The first half was a battle of attrition, with both teams delivering punishing tackles and several players leaving the game early with injuries. But it was the powerful South African forward pack that set the tone, forcing England into several penalties during scrums, which contributed to a 12-6 South Africa lead at halftime on four penalty goals from flyhalf Handré Pollard.

The England captain, Owen Farrell, converted two penalty goals for the English.

Six minutes into the second half, South Africa won another penalty at the scrum, and Pollard converted a long-range kick to make it 15-6. But England turned the tables with another kick by Farrell that made it 15-9, and for a moment the English appeared to seize momentum.

But South Africa held off the English, and then Mapimpi broke free on the left wing in the 67th minute, delivering a kick pass that bounced into the arms of a charging Lukhanyo Am, the outside center. Am scooped up the ball and immediately shoveled it back to Mapimpi, who took it over for the game’s first try.

Kolbe sealed the victory in the 74th minute, getting the ball on the right wing some 40 yards out and dancing around several defenders for the try that put the game out of reach. Pollard’s conversion produced the final 32-12 score.

South Africa became the first team to win the World Cup despite losing a match in the pool stage. The Springboks, as the team is known, were defeated by New Zealand, the two-time defending champion, in their opening game in Japan.