1987: Remembering our last victory drink

NZ Herald

14 Aug, 2011 05:30 PM4 mins to read

To a naive rugby public who knew little about such events, it was just another test.

The result is etched in the memory but the details are fading. One thing's for sure, the 29-9 World Cup final victory over France in 1987 was a defining moment for rugby and, in a perverse way, for the game in New Zealand and globally.

It signalled a sea-change in the way our national sport was heading and little did we know that it was a sign that the professional era was heading our way.

It's perhaps ironic that being there at Eden Park on June 20 didn't feel all that special - considering now that winning the Webb Ellis Cup has become such an obsession with rugby-mad Kiwis. It was a World Cup, but to a naive rugby public who knew little about such events, it was just another test, albeit with a little more at stake.

In many eyes the absence of the old foe, South Africa, lessened its importance. As did the fact that the tournament was shared between New Zealand and Australia. No matter, the business end - the final - was at the home of rugby and in front of a capacity 46,000.

There was nowhere near the hype of subsequent Cups, in fact it sort of crept up on us before we really knew how significant it was. Interest had been piqued early in the tournament when John Kirwan scored that fabulous length-of-field try against Italy, but when you look back at the round-robin results, there were many lop-sided contests.

It didn't stop an army of friends and family from Taranaki landing on us on Auckland's North Shore for the final weekend. Tickets were not difficult to obtain, provided you went through rugby clubs, as was the way back then. No corporate seats or covered comfort for us - $22 seats on the concrete terraces were deemed just fine - especially for an afternoon kickoff. Among the hordes of mostly New Zealand fans the odd French supporter carried roosters (real ones) hoping to free them inside the ground. Security was minimal and one may have even been successful - although that's one recollection that has faded with time.

One memory that hasn't faded is of the All Black domination from the first whistle and the feeling among the happy terraces that the result was never in doubt. Grant Fox played the kicking-for-territory game and legends Michael Jones and John Kirwan scored with captain David Kirk adding the decisive try in the corner after halftime.

It was over in a flash and the joy was infectious. No fluoro-suited security for this big occasion, the crowd swept on to the hallowed turf and gathered in front of the grandstand for the trophy presentation.

And there he was, the tiny Captain Kirk accepting the glittering prize to the adulation of the adoring fans.

The one memory that will always stick is the six-man all-Taranaki scrum that we put down on halfway after the whistle. Our tribute to the men in black and, let's face it, our only chance of getting anywhere near to playing at a World Cup final.

We all went away feeling good about ourselves and, as the day was still young, ready to celebrate into the night.