Five Of The Best: Bledisloe Cup Series
Ahead of the weekend’s big Wallabies vs All Blacks match on Rugby Pass, Jamie Wall revisits some classic editions of the Bledisloe Cup from the last 20 years.
The Bledisloe Cup has been more one-sided than State of Origin lately – the Wallabies have been unable to prise it out of the All Blacks’ vice-like grip since they let it go back in 2003.
But regardless of who ends up lifting the trophy, there have been some classic Bledisloe Cups though the years. Here are the five best series in my lifetime.
1992
First test (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney): Wallabies 16 All Blacks 15
Second test (Ballymore, Brisbane): All Blacks Wallabies 19 All Blacks 17
Third test (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney): All Blacks 26 Wallabies 23
The sun was setting on the days of amatuer rugby, so it was fitting that one of the last great acts of on field thuggery happened in this pulsating series. The last ever full tour of Australia by the All Blacks was notable for incredible rugby, including one of the greatest tries ever and the start of a short-lived period of Australian dominance.
1996
First test (Athletic Park, Wellington): All Blacks 43 Wallabies 6
Second test (Lang Park, Brisbane): All Blacks 32 Wallabies 25
Two wildly different All Black victories in the first year of Tri Nations Rugby, the first a much-mythologized ‘Greatest Performance Ever’ against both the old foe and, at times, Mother Nature herself. The second a few weeks later saw a massive turnaround for the Wallabies, who almost pulled off a stunning victory, only to be thwarted by the sweetest piece of poetic rugby justice by Frank Bunce.
2000
First test (Stadium Australia, Sydney): All Blacks 39 Wallabies 35
Second test (Westpac Stadium, Wellington): Wallabies 24 All Blacks 23 (Wallabies retain the Bledisloe Cup)
If you haven’t seen either of these games, questions must be asked about your life choices. The first test, instantly dubbed ‘The Match Made In Heaven’, saw the biggest opening blitzkrieg of points, the bravest comeback and the most thrilling end to a test of all time. The second saw the greatest set piece try, the most contentious period of injury time and the most iconic act of a second choice goal kicker you’ll ever see. Even if you’ve watched these 100 times, watch them again. Now.
2003
First test (Stadium Australia, Sydney): All Blacks 51 Wallabies 20
Second test (Eden Park, Auckland): All Blacks 21 Wallabies 17
A shaky start didn’t stand in the way of a truly rampant All Black effort in the first test, although Wendell Sailor managed to blast his way through the defence late for a memorable 50 metre run in for a try. The second was a much tighter affair, with the game only sealed with two Doug Howlett tries. It’d been five long years since the Wallabies had held the Bledisloe Cup, since full time in that game they haven’t had it since.
2006
First test (Lancaster Park, Christchurch): All Blacks 32 Wallabies 12
Second test (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane): All Blacks 13 Wallabies 9
Third test (Eden Park, Auckland): All Blacks 34 Wallabies 27
A 3-0 whitewash and a mostly dull opening test masks the fact that this was one of the most hard fought and bitter series in recent memory. The second test in Brisbane was the stage for arguably Richie McCaw’s finest 80 minutes and is probably the best one-try tests of all time. To counter McCaw’s brilliance the Wallabies simply tried to take his head off in the third test, they almost succeeded but forgot to play enough rugby to actually win.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments