Hosts South Africa have finally ended New Zealand’s dominance of the IRB Junior World Championship after second half tries from scrum half Vian van der Watt and centre Jan Serfontein secured a 22-16 win to the delight of a sold-out Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on Friday.
The two sides, who had each had a rocky route to the final with defeats in the pool stages, were separated by just a point after an intense first half, three Handre Pollard penalties for South Africa against a Milford Keresoma try and penalty and conversion from Ihaia West.
New Zealand kept fighting to the finish to prevent the title slipping from their grasp but could only manage a solitary penalty from West, sparking wild celebrations from the South Africans as they became the first to win a world rugby title on home soil since the Springboks at Rugby World Cup 1995.
"It was definitely a dream come true, it was awesome and it was great to see the hard work we put in finally come off for us," captain Wian Liebenberg told the IRB after final.
"It was a tough match. We said we wanted to take them on in their set pieces and mauls and I think that’s what we did tonight; we took them on in the core phase of rugby. We said in the team that we wanted to be able to tell a story and make history, and I think that’s what we did tonight for our country."
SA - the Good News
Steuart has done some 500 talks on South Africa's progress since 1994 and SA's prospects for the future' 
