Washing away the pain

By WYNNE GRAY

There were five final minutes for the All Blacks to endure and wash away five years of Bledisloe Cup pain.

They claim they were in control, but Wallaby centre Mat Rogers sensed Groundhog Day for the cup defenders.

He scored a late try last year in Sydney to ignite a recovery, and on Saturday sniffed a repeat.

In the final move in the Eden Park thriller, Elton Flatley broke out of the Wallaby 22 with Rogers and Lote Tuqiri outside.

A try would give the Wallabies another get-out-of-jail victory.

But before he could get the ball to his team-mates, Flatley was tipped off balance and the slim Wallaby chance was lost.

"I was screaming at him to give me the ball because there was no one in front of us," Rogers said.

"But New Zealand deserved to win, they took their chances.

"It does not get any bigger than these games.

It is fantastic, bigger than the State of Origin.

The passion both here and at home is shown in the fanatical crowds.

" That adulation was showered on the All Blacks by the 45,000 Eden Park crowd, 21-17 winners on the night they recovered the trophy which had resided across the Ditch since 1998.

It was the 100th Bledisloe Cup match and a game commemorating 100 years of All Black test rugby.

No one who watched the All Blacks' last two victories should argue with fervent conviction that they would also deal to England or France.

There was not enough All Black authority or precision to make that judgment.

But this was a night when the All Blacks dismissed a series of late calamitous losses _ the John Eales penalty at Wellington, Toutai Kefu's try in Sydney and Matt Burke's penalty at the same venue.

It was a night to paraphrase coach John Mitchell's buzz-phrases.

He wanted players to deliver NOW, his selections were about what players could offer NOW to the All Blacks.

They won the Tri-Nations and regained the Bledisloe Cup.

It was time to celebrate those triumphs, to acknowledge those feats, to revel in the immediate.

Just like the more visible contribution of captain Reuben Thorne.

The All Black coaching staff might argue visible does not mean more effective, but Thorne's defence, leadership and lineout work was his most compelling of the season.

He was also able to lift the trophy, an honour which eluded national captains Taine Randell, Todd Blackadder and Anton Oliver before him.

It was time for the All Blacks to soak up the moment, to dwell on the feeling of victory, to see what it meant to them and their supporters.

It was an emotion they did not want to lose, a feeling lock Chris Jack displayed as he pumped his fist into the air and saluted the crowd.

The All Blacks can only imagine whether their next distinct expedition to the World Cup will produce the same euphoria: Saturday was a time to glory in the present, not brood about the future.

In his 15th test as captain, Thorne led his team off the podium, through the spectators' gauntlet of honour at the tunnel and back into their changing rooms.

It was contented pandemonium underneath the stands.

The Crusaders who made the same trek in misery after losing the Super 12 final could now join their Blues colleagues in boisterous celebration.

NZRFU chairman Jock Hobbs embraced All Black coach John Mitchell and Thorne broke his strong, silent image with smiles.

Former All Blacks, officials and well-wishers crowded round, scrum coach Richard Loe joked with former team-mate and TV3 commentator Frank Bunce about his Fight For Life finale.

Initial lineout defects, anxious waits for decisions from the television match official, the late concession of a try were all history.

This was time to remember Doug Howlett's two tries, shuddering tackles from the men in black, Leon MacDonald's healthy reinstatement, the mournful looks of the Wallabies as referee Jonathan Kaplan blew fulltime.

Halfback Justin Marshall was the sole All Black survivor from the 1998 loss at Christchurch when the cup went across the Tasman.

This time, as he would describe it, the Bogan outplayed the Baldy (Marshall v Gregan) at Eden Park, but their friendship would stay the same.

A kidney illness has removed Jonah Lomu from the test scene.

He could not personally exact revenge for'98, but understood the significance of the result.

Lomu took the mood of the nation with him yesterday when he congratulated the All Blacks at their hotel.