plus give some credit where it's due, PSD was quite phenomenal and instrumental in keeping SA ahead, a performance for the ages.
29 Go to commentsMy only response is “Check the Scoreboard” nothing else matters. Ben you will not wind me up pal. Boks are 4 times RWC Champions.
29 Go to commentsThere is no place to hide in the front row. You win or lose each time and it selects for hard men/women and those who enjoy combat
7 Go to commentsThey might have won several different areas on the field but the one that ultimately counts is on the scoreboard. Ben Smith’s nonsense is still shown up for what it is following criticisings by his team’s coach claiming similar nonsenses and several other players as well. I am not an expert but I know All Blacks know that the game is won by the team with more points on the board than the opposition. Also the red card on Sam Cane is entirely his own fault. If they were aggrieved for having one less player on the pitch, that was their own fault, their own captain who possibly in a moment of forgetfulness tackled too high but either way it is a RWC Final, you cannot be having lapses of forgetfulness in a match like that. The fact that they were down a man for 64 minutes was their fault. And even if they did dominate the second half for 35 minutes, they had crossed the whitewash twice, they had several kicks at goal, the fact is they didn't maximize on all the opportunities they were given. The one try was disallowed, the two kicks at goal were missed, the opportunities not taken. Every tackle was made by the Springboks with so much more fervour than anyone had seen even in the Semi Final the week previously. Whatever Ben Smith says, most of what he says can be chalked down to a spoiled sport who has nothing better to say than whine and moan because ultimately the team he supports lost when it mattered most.
29 Go to commentsThere’s plenty I could write on this, I won’t stop if I really get going, so i’ll make just 2 important points. Don’t forget that SA didn’t have a hooker, don’t discount that fact. I would have taken MBONAMBI fit for the game over a yellow to Frizelle. Also you forget that NZ had the luxury of playing without pressure once the red came. Noone expected them to win and they could always fall back on 14 men if they lost. I’d also have taken 15 men NZ and MBONAMBI on the field over what transpired.
29 Go to commentsSome people in France say that JB Lafont have some problems with alcohol….
2 Go to commentsThis is awesome news. I hope he goes well.
1 Go to commentsI get that Ben's role is to attract SA readers with controversial clickbait, but what about respecting the rivalry of over 100 years? The Boks won, we lost. The Boks have now won 4 world cups since their inclusion back into international rugby, and in that time the rest of the world combined have only won 4! It's an incredible achievement. Show respect, and then hope we win 2-0 in SA later this year. But don't be a whiner; it means you don't understand the rivalry at its essence. Winner takes all when NZ plays SA. Sport in it's purest form. Long may it continue.
29 Go to commentsU Nz never ever use to be such a bunch off whining girls,now this so sad that u got this aasss writing some crap
29 Go to commentsBeautifully written.
7 Go to commentsYou can be a dominating team and still lose. The Boks know that if the ABs are a man down, they play as if they have another two players on the field. The ABs did attack, they did apply pressure, they built more plays but they did not add more points to the board. The ABs are still the most dominant team in sports today as the ABs will go for a win in every game they play. Rassie and Jacques have used the time between World Cups to build squad depth. They were also the last tier 1 nation to start playing rugby after COVID restrictions were eased and still won the series against The B&I Lions. Ben may write to persuade the reader that the Boks are not worthy of the trophy or worthy to be the best in the world but Ben, since you enjoy stats so much, you forgot the most important statistic….the score! That's the one that matters most.
29 Go to commentsNot a fan of Penney to be fair as I don’t see him able to perform at SR level. However he has stepped into a bit of a mess with so many long service players leaving. No matter how good a coach us he can’t wave a magic wind and turn young pups into Crusaders in 5 mins. Wheaven to accept this is a complete rebuild of players and culture. Have some patience just as the other teams have had in years gone by
29 Go to commentsWhat is Ben’s point exactly? Cause if it’s that the ABs should’ve won that game, then yes I think every AB fan would agree with that. But the DIDN'T. You need luck to go your way and it went the Springboks way, just as it went the ABs way in 2011. Given that this article is written 6 months after the final shows that Ben is still incredibly butthurt. Time to move on Mr Smith. Maybe join something that suits your bias… i’m thinking the Australian commentary panel?
29 Go to comments