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Devastated Cane has 'no excuse' over fateful red card

Updated / Monday, 30 Oct 2023 10:25
Sam Cane's yellow card was upgraded to red by
Sam Cane's yellow card was upgraded to red by

Sam Cane's devastation was plain to see on the giant screen of the Stade de France as the New Zealand captain watched the South African bench run on to the pitch to celebrate their record fourth World Cup title on Saturday.

The flanker watched New Zealand's late rally from the sideline after being red carded midway through the first half for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel.

Cane, however, praised players from both teams after the All Blacks lost 12-11.

"Obviously, extremely gutted and disappointed. First of all that the team had to play the final with 14 men for the last 50-odd minutes," he said.

Cane was sin-binned in the 28th minute and waited anxiously for the by TMO match official Tom Foley who upgraded his yellow card to red.

Handre Pollard had made it 12-3 to the Springboks but the defending champions did not score another point.

"I thought the courage they showed out there tonight was incredible. The whole team are absolute warriors and, look, it's tough," added Cane, only the 11th All Black to be sent off in a rugby test.

The flanker, however, did not look for excuses.

"Not unlucky. We know that collisions need to be low. If anything I got caught a bit surprised that he stepped back in my direction," he said.

"It's no excuse. We've been here for two months and we've seen how things have been ruled," he added.

"I'd like to say well done to South Africa -- back to back. They've been a fantastic team, they've had a tough road to the final and they showed time and time again they find a way to win," he said.

As rain fell heavily on the Stade de France, Cane stood in a long, black jacket when his South African counterpart Siya Kolisi lifted the Webb Ellis Cup, before leaving the pitch as clouds of smoke from the fireworks filled the stadium.

Coach Ian Foster defended Cane and took a swipe at TMO Tom Foley.

"You look at the decision and say 'OK, it is what it is'. Then is the heart and soul the team showed afterwards, which is largely due to the sprit of the group and Sam was a big part of it," he said.

"He's worthy of being captain of the All Blacks, which is an honour and a privilege, and he has carried that magnificently. I'm incredibly proud of him and proud to coach him.

"There was an intent to wrap and there didn't seem to be a whole lot of force in the contact.

"The hit on Ardie had a lot of force going into that contact and had a direct contact on the head. The game has got a few issues it has got to sort out. That's not sour grapes.

"You've got two different situations with different variables and one is a red card, one is a yellow card. That's the game.

"We got the same behaviour from that TMO (Tom Foley) that we got during the Irish series last year. The same TMO. We expected what we got."

Foster, who departs the New Zealand head coach position after an often trying four years in charge, praised his team for coming so close despite their numerical disadvantage for large tracts of the game.

"I'm proud of our boys, to go down to that red card so early. To give ourselves a chance of winning that game was special.

"I don't it went wrong in any one area. It was an arm wrestle. We saw that. Both teams had their moments. To get within a whisker of pulling it off is heartbreaking."

With additonal reporting: Reuters

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