Bledisloe Cup greats Mat Rogers, Justin Marshall and Mils Muliaina have provided some fascinating insight into the 2003 trophy transfer which triggered two decades of pain for Wallabies fans.
Rogers joked that Eminem had just released The Marshall Mathers LP when Australia last held the giant trophy and “the fashion was a bit different too.”
The Wallabies reigned supreme from 1998-2002 with Rogers scoring a crucial try in the tense 16-14 win in Sydney to break All Blacks hearts again.
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“With about 10 minutes to go, they were up by six points and I’d just dropped the ball,” Rogers told Stan Sport.
“And I literally thought to myself, ‘I’ve just lost the Bledisloe Cup.’ I just remember having this distinct thought in my head that I will do anything to win this game.
“I scored right next to the post. I thought, ‘oh, Burkey, he’ll knock this over and we’ll win the Bledisloe, straight as a die.’ But oh, no.”
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Burke made amends for his uncharacteristic 2002 conversion miss by coolly slotting the match-winning penalty for the Eddie Jones coached-team instead.
“For me, it was what dreams are made of,” Rogers said.
It would prove to be the last time Australian lips supped beer from the giant cup.
“Game one, 2003, was not a good day for Australian rugby,” Rogers noted.
“They wanted revenge.”
Indeed, back in Sydney, the All Blacks were imperious as Joe Rokocoko scored three tries in a 50-21 demolition job which was a record at the time.
“I vividly remember the determination in our side,” Marshall told Stan Sport.
“What people probably don’t realise was our bus, it broke down and we only turned up with 35 minutes to go until kickoff. So all the officials were in a panic and said ‘well, we need to delay the game.’
“And you know what? We said, ‘no, shit, we’re keen to play, stuff it’.”
Rogers described the hammering as “one of the most demoralising nights of my life” as the Kiwis then eyed up their prize in the return match at Eden Park.
“They are now chasing the dream,” Marshall said of the Wallabies.
“Come and get it if you’re good enough because we’re controlling it now.”
In a tense struggle, Doug Howlett scored two tries in New Zealand’s 21-17 victory and the All Blacks began a stranglehold they refuse to surrender.
“It’s probably one of the hardest things that I’ve suffered on a rugby pitch. It’s a pretty hard thing to handle,” Rogers said of that 2003 defeat.
“So now it’s 21 years since we’ve lifted that trophy and I know every Wallaby that’s gone out there has put their heart and soul in to try to regain that thing.
“But it is a hard cup to win.”
Multiple All Blacks players and coaches have since spoken about the responsibility of not being the team to relinquish the coveted cup.
“I think it set the foundation for Bledisloe for All Blacks players,” Marshall said.
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“Once we had it that, we had to make it near on impossible for Australia to get an opportunity to win it back.”
Victory at the MCG on Saturday would ensure the trophy remains at New Zealand Rugby headquarters in Wellington, along with the Rugby Championship.
Muliaina also recalled the 2003 bus ride to Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.
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“We had a police escort but they decided to stop at every single light. So perhaps it was part of the old tactics to put us off. We were late arriving but it was the start of something special and to win it back was awesome…
“I think our manager ended up hopping off the bus and asking the police escort to sort of hurry up because we’re now going to be late.
“But we stopped at every light, as slow as we could. I don’t why we even had a police escort.”
Muliaina said the Bledisloe ranked behind only the Rugby World Cup in terms of significance to New Zealanders.
“And for us rugby players, beer tastes so good out of it. That’s part of the real special reason, but also the hurt and the pain that’s come along with it…
“It’s always been one of the most important cups to us and it probably stems from all that over the years and we’ve had a lot of pain.
“But fortunately enough, 20 years… man, that’s a long time, isn’t it?
“It probably comes about from fear more than anything else. The expectation of the All Blacks is you’ve got to win every single game.
“We’ve now had it for so long. No-one wants to be in that team that hands it back over.”
NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney, Morgan Turinui and Stephen Hoiles unpack a heartbreaking Wallabies loss against the Pumas and search for Bledisloe Cup hope
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