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All Blacks and Springboks to Meet in Rugby World Cup Final

The All Blacks and the Springboks will face off in next weekend’s Rugby World Cup final.

New Zealand eased past Argentina 44-6 in the first semi-final and South Africa booked their place with a late 16-15 win over England.

The sides will now meet at the Stade de France and New Zealand coach Ian Foster said reaching the final meant ‘everything’ after seeing off Argentina.

“We came here wanting to be in the final and then we obviously want to go and win it,” said Foster.

“I am incredibly proud of the way we backed it up tonight. I thought it was a tough game. We got asked a lot of questions from Argentina early.”

“We held great composure and finished strong so I am pretty pleased.”

Foster, who will leave his job after the World Cup, added that he doesn’t see the team’s run to the final as a reason to stick it to his critics.

“In regard to me, I’m part of a group. I’m proud of the group. There’s no personal agenda here,” he continued. “This is about the All Blacks. It’s always about the team. Things have happened to individuals in the team and clearly they’ve happened to me but it doesn’t change that the team comes first. All the decisions we make have to be about what’s best for the team. Right now we’re making a lot of those decisions together and it’s working well.”

“I’m proud of the coaching group. They’re working hard and they’re linking well with the players. The players are contributing heavily to what we’re doing and there’s a nice synergy to it. I’m proud but there’s one more week.”

New Zealand are aiming to become only the second side after South Africa to win the World Cup after losing a pool game.

They lost 27-13 to hosts France in their opening game but after that embarked on a superb run that has taken them to within one step of glory.

/Stewart
Sports news editor