In the third edition of the Herald’s series celebrating the top 100 Kiwi sporting moments of the millennium, we’re counting from position 60-41. Catch up on the earlier parts: 100-81, 80-61, 60-41 and 40-21.
On The Up: Counting down the Top 100 Kiwi sporting moments of the past 25 years: 20-1
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Due to the close scores from the judges, the result was questioned in some sections of the boxing media but Parker no doubt was the busier of the two, throwing more punches than Ruiz, 560-416, and landing 119 to 107. – CM
19) Auld-fashioned drubbing, 2017
Hearts dropped when Team New Zealand pitchpoled in the pre-start ahead of the fourth race of their challenger series semifinal against Land Rover BAR. It wasn’t the first time in the campaign they had sustained damage, but it looked like it might have been the most significant. They were able to get back on the starting line for the next racing day, cleaned up the series, then won the challenger series to book a spot in the Cup match against Oracle Team USA.
As Oracle won the Challenger Series’ round robins, Team NZ started on -1 points. As it turned out, the defenders needed a much larger head start. Powered by their innovative design and control elements – headlined by their use of cyclors rather than grinders – Team NZ left the ghosts of San Francisco in their wake to clinch the series 7-1 and begin their first reign as defenders since losing the Auld Mug to Alinghi in 2003. After the agonising defeat in San Francisco – where they came within one win of clinching the Cup – the success in Bermuda, and claiming that final win by almost a minute, was a moment to savour. – CR
18) Lomu caps the test of the millennium, 2000
It seems ironic that a defining Jonah Lomu moment doesn’t feature him running over or through a defender but instead around as the legendary winger ended one of the greatest tests ever with a try down the left hand touch at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.
Taine Randell offered the assist, and Lomu, as often his wont, did the rest. Sprinting away and evading the desperate tackle of Stephen Larkham. It capped a 39-35 victory after the All Blacks coughed up an early 24-0 lead. – CM
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17) Baz reaches new heights, 2014
Everest conquered. Thirteen years after Martin Crowe’s 299, Brendon McCullum finally scaled the mountain no other Black Cap could.
Trailing India by 246 runs, and reduced to 94/5, McCullum not only saved the test, but saved the series with it. McCullum shelved his natural instincts, defying India for more than two days to finish on 302.
As the Kiwi skipper cut Zaheer Khan for four runs to take him past a batter’s holy grail, New Zealand rose as one to celebrate the missing accolade from our copy book as a test cricket power. – AP
16) Mark Paston dives right, 2009
This was a true Sliding Doors moment, in a football World Cup qualifier. When Bahrain were awarded a penalty – after an awkward Tony Lochhead challenge inside the box – 35,000 fans held their breath. Everyone knew what it meant; if the Asian team equalised, the All Whites’ World Cup dream could be over, with away goals counting for double and 40 minutes to play. The All Whites bench tried to get a message to Paston but the custodian told the Herald later he had already made up his mind which way to go.
“Sometimes you get a feeling,” he said.
Defender Sayed Mohamed Adnan took a long run up but that didn’t faze Paston, who dived low to his right to smother the effort. Given the tension, his save prompted an even bigger eruption of joy than Rory Fallon’s first half goal, as the record crowd sensed it was New Zealand’s night. – MB
15) Evers-Swindells win by a split second, 2008
On a swelteringly hot day in Beijing, this was one of the closest finishes in rowing history. Even for a sport that specialises in fine margins, this was extreme, with seemingly nothing between the first two crews in the women’s double sculls.
At a time when technology wasn’t quite as sharp as today, there was a dramatic pause before Caroline and Georgia were confirmed as the winners, one hundredth of a second in front of the German duo. The result on the line was so tight, it was famously called wrong on Television New Zealand.
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It was their second successive Olympic triumph, under legendary coach Dick Tonks and foreshadowed a golden era in the sport, with the twins providing inspiration for a new generation of Kiwi rowers. –MB
14) Maria Tutaia gets the (second) point, 2010
It was certainly the longest game of netball ever played, and in the eyes of many pundits it was the greatest game, too.
At the Delhi Commonwealth Games, the Silver Ferns faced off against their toughest rivals, Australia.
After 84 minutes of tension, goal attack Maria Tutaia found an inch of space to set for a shot that would give the Silver Ferns the two-goal margin needed to confirm the Commonwealth Games gold.
The double-extra-time thriller had seen the sides deadlocked on the whistle of both full-time and extra-time. In the final moments of shoulder-to-shoulder scrambling the Kiwis’ determination and hustle carried the day. – WA
13) Reid headers at the death, 2010
With time ticking it seemed certain the All Whites would begin their World Cup campaign with a close but hard-fought 1-0 defeat.
