Both sides finished with 14 players as left winger Cheslin Kolbe was sin-binned for a deliberate knock on. Springboks captain Siya Kolisi was sin-binned early in the second half, for another high tackle, evening the numbers with the score 12-6 to South Africa. New Zealand scrumhalf Aaron Smith dived over in the left corner early in the second half, but the try was ruled out. It gave New Zealand hope, but in the end Kolisi became only the second skipper to lead a team to back-to-back World Cup victories after New Zealand great Richie McCaw. But the All Blacks faced the whole second half — and the threat of South Africa’s “Bomb Squad” — with a player less.
