What do you consider the most heartbreaking losses in the history of Australian rugby? Because I enjoy making lists, here’s my rankings for the most heartbreaking losses in the history of Australian rugby.
10. New Zealand 6 – Australia 3 (24/8/91)
This is unquestionably Michael Lynagh’s most heartbreaking loss. Neither he nor Grant Fox had a good day with the boot in this tryless affair. It’s difficult not to feel for Noddy when you read his autobiography and learn of all the condolences he received from team-mates, the support of Grant Fox, the well-wishes he received which all combined resulted in a moment where Lynagh fell onto his bed and started crying over what was a game Australia could easily have won. I probably rank this third for years where Australia should have won the Bledisloe Cup (84, 85 and 91).
9. South Africa 22 – Australia 19 (16/6/2007)
This was, in my estimation, one of the great defensive efforts of all time. In some respects the Australian side looked terribly weak. The scrum was barely standing up to the Boks, and there was hardly a contest at the breakdown. Yet with South Africa enjoying an amazing amount of possession, Australia made the most of their limited chances and found themselves ahead at halftime.
I forget what the exact numbers for the game were. But I recall South Africa having close to around 70% of possession and Australia making nearly three times the amount of tackles South Africa did. So many times South Africa was right on their line, ready to score, yet somehow Australia held them off.
A few crucial mistakes hurt Australia. Rocky Elsom gave away an obvious penalty to bring South Africa within three-points, and after a failed touch-finder landed in Francois Steyn’s hands, he slotted an almighty drop-goal to level it. With the game drawn and South Africa enjoying so much possession and territory, one more drop goal was all that was required to sink the Wallabies towards the end of the game.
In many respect Australia were inferior to South Africa on the day and didn’t deserve to win. On the other hand, it was just a brilliant defensive effort the likes of which I haven’t seen before. With the various improvements Australia have made this year, you wonder what happened to their awesome defense?
8. South Africa 10 – Australia 9 (14/8/99)
If there’s one thing Australia failed to do in the years they had ascendancy over New Zealand – they lost many of their crucial games against South Africa. In 2000 Mortlock broke that trend. But in 1998, Stephen Larkham ignored calls for a drop-goal and decided to run the ball and Australia lost. In 1999 a host of errors were made and Australia stuffed another game. In 2002 they lost again in South Africa to an injury-time try. All pretty heartbreaking losses for Australians. I single the 1999 game out because of the error rate of the Australians.
7. England 20 – Australia 17 (11/22/03)
If we’re going to be completely honest here, England was the better team and truly deserved to win the world cup. For that reason I can’t rate this loss for Australia as highly as I have other matches. Much has been said of Andre Watson’s poor refereeing of the scrum, and in my opinion much of that criticism is justified. However, for the amount of times Watson’s performance has been criticised by the English rugby-loving public, credit should also be given to Australia for standing up in this game and making a real ‘go’ of it.
The match has a fascinating psychology. With England holding onto a 9-point lead and a few decisions going against them, it almost felt as if they were trying to hold onto their lead, rather than expand upon it. One or two things went Australia’s way and they clawed their way back into it. I remember thinking Australia would steal it in the 78th minute when they had a line-out 22 metres out from their try line. You have to remember this match took place after years of Australia retaining the Bledisloe Cup with last-minute attempts to win games.
In my estimation, not enough credit is given to the Australian side for producing a big-match performance against a side I thought was superior. This game was unique in that as much as it was heartbreaking for many Australians; I think many Australian’s felt proud of how well they’d done, considering that a few months prior to the final the famous headline “We can’t win the world cup” was the talking point of all Australian rugby lovers.
It was a game Australia could have won and I’m certain if Jonny Wilkinson wasn’t the great defensive player that he is, Australia would have stolen it. I’ll just sneak in a comment here about what a colossus Martin Johnson was… what a bloody awesome player!
6. Wales 18 – Australia 13 (5/12/81)
Both Simon Poidevin and Greg Cornelsen have highlighted this game as one of the great disappointments in their careers. After beating New Zealand in 1979 and 1980, as well as France in 1981, it was impossible for this Australian side to leave Australia without high hopes for a possible Grand Slam.
Despite losing to England and Scotland on that tour I highlight this as the most heartbreaking game for a few reasons. Firstly it was the first Test loss and it really hit home that Australia couldn’t achieve the much sought-after grand slam. Secondly Australia reportedly had this game under control until Hipwell’s injury. Thirdly, it was the beginning of Paul McLean’s famous kicking slump. Some felt the game was more suited to Mark Ella’s game, although I’m not interested to venture an opinion there.
