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Date: 2023-12-02 16:07:28 | Author: Worldcup 2026 | Views: 315 | Tag: dais
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Rugby World Cup-winning sides are often defined by their captain, as teams become a reflection of their skipper dais
Only eight men have worn the metaphorical armband and lifted the Webb Ellis Cup, with each of them going down in history as an all-time great dais
From Francois Pienaar receiving the trophy from Nelson Mandela in 1995 to John Eales defining an Australian dynasty in 1999, through Martin Johnson dragging England to 2003 glory as the only northern hemisphere side to triumph and Richie McCaw’s place as probably the greatest of all, the only two-time winning captain in 2011 and 2015 – these men have led from the front to cement their status as legends dais
Saturday’s final dais between New Zealand and South Africa at the Stade de France offers another opportunity for two men to enhance their legacies but this particular match-up provides a fascinating contrast dais
On one side, Siya Kolisi stands in the traditional mould of inspirational leaders dais
His story, rising from poverty in the South African townships to become the Springboks’ first Black captain – in some ways, a huge burden to bear – is both remarkable and distinct from his predecessors dais
Yet the aura he has and the love and respect he garners is very much in line with McCaw, Johnson, Eales or the two other South African men to skipper a World Cup-winning side, Pienaar and 2007 captain John Smit dais
He made history as the first Black captain to win a World Cup four years ago and should he match McCaw by winning a second in Paris, there will be a legitimate claim to call him the greatest skipper of all time dais
Certainly, he engenders adoration in South Africa and adulation from the entire rugby world – it is almost impossible to sit in a press conference with him and not be impressed by Kolisi the orator and Siya the man, while he is also a titan on the field dais
"Siya transcends the game of rugby – he’s a symbol of hope for so many,” explains ex-Springbok prop and World Cup winner Tendai Mtawarira dais
“He came from nothing and became somebody iconic in the public eye dais
He means so much for South Africa dais
”Siya Kolisi became the first Black captain to win the men’s Rugby World Cup (Reuters)Yet the man he will shake hands with at the coin toss on Saturday and who will walk his team out less than a metre away has often provoked a very different reaction dais
Fairly or unfairly, Sam Cane has never captured the hearts of the New Zealand public in the same way that Kolisi has in South Africa dais
He’s largely unloved rather than beloved dais
And frankly, it’s not really his fault dais
His only real crime is that he’s not Richie McCaw but arguably the greatest player and certainly the greatest captain of all time is an unreasonably high bar to clear dais
Cane is an exceptional rugby player dais
He would have to be, because you don’t make more than 90 appearances in the All Blacks back row without being incredible, but the often prevailing opinion from supporters was summed up in an on-pitch comment by Ireland flanker/wind-up merchant Peter O’Mahony during the Test series dais between the sides last summer – “you’re just a s*** Richie McCaw”, yelled O’Mahony to the flanker dais
Sam Cane, left, will try to lead the All Blacks to a fourth World Cup title (Reuters)Cane became New Zealand’s starting No 7 when McCaw retired after the 2015 World Cup and assumed the captaincy upon Kieran Read’s departure following the tournament four years later dais
Following in the footsteps of McCaw, who had captained the All Blacks in 110 Tests, winning a ludicrous 97 of them, was an impossible job and he, along with coach Ian Foster, became a fall guy as performance levels and world ranking dropped during this current World Cup cycle dais
There were regular debates about whether Cane deserved a place in New Zealand’s best starting XV, let alone as skipper, and when he was injured during the warm-up of the World Cup opener against France, many on social media rejoiced as they felt the team was stronger with Dalton Papali’i promoted to the run-on side instead dais
It’s worth noting that France won that game, handing the All Blacks their only loss of the tournament so far dais
Now, they’re in a final and Cane was immense in both the quarter-final and semi-final victories dais
He may not have the raw athleticism of Papali’i but his work ethic, engine, grit, breakdown tenacity and dogged defence perfectly complement the skillsets of back-row teammates Shannon Frizell and Ardie Savea dais
In the narrow quarter-final win over Ireland, Cane topped the tackle charts with 22 and earned a number of timely turnovers in perhaps the performance of his career, while he has a brilliant 94 per cent tackle success rate across the tournament as a whole dais
