All Black Lee Stensness with $20 he found on the pitch at Eden Park against The Lions in 1993. Photo / Doug Sherring
All Black Lee Stensness with $20 he found on the pitch at Eden Park against The Lions in 1993. Photo / Doug Sherring
It's the most famous banknote in Lions history - and 24 years later, former All Black Lee Stensness still has the quirky memento of his victorious test debut.
Eden Park, July 3, 1993 and Stensness was playing in his first game for the All Blacks - a high-stakes decider to determine who would claim that year's series against the British & Irish Lions.
But amid the tension of it all, a bizarre moment would add a unique twist to Stensness' day - one which would go down in rugby folklore for all time.
In an era before the privilege of big-money professional rugby contracts and in a moment he has previously described as his "university student instincts" taking over, Stensness noticed a $20 bill wedged into the Eden Park turf.
"It was kind of wedged halfway into the turf, sort of folded, half-buried. I picked it up and just put it in my sock. It's still a bit gritty."
Stensness, 46, has held on to the note as a tangible reminder of the best day of his rugby career, which included 14 caps and 15 points for the men in black.
"I'd have to say it's the highlight, definitely. Firstly because it was my test debut and secondly because, retrospectively, it was an important game.
"I probably didn't fully realise the magnitude of it at the time - which is probably just as well so that I didn't freak out.
"As time passes it probably even gains a little bit more importance. It feels goods to have contributed to a pivotal game."
Lee Stensness (right) and Jon Preston share a beer in the dressing room after the decisive match of the British and Irish Lions' 1993 tour of New Zealand. Photo / File
While the cash was a whimsical quirk on an otherwise serious match, Stensness' impact on the game itself will be remembered for turning the tide early in the first half, which ultimately would see the All Blacks dispatch the tourists 30-13.
"I sort of set up the first try we scored, we might have been 7 or 10 points down at that stage, but it was still quite early in the first half," Stensness said.
"I put a little chip kick in over the top and Frank Bunce scored. I was pleased that I'd made a good contribution."
Stensness' recollection of the day, 24 years later, remains incredibly detailed.
"My memory from that day is fairly vivid still. The team talk and bus ride to the ground were very quiet and very intense. I remember being in the changing rooms and everybody shaking my hand, which is part and parcel of a test debut," he said.
"The game itself, it sounds a but cheesy, but it's true, it's the time I was in 'the zone'. As cheesy as it sounds, everything was quite clear. I saw my friends in the crowd, I just had quite a bit of clarity that day which I was really appreciative of."
Based in West Auckland where he works for a company which supplies herbs to supermarkets and caterers, Stensness' era of rugby was extremely different to the near half-million dollar contracts afforded to contemporary All Blacks.
But, Stensness - a humble and articulate character - said he is comfortable that money isn't everything.
"Sometimes when I watch it, it's so brutal and intense, particularly test matches and I imagine these three test matches coming up are going to be something even higher than you see in Super Rugby.
"I don't necessarily think the players today are much better, they just come through a better system.
"I admire the way the guys play now. I just wonder if they get to have as much fun as we did. They get more money, and that's probably the trade-off."
Like hundreds of thousands of other All Black fans, he will be tuned in tonight to watch the men in black take on the Lions in the second test at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.
