Host New Zealand just about held its collective nerve to edge France 8-7 in the final at Eden Park on Sunday and win the rugby World Cup for the second time after a gap of 24 years.
This was not the coronation that had been predicted but ultimately a first-half try from prop Tony Woodcock and a penalty from fourth-choice fly-half Stephen Donald proved enough to end the country's long wait for a second triumph after 1987.
Having been written off by all but themselves, the French, led by Man-of-the-Match Thierry Dusautoir, answered the challenge of New Zealand by advancing in an arrow formation before the game and gave the host nation an almighty scare during it.
A converted try in the second half from Dusautoir had the French dreaming of a first World Cup triumph and the host fearing another failure at rugby's showpiece event against the team that was its nemesis in 1999 and 2007.
The All Blacks looked sharper and more powerful in the early exchanges as the French enjoyed plenty of possession but ran up blind alleys and were swallowed up by the swarming New Zealand defence.
Weepu fails
Scrum-half Piri Weepu had already missed a reasonably simple penalty in the sixth minute when Woodcock opened the scoring in the 15th minute through a well-executed move straight off the training ground.
France captain Dusautoir was penalised for holding on at the back of the lineout and Weepu launched the resulting kick into touch deep in the French 22.
Flanker Jerome Kaino leaped high at the back of the lineout but knocked the ball straight down to Woodcock on his inside and the prop only had to trundle a few metres through a huge hole in the defence to touch down.
Weepu missed the conversion and even another shanked penalty from the scrum-half in the 26th minute did not look disastrous as the home side looked well in control.
Knee injury
By the 34th minute both starting fly-halves were off the pitch, France's Morgan Parra departing courtesy of a knee to the head and Aaron Cruden succumbing to a knee injury.
The All Blacks continued to look the more dangerous with ball in hand but France's replacement stand off Francois Trinh-Duc sounded a warning with a failed dropped-goal attempt and a couple of breaks, one ended only by Weepu's tap tackle.
France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili missed a difficult penalty early in the second half and Donald, who came on for Cruden for his first game of the tournament, put the All Blacks 8-0 ahead after 46 minutes.
Great comeback
The French came storming straight back, however, moving turnover ball deep into All Black territory before Dusautoir charged through a tackle and touched down on the cladding surrounding the post.
Trinh-Duc added the extra points before Weepu's nightmare continued when, having already been replaced as the place-kicker, he launched the kick-off straight into touch and was immediately summoned from the pitch.
The French could now sense an upset in the air and the All Blacks were clearly rattled as white-shirted runner after white-shirted runner charged at their lines.
Penalised
In the 63rd minute, the All Black scrum, who had dominated in the first half, was penalised for driving up but Trinh-Duc dragged his 47-metre penalty attempt wide.
France kept hold of the ball through phase after phase and New Zealand grew more and more frustrated as the chants of “All Blacks! All Blacks!” from the 60,000 spectators grew louder and louder.
A turnover in the 77th minute was greeted as if it was a try and the match ended three minutes later when the French were penalised for offside, sending the host nation into raptures.
The result :
Final : New Zealand 8 (Try - Woodcock; Penalty - Donald) bt France 7 (Try - Dusautoir; Conversion - Trinh-Duc).
