So today is the last day of July because tomorrow is the 1st day of August so I will be doing a blog about the 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) & 2011 (MMXI) triumphs of the All Blacks according to the book that I've got for my birthday (Along with the brand new Playstation 4 which I'm not playing at the moment (Well, I sometimes play a game called F1 2015 (MMXV) on Monday the day after a Grand Prix) although I managed to save some more money in order to by the PS4 but I'm still saving money to buy another controller for the PS4 which I will be using as a back-up or spare because I've already got one but the next game I'm going to get which is Dirt Rally so I would be getting that if I have enough money to buy), which is Sir Graham Henry celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015.
1987 (The 1st World Cup was held back in 1987 with the All Blacks dominated the tournament in which they beat Italy (Including that all time great try from John Kirwan as well as Michael Jones scoring the 1st genuine try of the World Cup because the very 1st try of the World Cup was a penalty try), Fiji and Argentina in the pool games before taking on Scotland in the quarterfinals in which they won and Wales in the semifinals (Huw Richards got sent off for throwing that punch before Wayne 'Buck' Shelford threw a punch on Richards which went unpunished) before clashing with traditional rivals France (Who beat Australia with a desperate last minute try scored by Serge Blanco) in the final moments before New Zealand beat France 29 - 9 (With some great tries being scored by captain David Kirk as well as Kirwan) to win the very 1st ever Rugby World Cup title with Kirk lifting the World Cup title as seen on national television).
It was a bitterly cold mid-winter morning in Christchurch in 1987 and Craig Green was sitting on his tool bag on the roadside waiting for the pick-up that would take him to the work site where he would put in a day's toil as a roofing contractor.
It was not 7am and pitch black ''What am I doing here?'' thought Green ''I've just helped the All Blacks become the best rugby team in the world. I was a celebrity then but now I'm just Craig Green, labourer, wondering how I can pay the bills.''
Green's tax return for the previous year recorded an income of $6,000, less than a quarter of the national average wage.
The scorer of 110 tries in 1st-class rugby (And a record equaling 4 in the World Cup game against Fiji), Green was only 26 but couldn't see how he would continue to make such sacrifices to sustain his career.
He was a frustrated amateur 7 years before rugby would turn professional. ''It was pretty disappointing to realize there was nothing for the players in the wake of the World Cup triumph'' he said ''No bonus, not even a celebration dinner. It was a case of, 'Thanks, fellas, now get back to work - we'll call you when we need you.' ''
John Kirwan would recommend Green to the Treviso club in Italy, initiating a relationship that would flourish for 7 seasons, boost his sagging coffers and win him an Italian wife.
Not long after his return to New Zealand, rugby turned professional, with the players who'd succeeded him in the All Blacks suddenly on salaries of around $200,000.
''Good luck to them,'' said Green ''They won't need to be picked up at 7am for a day's labouring straight after playing an international.''
Green's heart-rending story helps put the inaugural Rugby World Cup, won so convincingly by the All Blacks, in context. Staged when rugby was still fearsomely amateur, the event which is now one of sport's glamour occasions, attracting millions of viewers worldwide and commanding ticket prices of more than $750 for a final seat, came only through the initiative and determination of the game's administrators in New Zealand & Australia.
Most of the Home Nations, and even the International Rugby Board, if truth be known, were lukewarm on the concept.
It took a lot of persuasion from the Kiwis and the Aussies to make it happen.
The whole event, involving 21 games in New Zealand & 11 in Australia, was shaped in 18 months. Incredibly, the tournament lacked a major sponsor until days before kick-off when the Japanese telecommunications firm of KDD - with no profile on the rugby stage before or since - stepped in and averted a mountain of blushes.
For an amateur event, the 1st Rugby World Cup was a resounding success, producing rugby as it should be played. The players triumphed, with officials for once taking a back seat.
The tournament would have been even better but for meddling by the IRB (Essentially British) administrators.
Not understanding how rugby consumes pretty much the wholde of New Zealand, they insisted the number of New Zealand, they insisted the number of New Zealand venues staging matches be restricted to 9.
Auckland and Wellington finished up hosting 5 matches each, Christchurch and Dunedin 3 each, and Rotorua, Napier, Palmerston North, Invercargill and Hamilton 1 each.
Whangarei missed out, so did New Plymouth and Nelson.
The consequence of this was that fixtures like Zimbabwe v Romania were played out before an Almost deserted Eden Park (Similarly Argentina v Italy in Christchurch) when the good folk of Whangarei would have adopted the teams they were hosting and put probably 10,000 into their stadium.
