Tim Horan recalls All Blacks memories

Two-time Australian Rugby World Cup winner Tim Horan cut his Test teeth on Bledisloe Cup rugby and hopes the Wallabies can find their best touch for Saturday's Cup opener against the All Blacks in Melbourne.

Now a comments man for the Australian broadcast hopes, Horan, who played 80 Tests between 1989-2000, told the All Blacks podcast that the Bledisloe Cup played a big part in both the Wallabies' World Cup wins in 1991 and 1999.

Before their 1991 win, they ended the All Blacks' unbroken run of success since the end of the 1987 Rugby World Cup, winning the third Test of the 1990 series in a dead rubber. While they didn't win the Bledisloe Cup, they gave themselves a boost, and it showed when they met the All Blacks in the 1991 World Cup semifinal.

Horan said, "It was a fantastic match. A lot of people said it was probably the best 40 minutes the Wallabies have ever played in that first half and the way we came out in Dublin in neutral territory for both the All Blacks and the Wallabies.

"To have that opportunity in front of an incredible crowd there...we stayed in the middle of Dublin, and we just walked up and down the mall, interacted with all the Irish fans, trying to get more Irish fans on our side for the semi."

He recounted the special moments in the match – including David Campese's try.

"He looked like he was playing under-eights. He ran across to the left, ran around John Kirwan and scored in the corner, and then the second try over-the-shoulder pass when Michael Lynagh chipped ahead. The chip was supposed to be for me, but Campo cut in front of me and picked the ball up.

 

"I just kept screaming for him to pass it. I had the feeling that when he was about to be tackled because Campo hated being tackled – whenever he got tackled, he used to throw the ball away.

"I expected the ball to come somewhere at that stage."

Horan's Test debut was a Bledisloe Cup game in 1989. He hadn't played for Queensland and was selected at centre for the first time instead of the second five-eighths position. He was marking Joe Stanley while John Schuster was at second five-eighths.

"We were in the match right till the end. I think it was 18-12 with a couple of minutes to go, and the All Blacks scored again; it might have been a 24-12 final score.

"The game went so quick. All I was trying to do was make tackles, make a run, just do the simple things – it was a tough one."

But a year later, the emerging class of the Australian side was evident when they won the third Test at Athletic Park, their only win in the series.

"I'm pretty sure it was quite windy, rain was coming sideways and we played quite a strong game plan that got us across the line at the end. Leaving that match you thought the World Cup is a year away, we had good momentum. We believed in the players around us and that was probably the strong foundation to go forward and win that World Cup in 1991."

Another stand-out Bledisloe Cup memory for Horan was winning the game to claim the Cup in Christchurch in 1998. With such an impressive team, how they had won and did it away from home made it memorable.

But a week later, they hosted the All Blacks in Sydney and were determined not to lose at home, having already claimed the Cup. They didn't want to do a lap of honour with the Cup, having lost the final Test of the series.

"That was a big motivation to make sure we won the series, won three in a row and also having the Bledisloe Cup after having win whilst you're showing the crowd."

His worst memory was the first professional game between the sides, in Wellington in 1996, when they chose not to face the haka.

They realised after they had disrespected the All Blacks and the haka. They lost 43-6, the biggest loss they had experienced.

"It was embarrassing, one, what we did at the start of the game but, two, how we let ourselves down.

"I remember Frank Bunce getting the ball early on. He ran straight through me. Jeff Wilson was great, Justin Marshall scored a try, and they were incredible.

"That was something that haunted us for a long period of time. We probably used that piece in 1996 to take us through to the World Cup in '99 and what we had to stand for as a Wallaby team and make sure we had our identity."

All Blacks v Wallabies: Saturday 29 July, 9.45pm NZT, Melbourne Cricket Ground. Live on Sky Sport NZ.

Read Source