You could make an argument this loss makes a poignant statement about the value of John Hipwell. Many in the Australian team have alluded to Hipwell’s injury in this game as the watershed moment that turned the game on its head. Here’s an Australian team described as the best ever to leave Australian shores, overflowing with great backrowers and talented backs and yet when John Hipwell leaves the field the team loses a bit of direction.
Many of the Australian players of the 70s swear with hand on heart that Hipwell was a champion and well above the rest but unfortunately he had little opportunity to prove it to the world. Hipwell re-appeared in the 80s to play with a team full of great talent and one could possibly make the argument that because his departure from this game was seen as so vital, that everything the Australian players of the 70s said of Hipwell was true – he was a cut above the rest.
5. France 30 – Australia 24
What more can be said of this infamous game? It aired on ESPN last year during the World Cup and I have to say it was a game with a strange psychology. From the instant Alain Lorieux ripped the ball off Troy Coker there was just a sense things weren’t going to go Australia’s way that day. Other things happened, like Brett Papworth having to leave due to an injury. Chances were taken in this game that was akin to flipping a coin – it would either pay-off or it wouldn’t. It made for some wonderful entertainment, but I wonder if Australia played winning rugby that day… I guess the answer is clearly no.
Australia had beaten France the previous year playing 10-man rugby, yet they were sucked into playing an open game of rugby, and there was some loose rugby on display.
In some instances there were three of four continuous offloads in the tackle, yet so little ground was covered. Both sides just wanted to run the ball from everywhere.
For all that there was some beautiful rugby played in this game. Michael Lynagh’s underrated running game was on display as he stepped one player, passed to Peter Grigg, who then passed to Campo for his world record breaking try. Phillipe Sella was incredible slicing his way through places where there were no holes, though I have to say Australia’s defence was pretty weak in this game.
We all know the ending featuring Serge Blanco, and spare a thought for Tommy Lawton sprinting like madman hoping to prevent what he likely knew couldn’t be stopped. The best account of this game can be found in Simon Poidevin’s autobiography ‘For Love Not Money’ where he elaborates on the heartbreak the Aussies felt and they sat in a locker-room with nobody talking for forty minutes!
4. New Zealand 32 – Australia 25 (27/7/96)
How on earth did Australia lose this game when they were 22-9 ahead with 25 minutes remaining? This was the game John Hart labelled as ‘the great escape’. Like many heartbreaking losses for the Wallabies, this game occurred following a tremendous towelling in the game from the previous week – 43 to 6 was the score. What character the Australians showed to put such an almighty flogging behind them and race to such a terrific lead.
This match contains one of the best solo tries in Australian rugby history as Matt Burke received such a bad pass that he had to start his run from a standing start. It didn’t seem to matter as he brushed his way past all three New Zealand backrowers, threw a dummy to offset Christian Cullen, and raced his way towards the try-line.
With the scores at 25-25, Campese did something he hadn’t done for a while – he slotted himself into the five-eighth position and went for a drop-goal in the 79th minute. The kick was well-off, but as the New Zealand commentators were quick to note: it was exactly the right idea, but with the wrong execution. Ah well Australia can settle for a draw can’t they…?
With no time left it looked as if the Aussies were preparing themselves in defence for an Andrew Mehrten’s drop-goal – an unlikely feat considering Mehrten’s was close to halfway in the field. To Mehrten’s credit, he ran the ball and created a try off a loop, a surprising move that stunned the Wallabies. All that was left was for Frank Bunce, perhaps the best player on the day, to find a way to the try-line, which he did.
Two contrasting images stick out in my mind as I watched 20 minutes of highlights from this match. The first is of George Gregan almost celebrating prematurely as Matt Burke dived over for his classic try. The second is of George Gregan’s furious reaction when Frank Bunce scored the winning try. How did Australia lose that game? I don’t know.
3. New Zealand 25 – Australia 24 (18/8/84)
Mark Ella described this game as “diabolical”, and that’s the exact word I would use to perfectly sum this mess up. This game can be viewed on the deluxe edition of the brilliant ABC documentary ‘The Rise and Rise of Australian Rugby’. This is one of those games you’d find painful to watch even if you were from another country. Why? There are two main reasons for this.
The first is that Australia dominated this game in just about every single area they possibly could have, but they lacked a specialist goal-kicker. Australia dominated both possession and territory and won an absolute stack of penalties… some that were very kickable. Roger Gould started off with the kicking duties and had a horror start, missing some very easy shots. Mark Ella later overtook Gould’s duties and kicked remarkably well, slotting six from seven. Campese slotted one brilliant goal, but badly rushed another.