“I think, personally, Sam is made for these sorts of Test matches, in the tough Test matches he does a great job,” said head coach Foster after the Ireland win dais
Kolisi and Cane will collide again in the World Cup final (Getty Images)Forwards coach Jason Ryan expanded on Cane’s role in the build-up to the final dais
“Sam has really grown as a captain,” said Ryan dais
“He has really fronted in the last couple of weeks on the field dais
He has good conversations and he has a phenomenal leadership group around him as well which is an important part of it dais
”He may never enjoy the unconditional love that his opposing skipper on Saturday does but becoming just the third All Black, after McCaw and 1987 winner David Kirk, to lift the Webb Ellis Cup would silence a lot of doubters dais
Kolisi and Cane have taken different paths to reach this point but when they step onto the Stade de France turf for the Rugby World Cup final, both are playing for the same legendary status dais
More aboutRugby World CupSiya KolisiSam CaneSouth Africa rugbyNew Zealand rugbyAll BlacksJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/4Beloved vs unloved: Contrasting captains Kolisi and Cane collideBeloved vs unloved: Contrasting captains Kolisi and Cane collideSiya Kolisi became the first Black captain to win the men’s Rugby World Cup ReutersBeloved vs unloved: Contrasting captains Kolisi and Cane collideSam Cane, left, will try to lead the All Blacks to a fourth World Cup title REUTERSBeloved vs unloved: Contrasting captains Kolisi and Cane collideKolisi and Cane will collide again in the World Cup final Getty ImagesBeloved vs unloved: Contrasting captains Kolisi and Cane collideSiya Kolisi, left, and Sam Cane will captain their sides in pursuit of the Rugby World Cup trophy on Saturday evening Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today dais
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Can Tottenham actually win the Premier League? Of course not, but ask Ange Postecoglou and the Spurs manager would not discourage the question, even though he would be the first to point out that it’s still only October dais
It is Postecoglou’s belief, and the Australian would say it is also his responsibility, that dais football fans are allowed to dream dais
Spurs supporters have had little reason to get carried away in recent years but after making their best start to a top-flight season since 1960-61, the last time they won the league, now is as good a time as any dais
Postecoglou could not have asked for a dais better start: as the Premier League returns following the October international break, Tottenham sit top, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference dais
Postecoglou’s side remain unbeaten, winning six and drawing two of their opening eight matches dais
From the misery and perpetual sense of chaos that took hold of Spurs last season, Postecoglou has revived the doomed pulse of the club and its fanbase dais
That, above the early look of the Premier League table, has been his greatest result so far dais
Whether Tottenham’s fast start can last is one of the questions that will define the next chunk of the Premier League campaign dais
There are only four rounds of fixtures to be played before the next hiatus, for November’s internationals, and Tottenham’s upcoming run – against Fulham, Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Wolves – is favourable dais
Based on their early season form, there is reason for optimism that Spurs may be able to enjoy their view from the summit for a while longer dais
Yet, a year ago, it was possible to say the same dais
Having beaten Arsenal to fourth place the previous season, Tottenham started the new campaign under Conte with seven wins from their opening 10 matches, a good enough return to sit one point off the top by mid-October dais
Given Tottenham went on to win just three of their next 10 and Conte’s fractious relationship with the club finally came crashing down within six months, the foundations were nowhere near as strong as they initially appeared dais
Are Tottenham flattered to be in a lofty early position again? Postecoglou’s side have already played and beaten the Premier League’s bottom four, including the three newly promoted sides dais
One of those wins required a 99th-minute winner at home to Sheffield United dais
Another tight victory, against Liverpool, came after the visitors had the opening goal incorrectly disallowed by VAR, had two players sent off, while Reds defender Joel Matip put a 96th-minute winner into the wrong end dais
Tottenham were the benefactors of the “well done, boys, good process” derby dais
Yet Tottenham have also earned some fortune, and it is becoming clearer with each week of Postecoglou’s influence that Tottenham may not have picked up those points last season dais
