The curtain came down on a superb World Cup on Saturday night, with the Springboks claiming the William Webb Ellis trophy from England in the Final.
The game itself was hardly a thrill-a-minute affair, and in fact the only real excitement came though two individual moments of brilliance. In the first half Fran?ois Steyn showed his class cutting through the England defence with quick feet, strength and pace, only to see the attack fizzle out.
Then it was the turn of Mathew Tait early in the second half. Stooping low to gather a bouncing ball he set off on a scintillating run that was halted within inches of the line. It was evidence of just how good he is, a a real star for the future.
But those moments aside the final will not be remembered for giving us many highlights of note. Still, throughout the last eight weeks we have seen some moments of pure magic, experienced some of the finest rugby in the world and in general been treated to a feast of highlights.
So join us as we now look back at the best moments from the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Best Try: There were some real gems to pick from here. There was Bryan Habana's first try in the semi-final against Argentina, Japan's length of the field score against Wales, Sebastian Chabal's fifty-metre effort against Namibia and Vilimoni Delasau's solo effort against Wales. But without a doubt this award goes to Takudzwa Ngwenya of USA for his sublime score against South Africa. It came from a counter-attack on their own line and resulted in the Zimbabwean-born wing turning Bryan Habana inside out before showing him a clean set of heels to scorch away down the touchline for the try of the tournament.
Spirit Award: Coming into their first ever Rugby World Cup nobody gave Portugal a chance, and in fact had tipped them to ship in excess of three hundred points. However what we saw in the opening four weeks of the tournament from Os Lobos was a tribute to their sheer guts and determination. They may have gone down 108-13 to New Zealand, and finished the tournament without a win, but they left with huge respect and admiration from the rugby public. They managed to score a try in every one of their games, with the most popular score being Rui Cordeiro's try against the All Blacks. From an impromptu game of football against the All Blacks to a wedding proposal for one of their players after their last game, Portugal will forever be etched into rugby fans' hearts.
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