If you doubt that, note that 19,000 attended the Wales-Tonga game in Palmerston North (That city's only fixture), while 13,500 turned up at Rugby Park in Invercargill for the Wales-Canada match and a remarkable 30,000 packed Rugby Park in Rotorua for the 3rd place playoff between Australia and Wales.
Staging the tournament in May & June, which encroaches on winter when the weather can be diabolical, was risky, but miraculously all 21 matches in New Zealand were staged in fine (If sometimes extremely windy) conditions.
As host nations New Zealand was natrually expected to be hard to bowl but, based on performances over the previous 18 months, the Wallabies, prepared by Alan Jones, claimed the (Unofficial) No.1 ranking in the World.
They had followed up a famous 1st Grand Slam tour of the UK in 1984 with a Bledisloe Cup series triumph in New Zealand in 1986, after which the All Blacks had taken a fearful battering - literally & physically - from France at Nantes on their end-of-year tour.
The Nantes disaster resulted in the NZRU appointing a fresh selection panel for 1987. Brian Lochore was retained as convenor but Colin 'Pine Tree' Meads and 'Tiny' Hill were dropped, giving way to Alex 'Grizz' Wyllie & John Hart.
Lochore, Hart & Wyllie elected to be bold. Acknowledging they didn't posses the forward might to match teams like France, they opted for for a high-tempo game, one they were confident few other nations would be able to match.
To help implement this strategy, they installed John Gallagher, the Wellington-based policeman who had emigrated to New Zealand in 1984 & who had applied for naturalisation only in 1987, at fullback & 21-year-old Michael Jones as the openside flanker. Both would emerge as superstars of the tournament.
It was always expected that Australia would come through on its side of the draw to provide the All Blacks with their sternest challenge, but, to most people's astonishment, they would crash out against France in the semifinals.
In what ranks as one of Rugby World Cup's classic contests, France came from 0-9, 12-15 & 21-24 down to level at 24-all with 6 minutes to play at the Concord Stadium in Sydney, then uncorked an absolutely stunning long-range try, scored by Serge Blanco. Didier Camberabero converted from near touch to consummate Rugby World Cup's 1st massive upset.
Until that moment, the inaugural tournament had progressed pretty much according to the form book, with the exception of Fiji's upset win over Hugo Porta's Argentinian Pumas in Hamilton.
The Pumas were ranked 4th and were considered the team most likely to cause an upset; instead, they were upset themselves, walloped 28-9 in their opening encounter in Hamilton by a rampant Fijian side that scored 4 tries to 1. The Fijians had arrived in New Zealand only days after Colonel Rabuka's coup.
Although Fiji subsequently lost to the All Blacks and Italy - all 3 nations finishing with 1 win & 2 losses - it progressed to the quarterfinals by virtue of scoring most tries (6 compared with Argentina's 4 & Italy's 2).
With South Africa absent - it wouldn't enter the World Cup arena until 1995 - the quarterfinals predictably featured the 4 Home Nations, France, New Zealand & Australia, with Fiji the intruder.
The All Blacks eliminated Scotland 30-3, surprisingly embarrassing them in the scrums after 'Grizz' Wyllie packed down 80 scrums in practice midweek; France proved too strong for the gallant Fijians; Australia hammered Ireland and, in the only upset, Wales defeated England England 16-3 in a contest thatwas described as the most boring of the tournament.
The semifinals were contrasting affairs. The All Blacks blitzed their traditional rival Wales 49-6 at Ballymore in Brisbane, scoring 8 tries to 1, while the epic France-Australia game (Watched by a paltry 17,768 spectators at Concord Stadium in Sydney) went to the wire.
Not only did the Brisbane contest produce Wales' heaviest defeat in 107 years of international rugby but its lock, Huw Richards, had the dubious distinction of being the 1st player sent off in a World Cup contest.
Richards learnt of his penalty in bizarre circumstances. After losing his cool and weighing into Gary Whetton, he in turn was knocked to the ground by All Black No 8 Buck Shelford.
It took some time to revive Richards, after which referee Kerry Fitzgerald told him he was sent off! These days, video replays would have seen Shelford shown a red card too.
The playoff for 3rd was notable for the petulant behaviour of Wallaby coach Alan Jones - ''Where's Rotorua?'' he scoffed - and the sensational finish by the Welsh, who scored in the 79th minute & clinched victory with a sideline conversion from Paul Thorburn, to the delight of most of the 30,000 spectators.
David Kirk was only the 3rd-choice All Black captain, after Jock Hobbs & Andy Dalton had been forced out through injuries, but he was a truly inspirational leader in the final, played before a crowd of 46,000 at Eden Park, scoring 1 try & creating another for John Kirwan in the 61st & 64th minutes, that finished off the French.