Then with two minutes left a Tony Lochhead cross was sent into Shane Smeltz in the box, but the attacker headed it wide of the posts. That was the chance to steal a point. But not the last chance. Two minutes into injury time, Smeltz turned the deliverer with a brilliant ball towards Winston Reid waiting on the penalty spot.
Reid, who was beaten to the header for Slovakia’s goal and also denied a goal down the other end, put it away. The All Whites finally had a World Cup point. – CM
12) Michael Campbell outruns chasing Tiger, 2005
For 42 years, Sir Bob Charles was the only New Zealander to win a golf major. Campbell looked to join Charles in 1995 holding a two-shot lead into the final round of the Open Championship at St Andrews only to finish third.
Ten years later at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, Campbell had another shot at a major and held off a charging Tiger Woods to lift the US Open Trophy.
The defining moment was a lengthy birdie putt at the 17th. Campbell had bogeyed the previous hole and Woods had just birdied the last to make it a two-shot lead. Campbell could have taken the easier approach and tried to two-putt for par – instead he drained the birdie to take a three-shot buffer to the last. A bogey was enough for his maiden major. – CM
11) Kerr jumps then runs, 2024
After securing gold in the high jump, Hamish Kerr embarked upon an arms-spread dash around the field of the Stade de France, as other athletics events were still taking place. His impromptu run was one of the highlights of a remarkable Olympics for New Zealand.
Touted as a great prospect to become New Zealand’s first male gold-medal winner in an Olympic field event, the high jumper was in danger of a crash landing in Paris.
He soared over 2.15m in his qualifying first jump but the yips set in at 2.20m, leaving him in danger of elimination. New Zealand held its breath. Kerr held his nerve. Steeling himself on the track, Kerr launched over the height in his do-or-die third attempt. But there was more drama to come.
After he and American Shelby McEwen had earlier been the only athletes to clear 2.36m — equalling Kerr’s personal best — neither man could manage the extra 2cm to seize gold. Each jumper had another crack at 2.38m. Each failed. The bar came back down to 2.36m — and was twice knocked down to the mat.
Both men visibly tiring, McEwen missed his attempt at 2.34m. Gold was within Kerr’s grasp. And then the action paused while the men’s 4x400m final circled a stadium kept in suspense. That breather might have been just what Kerr needed. Track cleared of runners, the 27-year-old sailed over the bar and into the history books, somehow finding additional energy for an epic celebration, a trail of photographers chasing his heels. – CM
10) Men’s rowing eight win gold, 2021
On the surface, this was one of the most unlikely Olympic golds in New Zealand history. The men’s eight needed a special route – via the last-chance system – just to qualify for Tokyo, in the most competitive of all rowing classes. Seeing the black singlets in the big boat had been a rare sight down the years and our last golden moment had been way back in 1972, with the 1984 crew finishing a heart-breaking fourth.
But this team was a special group, who made the most of the extra year’s preparation afforded by the Covid induced postponement. Still, they were barely mentioned ahead of the final, after they needed a repechage to make the decider. However, they collectively produced the race of their lives, going ahead at the halfway point and powering on from there, in an awesome display of grit and technique. The triumph was extra special for Hamish Bond, as he put his legacy on the line after the retirement of Eric Murray ended their pair. – MB
9) The greatest Grand Final try, 2002
For 10 sweet minutes the Warriors led the 2002 grand final, their maiden trip to the sport’s biggest stage after securing the minor premiership on a dramatic final day of the season.
Trailing 6-2 at halftime, Jones scored one of the great individual tries in grand final history. “This wonderful halfback Stacey Jones,” roared commentator Ray Warren after the halfback weaved his way through the Roosters defence from 25m out. Forget the final scoreline (the Roosters won 30-8) Jones’ try and the corresponding 10 minutes is what gives Warriors’ fans hope every year since. – CM
8) Carter-Docherty do the double, 2004
In gruelling conditions on a hot Athens day, two brave Kiwis set out on a private race in the final stages of the triathlon to decide gold and silver at the Athens Olympics.
It wasn’t until the closing stages of the 10km run that Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty shook off Sven Riederer, of Switzerland, and it became clear that New Zealand would finish in first and second.
In the end, it was Carter, who suffered a poor result four years earlier as the race favourite, who beat out Docherty the defending world champion. It was only the third time two Kiwis had won a medal in the same event, following Peter Snell (gold) and John Davies (bronze) in the 1964 1500m, and Blyth Tait (gold) and Sally Clarke (silver) in the 1996 eventing. – CM
7) All Whites lead Italy, 2010
New Zealand 1, Italy 0 at a Football World Cup. You wouldn’t have dreamed of it.
