Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Sideline Sid had a mixture of jubilation and absolute relief when the All Blacks broke a 24 year jinx to finally again win the Rugby World Cup on Sunday evening.

In front of a sell-out crowd of screaming All Black supporters, the AB's won what is being heralded as the greatest Rugby World Cup Final ever.

2011 Rugby World Cup champions – The All Blacks. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

What an amazing game, with the French throwing everything, but the kitchen sink at the All Blacks – so much for every man and his dog who were predicting a runaway victory for the home side.

History tells us that world cup finals of any kind (and sport) are fiercely contested and are a battle royal with no quarter asked for or given.

While the All Blacks made the better start, the French were quickly in the contest with a vengeance.

While the Tony Woodcock try, which was the result of a planned move, was the only scoring move of the first half, the narrow five-point lead to the All Blacks at the break testified to a match of immense pressure.

One wonders what was in the French water bottles at the halftime break – as the French side came out firing and simply took the game to ‘Our Team' in the second spell.

For mine the turning moment in the match came when Piri Weepu threw a hand out to stop an almost certain France try.

Like the rest of the nation I had my heart in my mouth through most of the second spell after wave after wave of French players kept the All Blacks defending to a man.

However, entering the last ten minutes the All Black resolve seemed to move up a couple of gears – with their rolling forward moves keeping the ball in hand.

A single All Black mistake in the dying minutes could have produced a completely different result.

However, they kept their nerve and the Rugby World Cup was ours again.

Part of the All Black success was the substitution of fresh legs reasonably early in the second spell.

The All Black victory was built upon the side believing that the cup was theirs to win, even when the chips were down.

However, one would have to question while Piri Weepu started, when it was obvious that all was not well with him.

Steven Donald, who was brought into the side as one first five after another was ruled out with injury, played like a man possessed when he came on.

The sheer exhaustion on the faces of the All Blacks at the final whistle told the tale of a game where they had nothing left in the tank at the end.

One commentator's words at the end, that the All Blacks were the fittest team at the RWC, was certainly true and played no small part in the ultimate victory.

The enigmatic French team had tournament of real highs and lows.

How do you get beaten by Tonga, then get within one point of the All Blacks in the final?

Craig Joubert was clearly the best whistle blower at the tournament and was the right choice to whistle the final stanza.

He had an almost faultless game, being unobtrusive for most of the game, clearly explaining his calls to both teams, but certainly in control in tense times.

Talking of referees, spare a thought for Bryce Lawrence who makes his home in the Western Bay.

Thousands of South African fans called for his head on Facebook, after their side was eliminated by the Australians in a quarterfinal, when Bryce was in charge.

In my book, the local international referee had a good tournament and I will leave you with a thought – that few winning teams (or fans) complain about the referee.