The performances of New Zealand, South Africa and to a lesser extent, a much-weakened Australia in recent tests against European opposition have shown that the Southern Hemisphere is where it’s at when it comes to the cream of the crop of world rugby.
We can crow on all we want about the competitiveness and quality of the Six Nations but in all likelihood, the winner of next year’s World Cup in New Zealand is likely to come from one of the teams competing in the Tri-Nations. New Zealand and South Africa get the 2010 edition of the competition underway in Auckland this weekend and we had a trawl through the archives for some memorable moments from past clashes between the sides.
Rugby World Cup Final 1995 – South Africa 15–12 New Zealand
The final of the third Rugby World Cup was no classic, but South Africa’s success did wonders to help heal the divisions between white and black and rich and poor that had been so prevalent during the apartheid regime. The game itself was technically a shoot out between Joel Stransky and Andrew Mehrtens with Stransky having the cooler head in the end. The celebrations afterwards, particularly of Nelson Mandela are something to behold.
Tri-Nations, August 2000 – South Africa 46-40 New Zealand
The Springboks only won one game in the 2000 Tri-Nations, but what a way to do it. In all, there were ten tries in Ellis Park, Johannesburg with a whopping 86 points shared between the sides at the end. Munster fans will be left wondering what might have been when watching this clip. Christian Cullen was in devastating form in this encounter and only a pale shadow of his former self when he turned out in the province’s colours from 2003-06.
Brad Thorne spear tackle – July 2008
20 minutes into a bruising encounter in Wellington and New Zealand’s Adam Thomson takes out South African full-back Conrad Jantjes in the middle of the pitch with a high tackle. In the subsequent kerfuffle, Brad Thorne takes exception to something done to him by South African John Smit and takes him in out in a way only New Zealanders know how: a crunching spear tackle. Cue a mass brawl and a lenient punishment for the All-Black lock. More than a touch of deja vu about this one for Irish viewers.
Dan Carter – amazing banana kick
The link between the Tri-Nations and this clip is tenuous at best, but we were willing to use any excuse to include it. New Zealand out-half Carter has been the best player in the world for some time now and will be seeking to pull the strings in Auckland once again next weekend. His kicking game, as evident from this excerpt, is up there with the best in the game.
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