Jeremy Guscott verdict: I’m delighted classy Dan Carter could savour his fitting finale

For a man who for four years has had a memory of not being involved in the match that won New Zealand the World Cup final, it's a fitting tribute that Dan Carter, arguably the greatest fly-half of all time, played an absolute blinder and guided his team to glory.
It's been a driving motivation for him to get fit enough and keep in top form to retain the No.10 shirt in a team that is improving year on year, especially with youngsters such as Beauden Barrett snapping at his heels.
He not only got on the winners' podium, he showed he was the master controller with a huge contribution to the All Blacks retaining their title and winning the cup. His performance was exemplary and will live with him for a lifetime. His composure throughout this match was the trademark of his performance throughout the whole tournament.
He's been nominated for World Player of the Year and this performance should clinch that medal for him, too. His display at Twickenham proved the best players never stop learning – likewise, the best sides never stop learning either. His drop-goal was the catalyst for New Zealand pulling away and making the final quarter look comfortable, with the score at 21-17 having just had Australia score 14 unanswered points with momentum on their side.
I remember a time when the Kiwis, and Kiwi supporters, would say drop-goals are not for us – but how that has changed now.
Carter epitomised the composure of a leader with 100-plus caps. His experience showed and his execution was spot-on – he knew exactly what he needed to do and he did it. His penalty kicking was near perfect and his extra concentration was evident. He knew how important every kick was and made sure they counted.
I'm pleased for him and the All Blacks, and it's wrong to suggest the game is in a bad place because the same side has won back-to-back World Cups. It's brilliant that a side can get even better than it was four years ago. I didn't think that side of 2011 could get much better, but to go through a four-year cycle losing just three games and cap it off with a performance like that sets them apart. The scoreline doesn't really tell the whole story as there were moments in the second half of real tension after the Wallabies had fought back and the impossible seemed possible.
But then New Zealand bring on the bench that has done so incredibly well this whole tournament. It's like a special teams unit in American Football. They come on and score numerous tries, conceding none. It was always likely to be the difference in a close match and so it proved. In every other aspect the teams are reasonably equal but the bench is a team within a team. The All Blacks understand there are only 15 starting spots so the bench men need to make their contribution to help the team – and they have all worked out how to do that. The bench to a man did well, especially Sonny Bill Williams.
And it was great to see Barrett score the final try, the player who now has the challenge of replacing the great Dan Carter.
When you look at the hundreds of caps this New Zealand team are about to lose, it makes the next year a bit tougher for them – but they have a great starting point with two-thirds of this team Kieran Read stepped up and led the team superbly when Richie McCaw was on sabattical so he will likely be given that job – unless they think he might be too old and then Sam Cane steps up with the experience of Read around him.
A number of their stars are very young, including Julian Savea and Nehe Milner-Skudder who, for me, has been one of the most exciting players in the tournament. McCaw said at the end that he doesn't really want to give up his shirt and that shows how much it means to them to represent the All Blacks – and this team could well keep getting better.
Huge credit to Australia for fighting back to 21-17 and making victory seem possible when at 21-3 few would have believed. They can take great heart from their performance and know the future looks bright under Michael Cheika; and with a number of world-class players stepping up, they will be challenging hard for the next World Cup.