Veteran treasures cup wins
Once upon a time Aussie rugby teams boasting names like Eales, Finegan, Gregan, Larkham and Mortlock used to make even the staunchest of Kiwis choke up and blink back tears.
This is no joke. The Wallabies used to be a superpower. And in their pomp it was fellows like John Eales, Owen Finegan, George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Stirling Mortlock who caused New Zealanders no shortage of angst until they relinquished the Bledisloe Cup in 2003.
Sadly, for Australians, they have never won the trophy back.
Over the last 12 months the decline of Aussie rugby, on multiple fronts, has been swift and alarming. And the Wallabies, who have enough problems of their own, are charged with stopping the rot against the All Blacks in their Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney on Saturday night.
Flanker Jerome Kaino, who will earn his 82nd test cap if he plays at ANZ Stadium, is the All Blacks’ senior statesman but even he has no idea what it is like to not be in possession of the cup.
Kaino, who made his debut against the Barbarians in London in late 2004, said he got his lessons about how important it was to retain the symbol of trans-Tasman supremacy.
‘‘I was lucky that I got into the environment when we had just won it back so you got to see the appreciation and how treasured the trophy was,’’ Kaino reflected.
‘‘You saw guys like Justin Marshall and Anton Oliver, how they really appreciated just being able to touch the trophy and would talk about the times they tried to get it off Australia and couldn’t.
‘‘Flip that over and see what the Australians [are doing] and how they are prepared to get their hands on the trophy. It is quite important for us to make sure we prepare as well as we can.’’
Another way of putting the Aussies’ drought into perspective is this: Rieko Ioane, the youngest member of the All Blacks squad, was only 5 when the Wallabies last held the cup for a full season in 2002. If the All Blacks can maintain their dominance it is conceivable Kaino will finish his international career without having to experience the dreaded sight of seeing the Wallabies cart the Bledisloe into their changing shed.