Grant Fox contributed 17 points towards New Zealand's 29-9 victory, bringing his aggregate for the tournament to an astonishing 126 points from just 6 outings, an average of 21 points a game.
He converted 30 of New Zealand's 43 tries & added 21 penalty goals and a dropped goal. His record still stands.
And so New Zealand became the 1st holder of the Webb Ellis Cup, and deservedly so, for it was clearly the most accomplished team at the 1st World Cup.
Who would have thought, therefore, it would be another 24 years before the All Blacks would have their name engraved on the trophy again?
Quarterfinals
New Zealand beat Scotland 30-3, in Christchurch
France beat Fiji 31-16, in Auckland
Australia beat Ireland 33-15, in Sydney
Wales beat England 16-3, in Brisbane
Semifinals
New Zealand beat Wales 49-6, in Brisbane
France beat Australia 30-24, in Sydney
Playoff for 3rd
Wales beat Australia 22-21, in Rotorua
Final
New Zealand beat France 29-9, in Auckland
24 years later, in 2011 (And so on in 2011, the All Blacks opened with a win over the kingdom of Tonga (Who hijacked us at the start) at Eden Park in Auckland (41 - 10) followed by Japan at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton 83 - 7 (The night before the mighty green throng of Ireland turned the tables on Australia, causing an upset), then France in Auckland (37 - 17) with captain Richie McCaw becoming the 1st All Black to reach 100 test caps followed by beating Canada at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington 79 - 15 (The day after Tonga providing another upset victory over France as well as Dan Carter, who was ruled out of the tournament altogether with a groin injury), then it is quarter final time as we scraped Argentina 33 - 10 in Auckland (Although Colin Slade suffered an injury similar to Dan Carter's), then finally beating against our traditional Trans Tasman rivals Australia (Who defeated South Africa in the quarter final which was better off forgotten) in the semifinal 20 - 6 (It was the night after the French flair titans (Who gave England the chop in the quarterfinal) defeated the Welsh (Who had beaten the mighty green throng in the quarters) in the other semifinal in which Sam Warburton got sent off for that famous spear tackle) before we once again took on France in the final, just as it was back in 1987, with the weight of the nation above our shoulders (Although Stephen 'Beaver' Donald was called up in the last minute whilst he was white baiting, YA GOT THAT!! WHITEBAITING), we have won us the CUP!!! HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!! I'VE GOT BALLS OF STEEL!!! And yeah, not only that we have ended our Rugby World Cup curse after 24 years of agony and pain, as if, not ONLY we beat France 8 - 7, we have managed to lift the World Cup trophy, not only because it is the greatest moment of my life).
Stephen Donald - Beaver to his rugby comrades - performed only a modest back-up role for the All Blacks in 2010, but it incorporated a calamitous 20-minute cameo in Hong Kong, where Graham Henry's men tackled the Wallabies in a showpiece encounter en route to Europe.
When Donald joined proceedings, as a substitute for Dan Carter, the All Blacks (Who already had the Tri-Nations Championship and the Bledisloe Cup in the bag) were ahead 24-12. Donald promptly missed a close-range penalty attempt, then, more seriously, with time running out, missed touch, allowing the Australians to counter-attack and score a match-winning try through James O'Connor.
Donald copped criticism for the defeat, the only one the All Blacks would sustain a year out from the 7th Rugby World Cup.
Coach Henry backed him. As the team headed for Europe, he said ''It was a difficult 20 minutes, but he'll bounce back. Some hadn't played international rugby for some time and found the pace of the game demanding.''
Assistant coach Wayne Smith said it was not easy for Donald in the circumstances ''You got to a dark place,'' he said ''I've been there myself. That's the accountability of the All Blacks jersey. He'll get another opportunity.''
Not everyone concurred with Smith's assessment. With seemingly the whole of New Zealand condemning him, events at Hong Kong Stadium took their toll. It would be a long time before Beaver would bounce back.
Carter wore the No 10 jersey exclusively in the 4 (Grand Slam) tests, Donald getting just 30 minutes against Scotland (Coming on with his team 35-3 ahead) and 3 minutes against Wales.
As the All Blacks wended their way home at season's end, Donald probably wondered whether he would represent the All Blacks again, especially given the progress Aaron Cruden & Colin Slade were making.
But, as would be recorded in Henry's autobiography, fate deals some intriguing hands and Beaver might still have an important card to play.
