All Blacks: Beaver - I didn't see it go over

Stephen Donald and the moment that made World Cup history. Photo / NZME.

World Cup hero adds to penalty folklore.

Today marks six months, to the day, until the 2015 Rugby World Cup begins, and Stephen Donald still refuses to be drawn on whether his kick, which effectively won the All Blacks the 2011 final, actually went between the posts.

It did, of course, because it says so on the scoresheet, just as "New Zealand" is engraved on the William Webb Ellis Cup after that knuckle-biting 8-7 victory over France at Eden Park.

Donald reflected on the moment in an interview with the Herald yesterday and was probably being mischievous in attempting to add a little more mystique to a kick which spawned a movie, starring an actor playing himself, and a knighthood for coach Graham Henry. For evidence, there is also a YouTube link which has been viewed 18,000 times titled "Proof - Stephen Donald kick RWC 2011 final", which appears to show the ball inching inside the right upright before curving away, although that in itself fuels the conspiracy theories.

"I don't think you could get away with that, could you?" Donald said yesterday. "I genuinely didn't see it. I thought it came off the boot well. Usually they shape the other way, but it shaped to the right, I got told later that night. But yeah, I was well and truly on my sprint back to position so I didn't see it."

No matter which way you look at that kick and the final - Donald's first and last World Cup match, it was a special performance from the man known as "Beaver", who has never made that many tackles in a match before or since.

He was famously brought into the squad in the week of the Australia semifinal. On a whitebaiting trip, he ignored several calls from coach Henry, who was calling on a private number, before a Mils Muliaina call was accepted, the message: "Call Ted" generating some interest from a man who thought he was on an extended holiday before his contract at Bath.

Donald sat on the bench against the Wallabies, and thought he might get five minutes of "glory" in the final if things were going the All Blacks' way. Instead, he was called into action in the first half when Aaron Cruden hyper-extended a knee.

"To get out there with 30 minutes gone in the first half, there wasn't any time to think. It was 'right, we're into it'. That's probably the thing I'm most proud of, being part of that defensive effort. If it had come easy, would it have meant as much? I don't know, it probably would have because it's the World Cup final, but ... it seemed like a training run - tackling, tackling, tackling.

"I'm glad I haven't made that many tackles since. I was in a bad way as far as my lungs were concerned. I remember dry retching a few times, thinking, 'Jeez, how long have we got to go?' But luckily we hung in there."

Donald spent a season and a half in Bath, where he said the no-risk style of game plan wasn't much fun. He moved to Mitsubishi in Japan and recently re-signed.

Gone but not forgotten, and with plenty of downtime to return to New Zealand to talk about a certain kick in a certain test.

Stephen Donald was speaking in his role as 2015 Rugby World Cup All Blacks Tours ambassador. Donald will lead a Fan Flight for the semifinals onwards with www.allblackstours.com