All NZ fans should be cheering on England . . .
Nantes, infamous for the gruesome injury suffered by tough- as- teak No 8 Buck Shelford.
There was ground to make up, and what better way to start the repair job than with the NZ Barbarians, the iconic national club that had fostered the game and schoolboy rugby since 1937.
The management was just the right mix. Manager Kevin Barry and coach Peter Murdoch were joined by senior Barbarians member Barry Thomas. All were former All Blacks. Barry and Murdoch have sadly passed on, as has the masseur Clive “Doc” Murdoch, father of Peter.
David Kirk was captain, and the side included 13 men who had worn the All Blacks jersey, plus six who were to do so in the future. The four who did not were Taranaki prop Warren Bunn, Bay of Plenty lock Mark Weedon, Wellington flanker Dirk Williams and Waikato fullback Daryl Halligan.
There were eight survivors from Nantes, but that Waterloo was never raised among the group. The All Blacks saved that revenge for June 20, when France came to Eden Park in the RWC final.
Fullback Greg Cooper scored 81 points in just four matches, while wing Craig Green, the only man to play all five games, crossed for seven tries. His 26th birthday was the day after the Wanderers match. He is said to have resolved to drink a beer for every one of his years. Two days later he had a helluva job marking Irish and Lions wing Trevor Ringland . . . and yet it did not otherwise affect his rugby. A 17- strong supporters’ group added to the social atmosphere.
Auckland’s Bernie McCahill loved the tour. He appeared in three matches, at second five, centre and wing.
“That was one of the great things about the Barbarians system. It was so much more relaxed. You just knew that if you had a beer the night before, you had to front up the next day at training. The guys did that,” McCahill says.
“The management had a way about them. They were quietly spoken, never raised their voice and things got done. Kevin was a wonderful man and a great manager.”
That versatility might just have won McCahill a RWC berth and a first All Blacks jersey, especially as Murdoch was reporting back to his great mate, All Blacks selector John Hart.
“It has to be a factor. I look back and think John Schuster ( also on the tour) was a better player than me, but he missed out for some reason.”
The first four games were all night affairs, which was unusual in those days, but cards and sightseeing were on the menu ahead of today’s lie- ins and lashings of pasta.
The merits of the supposedly haunted castle in Cardiff were debated before the final game.
Weedon was the baby of the group, an 18- year- old fresh out of Katikati College with three Bay of Plenty games under his belt. He played two games and soaked up everything.
“I was walking around like a possum in the headlights. The awe never went away. It was mindblowing being with these guys straight out of school,” says Weedon.
The only bum note of the tour was the sending off of hooker John Buchan against Cornwall. It did not affect the outcome, the Barbarians winning 63- 9, Green running in four tries.
Both McCahill and Weedon agree that the famous try of Michael Jones, from No 8, against Leicester, was astonishing. Jones was not yet known to the rugby world, but that, and his main position, would soon change.
“I can still see him. He was running like a gazelle. Everything athletic about that guy came out in that try,” says McCahill.
“The exact details are hazy, and it is a shame there is no old footage on YouTube, but let’s just say there was a chip over the top and regather, a fend, a step on Dusty Hare ( still the holder of the most points in first- class history). That was Michael Jones in excelsis. The UK press should have sat up and taken notice.
Incidentally, AJ Whetton, now the vice- president of the NZ Barbarians, was at blindside flanker in four games. He went on to be the unheralded forward of the All Blacks’ RWC pack, scoring five tries.
The NZ Barbarians finished on a real high, blasting their UK counterparts in their historic first ( and only) meeting 68- 16 with 12 tries in a thrilling display of running rugby at Cardiff Arms Park. The blueprint for how the All Blacks wanted to play at Rugby World Cup was set.
“In hindsight, it was probably the best thing for a lot of these players to flex their muscles in an enjoyable way to take confidence ( into 1987),” says Weedon.
The NZ Barbarians have made two subsequent tours of the UK, in 1996 when John Hart took away an All Blacks team in all but name, while in 2003 the club played new RWC holders England in a lucrative fixture at Twickenham. As the NZ Barbarians count down to the biggest home fixture in their 80 years — against the Lions in Whangarei on June 3 — they can look with pride on 1987. . All of New Zealand should be cheering on England tomorrow in Dublin as they look to eclipse the All Blacks’ winning streak of 18 consecutive victories. Yes, and pigs may fly.
But seriously, the All Blacks have had it their way for too long, dominating the global scene to the point where too many of their followers have become smug and dismissive. They need a challenge and they need a kick up the backside.
The scorn has been seeping through so many missives emanating from New Zealand that England’s record- equalling achievement does not stand scrutiny with the mark set by the All Blacks.
More tries, more points, better differentials, sharper in attack, sterner in defence, on and on it went as if it really were a forensic evaluation of the All Blacks’ worth and England’s inferior status.
Sure, the All Blacks winning streak was impressive. It did include the little matter of winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup and there was some decent rugby played. You could argue, of course, that the games played in that tournament were not away from home but actually neutral venues so the “away wins” column is not quite as positively loaded as it might appear. A minor quibble.
Many of those reluctant to acclaim England’s achievement in easing alongside New Zealand by dint of last Saturday’s record 61- 21 win over Scotland like to point out gleefully that Eddie Jones’s side has not faced the All Blacks during this period. True. And neither did the All Blacks face England when racking up their run of success. Touche.
That England are on such a roll is terrific news for the sport in New Zealand as it feeds into the Lions. There is not a ticket to be had in either the North or the South Island but such has been the quality of play across the Six Nations Championship and England’s surge to the line, that the prospects of a truly competitive series await. Even die- hard, one- eyed All Black cheerleaders wanted for something more than was on offer during the last gloom- laden tour there in 2005, when the Lions were smashed in the test series.
And that is why it was heartening to hear All Black coach Steve Hansen be magnanimous in his praise of England. Hansen is familiar with the northern hemisphere gig and knows how tough it is having suffered during his time as Wales coach. He has also identified the key upturn in England’s game — their attitude and work- rate.
England have not got to this point by fluke. Their record run is remarkable. They have not gerrymandered the fixture list to help bring it about. They have won in Edinburgh, Rome, Paris, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Cardiff. And now Dublin awaits.
Never mind your own tribal affiliations. Of course such partisanship has its place, but the acknowledgement of sporting excellence should also animate all.
England deserve acclaim, merit all the plaudits and if they do top the All Blacks’ record tomorrow morning, they have every right to enjoy the status that comes with it.
Bernie McCahill, All Black