Mils Muliaina kisses coach Graham Henry as they celebrate (Reuters)
World media have hailed the All Blacks as worthy Rugby World Cup winners, though perhaps not worthy winners of the final.
Despite it being the lowest-scoring final ever, Brendan Gallagher of the Daily Telegraph in England described the match as "comfortably the best World Cup final we have been treated to".
"New Zealand can shed the 'chokers' tag that has haunted them, but they only won this match by a hair's breadth. Indeed, yet again in this bizarre but wonderful World Cup, the better team lost. France won everything bar the match."
Guardian rugby writer Eddie Butler described the contest as "a game stripped to its fundamentals", one in which France were the better side.
"It was ugly and it was beautiful, as contradictory as France throughout the World Cup. The All Blacks were the best and they won it at their worst. They deserved everything that came their way, the hard way."
BBC writer Tom Fordyce said the strongest emotion in New Zealand was one of relief.
"The ending was a happy one. But the plot nearly tore the old theatre apart."
Like many writers, Fordyce noted the part played by fourth-choice first five-eighth Stephen Donald.
"To squeeze home by a single point in the biggest game for quarter of a century, having recently thrashed the same opposition by 20 points, is one thing.
"For the winning penalty to be kicked by a man who two weeks ago was spending his spare time fishing for whitebait, watching the odd All Blacks game from his sofa with a beer on the go, is quite another."
Nikolaus Bauer of the Mail and Guardian in South Africa said it would be a bitter pill to swallow for France, who have now lost three World Cup finals without winning one.
"The French would have won the game had it come down to territory and possession as they enjoyed 55 per cent of both when it came to match statistics.
"Nonetheless it was New Zealand that held on for a memorable win."
NZN