Making this even more painful for Australia was that Alan Jones foresaw the possibility of this game being dominated by penalties and wanted Michael Lynagh to play in this game, but from fullback. In hindsight it’s easy to accept Lynagh’s decision as Roger Gould was just a phenomenal player and Jones was asking him to play in a position he’d never played before, for his country!
But the second reason this game was so painful to watch, and it’s the reason Mark Ella referred to it as ‘diabolical’, was that the Australian backs began to argue among themselves – too many cooks in the kitchen! Mark Ella was completely taken out of the game because Michael Hawker wasn’t running on to the ball and past Ella, meaning all Ella was doing was passing the ball. Hawker also suffered a little bit from the kicking bug and there were some aimless, aimless kicks in this game. The backs were also standing fairly deep, and when the tentative Aussie backs were caught with the ball well behind the advantage-line, the Aussie forwards had to backtrack many metres and try to somehow wrestle back possession. According to Simon Poidevin in his autobiography, Slack, Hawker and Ella were all arguing amongst each other throughout the game on how to take on the All Blacks.
All Black coach Bryce Rope later said had Australia just gotten the ball to Campese a few times they would have won the game. And in fact the instant they did get the ball to Campo he manufactured a wonderful try with a dazzling swerve that sliced through two defenders. With a few minutes to go the ball made its way to Campese (who was hardly used in the game) and he attempted his goose-step but was *just* tackled by someone who eludes my memory.
With no time left Mark Ella tried for a field goal (there was no point running the ball was there?) that missed by about a metre. But I’m in agreement with Ella that such a close miss isn’t why this game was heartbreaking. Australia stuffed it! I consider the 1984 side the best Australian side never to beat New Zealand. Alan Jones later said that he believed Australia could have won the series 3-0, but that the players didn’t seem to believe that. It’s easy to write off such a comment as a typical Jones hyperbole, but I’m 100% sure he’s right. Australia blew a 12-0 lead in the second game and then made a mess of this final game.
To Jones’ credit, to avoid this mess happening again, for the Grand Slam tour he instructed the side that Mark Ella would instruct the backline, while Slack would take care of other matters. It’s also to Jones’ credit that he inserted Michael Lynagh into inside centre for the Grand Slam tour to kick the goals. While I have been critical of Michael Hawker’s performance in this game, I was quite a fan of his shin-high tackling in defence and generally he worked so well with Mark Ella, making looping seem like the most effortless thing in the world. For those reasons I think it took tremendous guts from Jones to drop Hawker for Lynagh.
2. Tonga 16 – Australia 11 (30/6/73)
This was the lowest of the low. Unquestionably the worst loss Australian rugby has ever suffered. Australia just weren’t a blimp on the radar screen in the early 70s in terms of world rugby. New Zealand could lose to South Africa in 1970, the Lions in 1971, and then massacre Australia in 1972. But who thought they could lose to the tiny nation of Tonga?
If there is one good thing about this loss it’s that it gave Australian rugby a good kick in the backside. Maybe if Australia remained a side that would lose, but enjoy the occasional historic win over its rival nations it would have chugged along the 1970s without much improvement. The 1972 massacre in New Zealand and this loss to Tonga woke up rugby authorities in Australia to the reality that things had to change.
The story of how Australia went from losing to Tonga to winning the 1991 World Cup it one of the most fascinating stories in rugby, I believe, and it’s captured brilliantly in The rise & rise of Australian rugby – written by Phillip Derriman
1. New Zealand 19 – Australia 18 (22/6/1968)
How good were this New Zealand side? Some have ventured to suggest they were the greatest side of all time. A year after this test, after this very side demolished Wales, Gareth Edwards would proclaim them to be the closest thing to rugby perfection he had ever seen. While they weren’t known for playing expansive 15-man rugby like the Buck Shelford side of the late 80s which remained undefeated under his captaincy, some have suggested Fred Allen’s side of the late 60s had a definitive New Zealand forward pack.
Australia, on the other hand, appeared to be going through the motions following the departure of many of their key players of the 60s. It’s not my intention to bring the Meads/Catchpole controversy into discussion here at The Roar, but it’s noteworthy to reflect on the mood of the Wallabies heading into this match. This match occurred one week after Ken Catchpole’s famous injury. According to the late Ray Prosser, many of the Wallabies were enraged by what Prosser referred to as ‘blatant thuggery’.
Then coach and Wallaby great Des Connor reportedly saw no direct way in which the Aussies could match the All Black forwards sheer aggression and sought to counteract their forward dominance with short line-outs and hit-and-run scrums. Connor’s inventions combined with an enraged Wallaby side resulted in an 18-14 lead with two minutes remaining in the test.
