Richie McCaw was the defendant in Rugby World Cup’s first ever trial by social media

Richie McCaw will lead the defending champions out for the World Cup final on Hallowe'en night, but not before he received a bit of a fright.

The All Blacks captain was his typically imperious self in New Zealand's nervy 20-18 win over South Africa on Saturday, but one first-half incident in particular - missed by virtually all viewers - came to dominate the aftermath. The debate over whether or not McCaw would be cited for a perceived elbow on Francois Louw generated headlines around the world and confirmed that #RWC2015 is the first Rugby World Cup to be truly influenced by social media. It all began not long after the match finished when Irish rugby writer Andy McGeady shared a vine. https://twitter.com/andymcgeady/status/657960131397832704 That vine was shared by a voluble rugby pundit with lots of followers and lots of opinions. https://twitter.com/brianmoore666/status/658002761552953344 https://twitter.com/brianmoore666/status/658016350795931649 It wasn't long before the messenger was taking flak, so said pundit offered his definitive opinion to quieten the masses. https://twitter.com/brianmoore666/status/658032606496337921 On Sunday, the day of the Australia-Argentina semi-final, the possible McCaw-Louw incident was still generating conversation. https://twitter.com/btsportrugby/status/658273176376373248 Despite no word from World Rugby on the possibility of a citing, McCaw's coach Steve Hansen found himself discussing the matter at his press conference on Sunday. https://twitter.com/EmmaKeelingNZ/status/658249284752687104 https://twitter.com/LIVENewsDesk/status/658332542941007872 Meanwhile Twitter users were having fun as the world waited for word from the citing officer. https://twitter.com/neilfissler/status/658002328503656448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/dobbsyk/status/658015521862844416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/iamjonnyking/status/658131191632019456 Despite the original footage appearing to be far from conclusive, there emerged the rugby "Zapruder Film" that would exonerate McCaw. https://twitter.com/MAILrugbyunion/status/658238939136815105 As others, such as the TV3 panel, backed the World Cup-winning captain. https://twitter.com/patgeraghty54/status/658298701463601152 About 25 hours after the storm first started brewing, the citing report was made public, exonerating McCaw and confirming his eligibility to face Australia. https://twitter.com/JohnCushing_/status/658356766246334465 Even if some media outlets continued to use suggestive pictures on their stories. https://twitter.com/eatsleeprugby/status/658577119673479168 https://twitter.com/9NewsBrisbane/status/658461640669687810 On social media there was anger with the newspapers for reporting on a story that had its origins on social media. https://twitter.com/guywilliamsguy/status/658399424947744768 But some were not going to let McCaw's innocence get in the way of a good joke. https://twitter.com/tomwald76/status/658345825232269312 https://twitter.com/MikeRossP/status/658368660860477440 https://twitter.com/Rewster7/status/658389582073860096 After the whole thing died down both teams could turn their attention to first ever all-Antipodean World Cup final, even if the ABs have been much more quiet than the Wallabies. https://twitter.com/Wallabies/status/658671304804028416 https://twitter.com/AllBlacks/status/658394392298934272