The final: England deserved to win and it was fitting that in extra-time England’s hero was first-five Jonny Wilkinson who dropped the goal for a 20-17 victory. Aussie’s star halfback George Gregan can’t help himself and yells “four more years” at his opponent Byron Kelleher.Īll was set for a barnstorming triumph for the Wallabies, but the most tedious team in the tournament, England, had other ideas. The tournament was largely split between Melbourne and Sydney, and, even in strongholds for Aussie Rules and rugby league, there was a flurry of interest as, in an upset, the Wallabies proved too good for the All Blacks, 22-10, in the semifinal in Sydney. In the uproar that followed the entire NZRU board resigned. But a massive falling out in 2002 between New Zealand and the International Rugby Board over advertising at grounds saw every match shifted to Australia. This would have been a joint Cup, with 24 games, two quarter-finals and a semifinal in New Zealand. Siya Kolisi and the Springboks celebrate winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The man of a thousand one-liners made the stark admission: “I don’t know why we didn’t play well today.” Weird offshoot: The loss in the final led to the unique sight of England’s coach Eddie Jones lost for words. Hostility only emerged when Ian Foster, Hansen’s most senior assistant coach, was appointed as the new national coach ahead of Scott Robertson. NZ reaction: Even the usually laconic Steve Hansen seemed devastated by the loss to England, and there was a kinder response than usual from Kiwis to a team coming home empty-handed. The final: A triumph for the Springboks, who became the first team to lose a pool game (23-13 to the All Blacks), and then go on to win the Cup, beating England, 32-12.Įngland had been the favourites going into the final in Yokohama, after steamrolling the All Blacks, 19-7, in the semifinal.īut where the All Blacks had struggled with the physicality of England, South Africa didn’t just match the onslaught of the men in white, they overpowered them. The organisers were helpful and energetic, but staying in Tokyo, a city of 13 million people, you felt the World Cup barely scraped the surface of local interest. They make such an impact, beating Wales in their first game, that in the official programme for the final Samoa’s leader Peter Fatialofa is named captain of a World Cup XV. The toast of the Cup are Samoa (then playing as Western Samoa). Weird offshoot: Not so much weird this time, as impressive. In the most remarkable welcome ever for a new All Black coach, NZRU chairman Eddie Tonks rings Mains, and says: “The shit will hit the fan now.” NZ reaction: The decision by the NZRU to appoint Alex Wyllie and John Hart as co-coaches was a disaster, and when Hart applied to take sole charge in 1992 he was beaten to the job by Laurie Mains. England had made the final with gritty forward play and relentless kicking by first-five Rob Andrew.ĭwyer slipped the leash on Campese with the media, and Campo made headlines as during the week he relentlessly bagged England’s tactics as boring and killing the game.Īt Twickenham the English tried to run the ball and couldn’t manage it. After three hours of heated discussion, Wayne Smith made a passionate plea: “When will we win your trust again?” Nobody in the room had the heart to say: “When you win the World Cup.”Īussie coach Bob Dwyer and superstar wing David Campese then conspired in the most brilliant con job in Cup history. Weird offshoot: In the aftermath of the Cardiff horror show, on May 21, 2008, in a first for the game, NZRU officials and the coaches held an off-the-record media forum at Eden Park to try to clear the air. NZ reaction: Near hysteria, which got more intense when the NZRU reappointed coaches Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, ahead of Robbie Deans, a winning Crusaders’ coach. If they could bottle this final it’d put Mogadon out of business. The Boks won 14 (five penalty goals) to 6 (two penalty goals). Their win against the All Blacks in the Cardiff quarter-final was, as the man himself would later say, hugely helped by a blatant mistake from referee Wayne Barnes.įrance lost 14-9 to England in a semifinal in Paris, which led to the dog of all finals, played between England and South Africa. The dream would have been for France to make the final in Paris. Phil Gifford, the only New Zealand journalist to have reported at all nine Cups to date, rates them in order of quality. The Rugby World Cup in France will be the 10th since the first Cup match kicked off at Eden Park on May 22, 1987.
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