Keeping in mind these were the days of three-point tries, the All Blacks would need to engineer a converted try. What resulted remains one of the biggest horror moments in Wallaby history. Briefly after All Black centre Billy Davis kicked the ball ahead, he was tackled by Aussie centres Barry Honan.
I have seen a clip of this famous penalty try, and I cannot understand how referee Kevin Crowe could foresee a try eventuating. There is no question Davis was tackled without the ball and New Zealand should have been awarded a penalty, but after kicking the ball ahead, an Australian player (I’m unsure who it was) was converging on the ball and certainly would have prevented a try. Whoever that player was, the last moment of that clip I mentioned shows him throwing the ball away in complete disgust and anger.
Reportedly many of the Australian players openly wept after the game, knowing they had quite possibly lost the most heartbreaking game in Australian history.
Quods
Guest
You all have it wrong! Bugger the big boys! The worst ever loss was Parramatta Reserves going down 9-10 to the silvertails at Manly oval in the second to last home and away in 1961. The following week, Gordon and North Sydney drew 3 all leaving Parra out of the final 4 on percentage. Had their result been any other way, we (at Parra), would have played in the first final series by a 2blues side since Tweedale and Kearney's 1946 Ones side. Let me assure the reader; we would have won the cup led by coach Bob James! We beat every other team in the competition after Bob took over in round 5 after the biggest comeback since Dame Nelly! This is what Rugby is really about! Old farts remembering what could or should have been! Quods
ThelmaWrites
Guest
My most heart-breaking defeat for the Wallabies was their quarter-final loss to England in the 1995 World Cup. My eldest daughter picked me up at the State Theatre (I was attending the Sydney Film Festival and didn't see the match) and said she left DaniE at home crying. It tugged at this mother's heart. I vividly remember the dire anxiety in Peter Slattery's face as the match drew to a close. (Slattery was sitting at the reserves' bench.) And the glimmer of tears in Matt Burke's eyes as they departed the team hotel. And then the recriminations and the bickering. It was a shock to us, after the golden years after the 1991 WC triumph. As I write this, I still feel tearful thinking about DaniE sobbing. (BTW, they've just had a baby boy, 9 lbs, and my first thought was, "a prop!")
Sam Taulelei
Guest
While it was a rare home series loss for NZ when France won both tests in 1994, you won't find many Kiwi's who won't acknowledge that the French were a superior side and fully deserving of both wins. While many people remember the French try "from the end of the earth" my most vivid memories was the play of the French loose trio during that series featuring Phillippe Bennetton, Laurent Cabannes and Abdel Bennazzi. They completely annihilated the Kiwis and made our loosies look very ordinary and pedestrian. They're still one of my favourite loose forward combinations and my club side named all our loose forward moves after them in their honour.
True Tah
Guest
Worlds Biggest if I remember correctly, Brent Russell scored a try in the 2002 game and ran through Stirling Mortlock to score it - that was a real classic game - that Van Greef try killed me though.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
I am pretty sure Greg Smith was the Coach of Sydney in 1992, that win over the AB's propelled him to the NSW job. As for that 2000 loss at Twickenham, I agree that was a tough one considering the very dubious grounding by Dan Luger. Wilkinson converted the try and was jumping around celebrating, that really peed me off. What about in 2002 at Twickers, the Wallabies were up by 15 odd points in the 2nd half but got mowed down by a slew of Jonny penalties. Neither of these losses are top 10 however would be in my top 20. Another top 20 loss was again in 2002 against SA in Joberg. The Wallabies were playing great rugby and were leading. Brendan Cannon or George Smith scored a sensational team try to put us up. Then on the bell SA fullback Werner Gryff ran a great angle off the 5/8 and scored from 10 metres out to win on the bell. The Wallabies deserved to win that one. All these close losses away from home ( shoulda / coulda games ) started the rot, Wallabies poor away record from the end of 2000 onwards. Great article BTW Frank.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
That Johannesburg Test in '92 was a titanic struggle between the All Blacks and Springboks. I remember it being a real spectacle, since it was the first All Black/Springbok Test I saw live. The second half was incredible.
Jerry
Guest
OJ - yeah, Wgtn's not been the happy hunting ground for the AB's over the last 20 or so years (comparitively anyway - most sides would kill for a record like the AB's have had there). There's a couple of losses I didn't go to also - the Eales penalty match in 2000 and the loss to England in 2003. My saving grace, and what I use to justify that I'm not a jinx, is that I was in attendace for what was (in my opinion) one of the best All Black performances in history - the 43-6 demolition of Australia in driving rain and a howling southerly.
sheek
Guest
Spiro, you can be deliciously naughty! So the ABs in 1992 against Sydney were dehydrated from too much fluid loss, which also explained their rubbery legs, & faraway stares??