The All Blacks, having come gruesomely unstuck against the French at the quarterfinal stage in 2007 (And during the quarterfinals, France terminated the All Blacks dream of winning the World Cup just like as it was repeating the heroics way back in '99 through a blatant forward pass not seen by English referee Wayne Barnes (Although South Africa won the tourney beating England in the final), were the hottest of hot favourites, Henry and his brilliantly qualified assistants, Smith & Steve Hansen, were determined not (To use a dinkum Kiwi-ism) to bugger things up this time.
They put an incredible amount of time into analysing where things unfolded in Cardiff & how they could prevent a repeat.
The 2 major lessons learnt were:
(1) They had applied a Tri-Nations/Grand Slam mentality to the campaign, i.e. taking 1 game at a time, whereas World Cup rugby, once the post-section phase has been reached, is about sudden death. What you've achieved throughout the year and in the World Cup pool matches doesn't matter a hoot;
(2) Carter for the unexpected; in fact, prepare for the worst-case scenario. 2 worst-case scenarios had unfolded at Cardiff - the 2 specialist first-fives, Carter and Nick Evans, had both gone off injured and the referee did not penalize France for the last 50 minutes of the game.
Close analysis of the Cardiff quarterfinal revealed players becoming stressed in the 2nd half and losing focus ''They didn't handle the pressure'' noted Henry ''Their minds went blank.''
If the All Blacks were to be successful in 2011, they had to handle the unexpected; they had to embrace pressure. What was the worst that could happen this time? Dan Carter & Richie McCaw going down with serious injuries? Not Possible, surely!
The other major change since 2007 was the adoption of a shared leadership philosphy. Collectively devised by Messrs Henry, Smith & Hansen, along with manager Darren Shand & mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka, it involved the appointment of the magnificent 7 - McCaw, Carter, Mils Muliaina & Andrew Hore as on-field leaders & Conrad Smith, Brad Thorn & Keven Mealamu as off-field leaders.
The value of this leadership group would bear fruit in the desperate final half hour of the final.
As in 2007, the All Blacks breezed through pool play. After a tough 1st-up encounter against Tonga (Won 41-10), they demolished John Kirwan's Japan 83-7 & France 37-17 before moving on to Wellington to prepare for the clash with Canada.
While that game would be won handsomely, 79-15, it was what unfolded on the eve of that contest that traumatized the All Blacks coaches; indeed, the whole of New Zealand.
Carter, who for the 1st time in his illustrious career was to captain the All Blacks, was having a few harmless shots at goal on the Friday afternoon. 4 place kicks, that's all. The 4th was from straight in front of the posts. He swung through the ball as he had done thousands of times in his career, but this time pain seared through his left leg & he dropped to the ground clutching his groin.
He had torn the adductor longus tendon off the bone. His World Cup was over & a worst-case scenario was again confronting the All Blacks. ''We need to be strong & confront adversity'' Henry told his players ''Losing Dan is a hell of a blow but we've just got to get on with doing the business.''
Carter's injury allowed Cruden, so unlucky to miss original selection, to join the squad.
The French, battered by New Zealand, also lost to Tonga in one of Rugby World Cup's greatest upsets & were incredibly fortunate to advance to the quarterfinals, in the process becoming the 1st nation to do so after losing 2 pool matches. Their good fortune was that Tonga had stumbled against Canada, or they would have been, embarrassingly, on an early flight home.
Pretty much all the other 'seeded' nations advanced to the playoffs, Argentina at Scotland's expense (After winning a thriller in the rain in Wellington, 13-12) and Wales ahead of the nation that had twice previously embarrassed it in World Cup pool play - Samoa.
The greatest upset result was provided by the Irish, who knocked over the Wallabies in a riveting contest at Eden Park, 15-6. This had the effect of shunting Australia on to the same side of the draw as New Zealand, putting them on a collision course for the semifinals when many expected them to fight out the final.
The Springboks were the defending champions and, remarkably, brought 21 of the survivors from 2007 to the tournament. The team that took on Wales, and escaped oh so narrowly, 17-16, thanks to the Welsh fluffing some late kicks at goal, boasted an incredible 825 caps (An average of 55 per player).
The quarterfinals produced a series of enthralling contests. Wales, coached by Warren Gatland, outgunned Ireland 22-10, Australia edged out South Africa 11-9 (After which the South Africans said many unkind things about New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence), the All Blacks outmuscled Argentina 33-10 (Helped by 7 penalty goals from the boot of Piri Weepu, in the process losing Colin Slade with Carter's injury - a torn adductor muscle) &, in the most unlikely outcome, the French, who appeared to be down & out after losing to Tonga, defeated England 19-12.