The All Whites had the defending World Cup champions on the ropes at Mbombela Stadium. Simon Elliott sent in the long-range freekick into the box, the ball appeared to clear everyone bouncing off the hip of Italian skipper Fabio Cannavaro before landing in the path of Shane Smeltz who got a touch by Federico Marchetti.
Italy eventually levelled through a suspect penalty and Mark Paston was brilliant as the All Whites earned New Zealand’s most famous sporting draw. – CM
6) Joanah Ngan-Woo raises her hand, 2022
It seemed a predictable ending. Fans had seen the England lineout-maul machine in action all through the 2022 Rugby World Cup – and in the final against New Zealand they set themselves up just metres from the host’s tryline.
With the final hooter gone, the visitors, trailing by 34-31, set up for a lineout and what seemed a likely fifth try from a maul. The English were confident the last play of the match would bring them victory.
Black Ferns second-rower Joanah Ngan-Woo had other ideas. Her decisive lineout steal meant the Black Ferns emerged triumphant in what was one of the great World Cup finals. – CM
5) Ma’a Nonu sprints away, 2015
Eyebrows were raised at halftime in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final when All Blacks bosses subbed off Conrad Smith.
The pay-off came quick. Replacement centre Sonny Bill Williams carted the ball up before offloading to Ma’a Nonu and rugby’s most famous dreadlocks set off on a 45m charge to the tryline.
A shimmy to the right found a gap in the fractured Wallaby pack; a shimmy to the left put defender Kurtley Beale on his backside before the Hurricanes legend completed possibly the greatest RWC final try of them all. – WA
4) Rory Fallon puts All Whites on path to World Cup, 2009
A 44th-minute header in Wellington made Rory Fallon an All Whites immortal. After 27 years, New Zealand were going back to a Fifa World Cup and Fallon, son of 1982 assistant coach Kevin, had provided the decisive moment. In front of a feverish crowd, the 1.91m Fallon leapt highest to power home a Leo Bertos corner, after a Ben Sigmund foray out of defence had won the set piece.
On an epic night, the strike gave the All Whites a crucial advantage. They hung on throughout an incredibly tense second half – with Mark Paston’s penalty save the other indelible memory – before the nation could celebrate. Anyone who was in the 35,000-strong crowd that night – and more and more people claim to have been as the years go by – will tell you it was the greatest atmosphere for a sporting event on these shores they have ever seen.
It remains a special memory for Fallon, who had only made his debut for the All Whites a few months earlier – at the age of 27 – after a change in Fifa regulations opened the door, following appearances in England age-group teams as a teenager. – MB
3) Grant Elliott hits Black Caps into a World Cup final, 2015
Five off two balls. A spot in a maiden World Cup final on the line. A packed Eden Park. Dale Steyn steaming in and Grant Elliott produced the shot of the century.
His right foot was anchored deep in the crease, directed at point. His left foot pointed straight. His bat swung in an arc which connected over long on and into the crowd.
Elliott delivered New Zealand into their first World Cup final in 11 attempts over 40 years. “It was stressful,” Elliott said afterwards. Every Black Caps fan would agree. – AP
2) Taylor flicks Shami off his pads to win WTC, 2021
With India starting the day at 64-2, leading by 32 runs, victory required a stunning bowling performance, and they produced just that - skittling India for 170, and chasing down their target of 139 with 7.1 overs to spare.
In a fitting end, two of the team’s stalwarts who have been there through the worst of times were at the crease to celebrate the best of times.
As Kane Williamson watched on at the non-striker’s end, Ross Taylor whipped a delivery from Mohammed Shami to the square leg boundary, and New Zealand’s journey was complete. Champions of the world. – AP
1) The (other) kick, 2011
Another kick from the painfully tense 2011 Rugby World Cup finally gets a lot more attention – in fact, they made a movie about Stephen Donald’s 46th-minute penalty that secured the drought-breaking lead.
So bare was the All Blacks first five-eighths cupboard during the late stages of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, there wasn’t even a jersey that would properly fit Stephen Donald. Down Dan Carter, Colin Slade and Aaron Cruden, the man affectionately known as ‘Beaver’ was called into the fray against France, as a maligned figure after never quite taking his chances in black. Four minutes into the second half, Donald stepped up and landed the crucial penalty that ultimately earned the World Cup by a point, and ended 24 years of William Webb Ellis heartbreak. – AP
