In the first of a series, Gregor Paul reviews the 1987 World Cup, picking his heroes, best games and defining images.
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No one was entirely sure what to feel when the 1987 World Cup kicked off. The Home Unions had never wanted a World Cup and were ever so wary about how it may impact on their beloved Five Nations.
They sent teams, though, of course they did, but
they all travelled with a sense of intrigue, rather than any great sense of purpose. Those bloody All Blacks were bound to win it.
Ironically, the All Blacks were full of self-doubt having endured a difficult 1986 and they reckoned the Wallabies would be the team to beat.
By the time the All Blacks had cruised through their pool games hammering Italy 70-6, Fiji 74-13 and Argentina 46-15, there was no doubt who the favourites really were.
The surprise selection of the little- known Michael Jones had been inspired. The injury to first choice hooker Andy Dalton was not the disaster everyone had predicted because a young fella by the name of Sean Fitzpatrick showed he was quite useful and John Kirwan on the right wing and John Gallagher at fullback took counter-attacking to a new level.
Elsewhere, the French and Scots looked useful and, while Australia had lacked conviction in beating an ordinary England side, Japan and the USA, they had the look of a team waiting to burst into life.
A gritty forward display was required from the All Black pack to subdue Scotland in the quarter-final and once they reached the last four, the tournament awoke. It was as if everyone suddenly realised they were involved in something bigger than they had first realised and that the World Cup was now firmly on the map.
The excitment started to build on both sides of the world and the pressure cranked up. England went to pieces against Wales in their quarterfinal while Australia started to look ominous when they cruised past Ireland 33-15 to set up a penultimate-round clash against France.
With public interest building, what the organisers really needed was an epic semifinal. They got it in Sydney when the French dug in, kept believing and produced a last-minute try to secure a 30-24 win and take their place in the inaugural final against New Zealand who had hammered Wales 49-6.
It was hard to argue against the assertion that the two best teams had made it to the final, something which has only ever happened again in 1995.
A packed house at Eden Park saw the All Blacks' superior skill, fitness and ability triumph 29-9. It was a deserved victory for a special side and the Brits had the consolation of being right - those bloody All Blacks had done just what they predicted.
Five who arrived
Michael Jones (New Zealand)
The 22-year-old opened everyone's eyes to the possibilities of how an openside could play. Impossibly athletic and brave, Jones was everywhere and he brought a never-before-seen physicality to tackling.
By the end of the tournament, the rugby world knew the name Michael Jones and every other nation wanted to find their own version.
John Kirwan (New Zealand)
The giant Auckland wing made the most dramatic start to the tournament where he took the Italian kick-off, ran through six tackles and made it all the way to the posts to score one of the greatest tries in World Cup history. He added power and pace to an All Black backline that saw plenty of ball.
Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
Made his test debut the year before but proved at the World Cup he was a world class goal-kicker and surprisingly gifted attacking fullback.
Lacked the pace of Serge Blanco and John Gallagher but made up for it with exquisite timing and an ability to pull off higher risk options.
Franck Mesnel (France)
Mesnel established himself as the first choice No 10 during the tournament. With Denis Charvet, Philippe Sella and Blanco in the backline, the French had enough pace and flair to cut everyone open. They needed a first five to pull it all together, though, and in Mesnel they found the right man.
John Devereux (Wales)
Big, strong and direct, Devereux gave Wales a cutting edge they had lacked for much of the early 1980s. He was a bit more than a target man, though, and his range of skills saw him snapped up by League scouts shortly after the tournament.
The game we all remember
Australia 24 France 30
At Concorde Oval, Sydney
Oh the drama. The scores were locked at 24-all in the semifinal, time was almost up and everyone was beginning to realise that making the World Cup final was a pretty big deal.
Somehow Philippe Sella forced a turnover, the ball went left and Patrice Lagisquet kicked ahead.
David Campese, at fullback, let the ball bounce, Eric Champ gathered and when Denis Charvet recycled after probing down the right, the ball was switched with big No 8 Laurent Rodriguez collecting an inside pass from Lagisquet before releasing the unmarked Serge Blanco who beat the cover.
The best game we don't remember
France 20 Scotland 20
At Lancaster Park Christchurch
Remains the only draw in World Cup history and was probably the game that ignited northern hemisphere interest in the tournament.
There were bruising exchanges, skilled close-quarter work from both packs and a sense of adventure that made this game seriously entertaining.
The Scots lost their talisman first five John Rutherford to a career-ending knee injury in the first minute but with livewire loose forwards John Jeffrey, Fin Calder and Derek White in rampant form, they weathered the blow.
The French countered the mobility of the Scottish forwards with the stunning brilliance of their backline.
Five enduring memories
When Kirk met Bill:
The memory of All Black captain David Kirk holding aloft the William Webb Ellis trophy has sadly become etched in the national psyche. There was an unrealised assumption that the picture of the smiling skipper would fade in time as more All Black captains struck the same pose. Hasn't happened, though, and Kirk remains the only New Zealander to have held the trophy the Aussies like to call Bill.
Serge Blanco's kneeling celebration:
The French fullback scored the winning try in the semifinal after he lunged for the corner. Too emotional and drained to stand in celebration, he made it to his knees, raised his arms aloft and then collapsed again.
Paul Thorburn's touchline conversion:
Poor old Australia; dumped out in the semifinal they had to come to Rotorua to play the meaningless third/fourth place playoff. Again, they lost to a last-minute score with Welsh fullback Paul Thorburn landing a huge conversion to seal the victory.
Buck's punch:
There was some light shoving and baton twirling at Ballymore during the semifinal between Wales and New Zealand. Buck Shelford wanted to end it so he flattened Welsh lock Huw Richards. Incredibly, when Richards was revived, he was sent off for apparently starting the fracas.
The empty seats in Australia:
The World Cup was not a major event in 1987. The Europeans were lukewarm and, even in co-host Australia, the tournament struggled to gain much of a following. The average crowd was 17,000 and there were plenty of empty seats, even for the semifinal at Concorde Oval.