The French are reowned for their inconsistency, but this time they appeared to be so far down the precipice there would be no way back. What made the difference? ''We talked a lot'' said France's man of the match, halfback Dimitri Yachvili ''It was obvious our performance against Tonga was unacceptable. There was a lot of soul-searching during the week.''
The 1st semifinal was virtually decided by referee Alain Rolland in the 17th minute when he red-carded Welsh captain Sam Warburton for a tip tackle on French winger Vincent Clerc.
Yes, it was a dangerous tackle and, yes it certainly deserved a yellow card (Francois Pienaar, the 1995 Rugby World Cup winning captain for the Springboks said that at best the yellow card, never a red card in the final & he also said that Warburton had been one of the cleanest players in the tournament just because Rolland killed the game so Pienaar was livid because he was absolutely livid that it's wrong, it is wrong because he may have calmed them down a bit). But in so diligently applying the law relevant to dangerous tip tackles, Rolland effectively destroyed a World Cup showpiece, an occasion for which the Welsh had spent 4 years planning.
Against 14 men for the final 63 minutes, France, even without scoring a try, held on to win 9-8. The plucky Welsh almost salvaged an amazing victory through a late try by halfback Mike Phillips, but Stephen Jones, on for the hapless James Hook, who'd had a wretched night as a goalkicker, struck the upright with his conversion.
24 hours later, the All Blacks eliminated the Wallabies, thanks to an explosive opening, which produced the game's solitary try in the 5th minute by Ma'a Nonu.
The contest was effectively over by halftime, although the Wallabies fought bravely throughout the 2nd half & deserved a greater reward than 1 penalty goal & 1 dropped goal.
Having dissected the French so ruthlessly in pool play, the All Blacks were raging hot favourites to take out the final, especially given the venue was Eden Park where they had been invincible since 1986.
However, the worst-case scenarios kept unfolding for Henry's team. Aaron Cruden limped off in the 33rd minute to be replaced by none other than Stephen Donald. Beacer, who'd been whitebaiting a fortnight before, now found himself in a World Cup final wearing Cruden's shirt, which was 2 sizes too small for him.
Weepu, who had been kicking like a machine throughout the tournament, had tweaked a muscle in a private practice session now couldn't land anything, as a consequence of which the All Blacks were only 5-0 ahead at halftime, courtesy of a classic try to Tony Woodcock, utilising the 'Teabag' lineout move that had been kept on ice for 3 years.
Beaver assured himself of immortality by landing a penalty goal 4 minutes into the 2nd half for an 8-0 advantage, which was trimmed to 1 point a few minutes later when Thierry Dusautoir scored a try that was converted.
The 8-7 scorline survived for the final 32 minutes of what surely ranks as Rugby World Cup's most gripping encounter.
While Messers Henry, Smith & Hansen died a thousand deaths in the coaches' box during that final, agonising half hour, the ultra-cool All Blacks, superbly marshalled by Richie McCaw (Ignoring a severe foot injury that shouldn't have even allowed him to start) operated with consummate skill. This time they were mentally strong, trusting in each other to get the job done.
Worst-case scenarios weren't going to deny them this time. Out of the 2007 wreckage had emerged a team with the mental strength to survive.
When South African referee Craig Joubert blew the whistle for full time, the All Blacks were still a point in front, 8-7. One point was enough, allowing McCaw to go forward & become the 1st New Zealander to accept the Webb Ellis Cup since David Kirk, at the same venue, 24 years earlier.
Quarterfinals
Wales beat Ireland 22-10, in Wellington
France beat England 19-12, in Auckland
Australia beat South Africa 11-9, in Wellington
New Zealand beat Argentina 33-10, in Auckland
Semifinals
France beat Wales 9-8, in Auckland
New Zealand beat Australia 20-6, in Auckland
Playoff for 3rd
Australia beat Wales 21-18, in Auckland
Final
New Zealand beat France 8-7, in Auckland
And finally guess what, it is only 6 days until the Rio 2016 (MMXVI) Olympic Games because there are so many Kiwi athletes competing so they can go for gold because I am still looking forward to it as well as my Malaysian friend sending me an email which is about that she will be heading to the once earthquake stricken garden city of Christchurch so here's the full message in it's entirety:
Morning Whetu,
Yes i will be heading to Christchurch next week, I am in wellington at the moment and it is very nice, people are very nice in the backpackers!
We will have a picnic when i come back
and Finally yes i am excited about the Olympics especially the Opening!
Talk to you soon!
So that's all folks for my XVIth (16th) blog of the year, MMXVI.
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