All Blacks v Wallabies: The last midweek Bledisloe Cup test and one of rugby's most iconic moments

George Gregan, who was to play more than 100 Test matches, made his name with a single tackle on Jeff Wilson. Photo / Getty

The All Blacks and Wallabies play a rare midweek test in Melbourne tomorrow. It's the first time since 1994 the Bledisloe Cup has been played outside of the weekend. The Herald looks back on one of the great endings to an All Blacks-Wallabies encounter.

The tackle.

George Gregan's game-saving hit on Jeff Wilson is an iconic moment in sport.

For the 1994 All Blacks, a season which began with the debut of 18-year-old Jonah Lomu against France, the August 17 midweek clash against the Wallabies was the final test of the year.

A test season ending in August is strange to look back on 28 years later. The All Blacks opened the year with back-to-back defeats to France, including their last defeat at Eden Park. They bounced back by winning the first two tests against the Springboks before a draw in the third test, also at Eden Park. The Sydney test was their only away test of the year.

The test at Sydney Football Stadium was played on a Wednesday night to avoid clashing with the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.

The ceremony featured a precision horse riding display by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a flyover by the Snowbirds Canadian Forces aerobatic display team - so by all accounts was well worth changing the kickoff around.

Wilson earned a starting spot ahead of John Kirwan and Lomu, who was dropped after the France series.

Shane Howarth was at fullback and had a rough introduction to the test when the Wallabies scored after just 16 seconds. Australian first-five David Knox put up a bomb after the All Blacks made a meal of the kickoff and Jason Little leapt over Howarth to score the fastest Bledisloe Cup try.

A second try for Phil Kearns from a rolling maul midway through the half and Australia were out to a 17-3 lead.

Howarth began the comeback with two penalties and a converted try to close the gap to one point. Michael Jones was denied a possible match-winning try when Zinzan Brooke was called for a dubious forward pass by referee Ed Morrison. A Knox penalty made it 20-16 heading into the final stages when Wilson run free.

He had made an excellent run, beating three moderate tackle attempts, and looked certain to score close to fulltime before halfback Gregan flew into the picture.

In a later interview Gregan modestly said: "I was just covering. I was doing what any other halfback does. I was just lucky to make that tackle. You try and make that tackle another 100 times you'd never make it".

Looking at the tackle again, the force of Gregan's tackle hits Wilson around the midriff, but in doing so makes solid contact on the underside of the ball. Success and failure - a matter of millimetres.

"I coped pretty badly with it," Wilson told the Herald in 2013.

"It was devastating and I was only 20. But you work harder and luckily I've got a bad memory. I only remember half a dozen of the All Black games I played."

Gregan, playing in just his fourth test, went on to play 139 tests for the Wallabies, winning the 1999 World Cup as well as helping the Wallabies reach the final in 2003.

Wilson also had a great test career including a standout tournament at the 1995 World Cup, overshadowed somewhat by the other All Blacks wing. He may not have scored in that 1994 test but he went on to cross the line 44 times for the All Blacks, a record at the time.