KEY POINTS:
Auckland's undefeated national championship side of 1990 continues to rate as one of New Zealand's finest.
Not only did the Gary Whetton-led side cruise through a 10-match championship campaign, they also defeated Australia mid-season and swept aside Fiji, Queensland, New South Wales, Wellington and Canterbury to claim the predecessor to Super rugby, the South Pacific Championship.
Invitation Ranfurly Shield challenges and a game against New Zealand Maori meant the side played 19 matches. The closest they came to defeat was the season-ending 33-30 Shield victory over Canterbury. That win extended Auckland's five-year reign to 40 defences.
Although they would go on to defend the Shield another 21 times, 1990 marked the end of an era for a side who won four straight championships, losing just two matches in that span.
Otago finally loosened their grip on the title in 1991 and, although Auckland would string together another four consecutive championships from 1993-96, no side has since that 1990 season gone through a domestic campaign undefeated.
First five-eighths Grant Fox was the guiding force, scoring 176 points to top Waikato's Daryl Halligan on the scoring charts.
In an era when rotation and mid-campaign suntanning sessions weren't yet de-rigueur, Fox started all 19 matches, scoring 333 points without threatening the tryline. Sean Fitzpatrick and Whetton also started every game, while Terry Wright and Alan Whetton started 18 and came off the bench in the other.
But Auckland's campaign wasn't exactly disruption-free.
Star flanker Michael Jones missed the first 15 games while rehabilitating a severe knee injury. Centre Joe Stanley's season was cut short by illness after just one round of the championship.
Matthew Ridge started the first six games at fullback before departing for league with Manly, while halfback Brett Iti also switched to the 13-man game mid-season.
But Auckland had depth to burn. Craig Innes burst on to the scene to alleviate the loss of Stanley, while Terry Wright switched to fullback to replace Ridge, allowing Va'ainga Tuigamala to make the left wing spot his own.
Zinzan Brooke topped the team's try-scoring list with 18, followed by Wright (16) and Tuigamala (10).
Of the starting 15 who beat Australia 16-10 in July, 14 had either played for the All Blacks or would go on to do so.
The sole exception was flanker Marty Brooke, who also left mid-season to take up a coaching role overseas. The 14 players chosen from the province for the end of year All Blacks' tour of France was a record at the time.
Current Auckland coach Pat Lam broke into the team for the first time that year.
"I played just a couple of games and then I was on the bench. In those days you hardly ever got on," he recalled. "But it was amazing to be part of it, to come in and look around and see the Whettons, Fox and the Brookes.
"My first game was against Queensland away from home. They had pretty much all Wallabies and we had pretty much all All Blacks. I was the only one who wasn't [an international].
"You were surrounded by guys who were winning and who were always striving to be the best. A lot of those characteristics and traits naturally rubbed off on the young ones coming through.
"That is what we have tried to recreate over the last four years."
