The way-going of 589 caps worth of All Black talent was not the only reason for feeling it was the end of an era in world rugby at the weekend.
On the eve of the final we had already seen Victor Matfield, the most capped Springbok of all-time, take his bow, while in the manner of the departures of Bryan Habana, the man closest to him on that list and Schalk Burger, another stalwart of South African rugby over the last 12 years, offered every indication that they, too, have played their last World Cup matches if not their final Tests.
Fourie du Preez had also indicated that he did not expect to be around much longer while earlier in this tournament their compatriot and World Cup captain Jean de Villiers’ tournament ending injury also looked to have drawn a line under his international career.
For Argentina’s Pumas, too, an iconic figure, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, has come to the end of his Test career and even before he made his painful exit Paul O’Connell, the Ireland and British & Irish Lions captain had indicated that this would be his last international campaign.
A veritable hall of fame departed in one fell swoop then and for all that the cap hauls are hugely inflated when compared with previous eras, while it has become relatively standard practise for players to see World Cups as the natural time to call it a day.
Comparison of those different eras is never easy but the quality of those departing the scene at the end of this tournament seems to be yet further evidence of the special nature of this particular tournament.
Naturally all concerned have been swift to say that there are others who will follow in their shoes and that the spaces they leave merely represent opportunities for others.
No matter how good those replacements are, however, it will be a long time before any of them can hope to have anything approaching the status of those they are replacing but it might be marvellous fun watching them try to get there.
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