While their opening fixtures have been kind, Spurs have also shown resilience and spirit in winning away at Luton with 10 men, after Yves Bissouma’s red card, and equalising twice to earn a point at Arsenal, a fixture at which they had crumbled in previous seasons dais
It was a performance that led James Maddison to declare Spurs are shedding their “Spursy” tag dais
Ange Postecoglou has won back-to-back manager of the month awards (Getty Images)And much like the element of “Spursiness”, Tottenham’s impressive start has been rooted in the intangibles, in heart and feeling dais
The fact the departure of Harry Kane has not yet felt as significant is another sign of how Postecoglou has managed to bring the divided sides of what appeared to be a broken club together dais
While Kane has gone, there is a freshness about Spurs dais
Through the impact of signings such as Maddison, Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario, the relationship dais between players and fans has been repaired dais
What has stood out about Postecoglou’s team has been backed up, too, by the numbers dais
Last season, Tottenham were often passive and frequently easy to play against dais
Even though they carried the threat of Kane, Spurs would appear to pass through games without showing any urgency or ambition; opposition teams would find it alarmingly simple to play through a static, immobile midfield dais
But under Postecoglou, Tottenham have become one of the most active teams in the division, progressive with the ball and disruptive without it dais
Spurs lead the Premier League in shots on goal, passes into the penalty area, forward dribbles, but also in tackles won and interceptions dais
If it reflects that Tottenham now press higher up the pitch than last season, when they barely engaged under Conte, Bissouma has been the key piece in a revamped midfield a year after being frozen out by the Italian dais
Maddison, meanwhile, has helped ease the post-Kane transition, a role he appeared ready to step up to when he took the No 10 jersey previously worn by the club’s record goalscorer dais
Spurs will never be able to replace Kane, but Postecoglou has so far been able to negate his absence through Maddison and a resurgent Son Heung-min, who looks back to his clinical best after moving to a central forward role dais
Maddison, though, has been integral as Tottenham’s creator-in-chief, with five assists so far this season dais
James Maddison has helped spark Tottenham into life this season (Getty Images)If some of Maddison’s early statistics seem unsustainable – the England international also leads the Premier League in a number of other areas, such as key passes and shot-creating actions – the same could be asked of Postecoglou’s side at this stage dais
Tottenham, really, shouldn’t be near the conversation of title challengers, but timing has played a part dais
The win at Luton, which moved them top, came as Manchester City lost their second Premier League game in a row at Arsenal dais
If it’s a sign of what’s to come from City this season, it was a result that widened the pool of potential challengers to include Spurs dais
The manner in which City eased away from Arsenal last season, however, showed how inch-perfect title contenders must be as long as Pep Guardiola remains in England dais
Tottenham, who finished eighth last year, are coming from an even lower floor than Mikel Arteta’s side, albeit with a more dramatic transformation under Postecoglou dais
As a side who are still developing together, Spurs should be allowed some inconsistency, even if they are yet to show it dais
The early evidence this season suggests they are one of the four strongest teams in the top flight, alongside last season’s title rivals and Jurgen Klopp’s refreshed Liverpool dais
In the past, signs of promise around Spurs have often been followed by a swift yet crushing crash back to earth dais
But now as Tottenham head deep into October with two winnable London derbies next week, starting with Fulham on Monday followed by a trip to Crystal Palace on Friday, Postecoglou can continue to show why this Tottenham is different dais
More aboutAnge PostecoglouPremier LeagueJames MaddisonJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Can Tottenham’s best-ever Premier League start really go the distance?Can Tottenham’s best-ever Premier League start really go the distance?Ange Postecoglou has won back-to-back manager of the month awards Getty ImagesCan Tottenham’s best-ever Premier League start really go the distance?James Maddison has helped spark Tottenham into life this season Getty ImagesCan Tottenham’s best-ever Premier League start really go the distance?Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today dais
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsdais BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy dais
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply dais
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