Rugby World Cup Final 2015: Winners and Losers from New Zealand vs. Australia

New Zealand claimed a second consecutive Rugby World Cup with a 34-17 win over Australia at Twickenham

A try before the break from Nehe Milner-Skudder was added to by Ma’a Nonu after the interval. Australia hit back while Ben Smith was in the sin bin through David Pocock and Tevita Kuridrani, but Dan Carter dropped a goal to reassert All Black control and nail a long-range penalty to settle nerves into the last 10 minutes.

Beauden Barrett’s late score finished off a deserved victory for Steve Hansen’s men.

It’s All Black again in this Rugby World Cup.

Here are the final’s winners and losers.

Winner: Dan Carter

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Dan Carter put in a Man of Match display to guide New Zealand to the promised land.

In the tight opening period he was on the money with his shots at goal and only missed the conversion from Ma’a Nonu’s try.

His drop goal came at a time when Australia had narrowed the gap to four points, and it was followed by a massive 51-metre penalty to further the gap.

After missing the 2011 final through injury, Carter made amends by ending his All Blacks career with the kind of display that confirms him as one of, if not the finest No. 10 of all time.

Loser: Matt Giteau

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Poor Matt Giteau.

As Dan Carter ended his international career in a blaze of glory, Giteau’s was cut short by a blow to the head as he tried to tackle Brodie Retallick in the first half.

He wobbled back to his feet but an off-field head assessment ended his final.

He was a big loss to the Wallaby back line, and it may be some time before they have a man of Giteau’s class gracing the gold and green again.

Winner: Sonny Bill Williams

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Sonny Bill Williams was on at half-time for Conrad Smith and made an immediate impact for New Zealand.

The big centre bust a hole and found Nehe-Milner Skudder with a trademark offload barely a minute into the half, then realigned himself to take the next ball and sucked in three defenders before dumping a pass over their heads to Ma'a Nonu. Nonu charged through the space those gold-shirted tacklers had vacated and scored a brilliant try.

If Sonny Bill heads back to rugby league after this, he will have done so playing a huge role in a second All Blacks World Cup triumph.

Loser: Wallaby Lineout Woes

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Australia had a poor day at the lineout.

Given the paucity of decent field position they had during the game, they needed to make each opportunity count, and too many throws went awry for that to be the case.

A combination of All Black steals and overthrows undermined the set piece and made the task all the harder for Michael Cheika's side.

It had been an Achilles heel prior to this final and was not improved when it mattered most.

Winner: Richie McCaw

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There is not much more to be said about Richie McCaw, other than the fact he now stands alone among giants as the only man to have captained two World Cup-winning teams.

In his post-match interview he hinted he may not yet have had enough of leading this extraordinary bunch of sportsmen. You can see why.

Whatever McCaw does next, his place in the game's pantheon is secure.