South Africa wins Rugby World Cup final

• Tweet

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The South African national rugby team will take home the World Cup trophy after a 15-6 win over England Saturday.

The South African team, playing in its first World Cup final since 1995, built a 9-3 lead at halftime thanks to scores on penalties and was able to hold on the remainder of the way to win the championship final, Sky News reported.

South Africa's win dashed the hopes of the British national team, which had been attempting to become the first country in history to become back-to-back World Cup champions.

In an attempt to cheer their country's team on to that historic goal, nearly 50,000 England fans traveled to Paris to watch Saturday's final.

Prior to the match, former South African President Nelson Mandela joined thousands of his fellow citizens in wishing their national team good luck.

"We know our boys have the ability, strength and determination to be victorious because we are a winning nation," Mandela told The Independent.

Sky News said third place in the international tournament was taken by Argentina, which thrashed host nation France with a 34-10 win Friday night.