New Zealand captain Sam Cane feeling ‘so much hurt’ after World Cup final defeat

New Zealand captain Sam Cane admitted he was feeling “so much hurt” after he was sent off in Saturday’s 12-11 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.

Cane’s yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Jesse Kriel in the 28th minute of a dramatic clash at the Stade de France was upgraded to red by the bunker review system.

It was the first time a player had been dismissed in a men’s World Cup final and although the All Blacks showed heart to overcome the setback and score through Beauden Barrett, they could not pierce South Africa’s defence again.

“So much hurt right now. It’s actually hard to find the words to explain it,” Cane said.

“It’s hard because you are feeling so much hurt, but at the same time you are so proud of the group in how they fought back.

“We really gave ourselves a good shot of winning that game. I think it speaks volumes of the group as a whole.”

A despondent Cane refused to blame the officials led by referee Wayne Barnes or the bunker review system for a decision that left New Zealand swimming against the tide.

“At the time, I wasn’t even aware (of the head contact). It sort of caught me off guard because of the fact he stepped back,” Cane said.

“But we’ve been at this tournament for two months now and anything around the head has ramifications.

“I’m not here to discuss whether it was right or wrong. It can’t be changed. It’s something unfortunately I am going to have to live with forever.”

New Zealand head coach Ian Foster stood by his skipper and insisted the high tackle was not a red card offence, adding that Siya Kolisi’s challenge on Ardie Savea in the second half that was a yellow only was equally severe.

“We’ve all seen the way Sam has contributed to the game, to our team behind the scenes, and