Frank O'Keeffe
Guest
Spiro, Are you sure it was Peter Fenton and not Greg Smith? You'd be more sure than I am, but Campo does say in 'Still entertaining' of Greg Smith: "He also desperately wanted to beat the All Blacks. It was an obsession for him. He had tasted success against New Zealand as the Sydney coach in 1992. When the All Blacks toured here that year they travelled out to Penrith and got beaten. It was a major achievement for Greg as a coach but a victory he was never able to emulate in two seasons at the Wallabies helm." (p. 61)
Spiro
Guest
Sheek, that Wallaby loss in 2000 to England with Dan Luger 'scoring' in the corner in injury time still rankles. I think the Wallabies had two players yellow carded. The 'try' came from a grubber kick through. Luger, in the opinion of most of us, did not ground the ball correctly. The replay, too, I seem to remember was not available for TV watchers to scan. John O'Neill, I believe, made some complaints about this after the game. But as they say, 'look at the scoreboard,. unfortunately.
Spiro
Guest
Sam, I can tell you the inside story of the All Blacks massive loss at Penrith in 1992 to a Sydney team coached by Peter Fenton, with Simon Poidevin playing his last major game of rugby. Poidevin left the field with Sydney well ahead and about 10 minutes of play left to allow Tony Dempsey to get a chance of playing against the All Blacks, and beating them. The All Blacks were on a long tour of Australia and then on to South Africa to a historic Test against the Springboks who were coming out of isolation after the release of Nelson Mandela from pirson. To comfort the players on their long absence from home, wives and girl-friends were allowed to come across the Tasman Sea for some R and R on the last leg of the Australian part of the tour. They arrived on the weekend, and the match against Sydney was played mid-week. According to one of the All Blacks coaches, the match was really lost off the field ...
True Tah
Guest
Thelma that try was started by Saint-Andre near his own tryline and finished by Sadourney, it was the "try from the end of the world" a true classic the funny thing is, just before the French went to NZ, they played a game against Canada, and lost!
Frank O'Keeffe
Guest
Thanks for your post Sam. What interested me the most were your comments on the "funeral feeling" you experienced walking through Wellington. I remember after the '07 world cup there were reports that the New Zealand economy was affected by the loss! I suspect the '95 final would be #1 on most people's list. Will Carling once said, after the semi-final, that there was no way any team could beat that New Zealand side. New Zealand have been favourites for just about every world cup (or equal favourites), but in truth only the '95 and '07 sides should have won. The '99 side entered as equal favourites with South Africa, but in hindsight I'm not sure why? Perhaps it was the massive win against France a few months earlier. Most rugby experts seem to think Australia and South Africa were the two best teams in that world cup though. England and New Zealand were more or less joint-favourites in the '03 World Cup. But France and New Zealand played the best rugby during the early stages... so arguably New Zealand should have won that world cup. "Outside of the World and Bledisloe Cups the worst loss I endured was the record 17-40 loss by any All Blacks side to Sydney at Penrith Stadium in 1992. It was such a gutless and untypical All Black performance." Greg Smith's greatest moment. Smith was reportedly devastated after the loss in 1996 I mentioned.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
That was in 1994 and the French were brilliant. A lot of people were unhappy with Mains around that time, at least in Auckland where I lived. They were especially unhappy with the back play. The French showed us how rugby should be played. That was a really good French side. They beat us the following year in France and lost to the Boks in dubious fashion at the World Cup. Won the Five Nations in '93 and had two Grand Slams in '97-98.
ThelmaWrites
Guest
Kiwi friends, how about the two losses to the French, in 1993 I think, on their tour to NZ? Where, in the second test, the ball passed through 12? French hands? We used to play that part of the test over and over, to count how many players were involved.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
True Tah, I just suffered through an entire tour where the All Blacks made good on how to win ugly quarterfinal rugby, so the lessons have been learnt by the players and management alike, but I don't see the point in praising that French side. They were awful and lost three games in their home tournament.
Sam Taulelei
Guest
Of all the World Cup losses, the loss in 95 to a committed and steadfast Boks side hurt me the most. I'll never forget the expectant mood in the weeks buildup after that magical semi against England. Apart from 1987, I still maintain that this was the best prepared world cup side we've ever sent. We played an exciting brand of rugby, we had a phenomenon in Lomu, two talented newcomers in Mehrtens and Kronfeld and a core of players recognised as the best in the world. They were fitter, faster, well drilled and a joy to watch. I'll never forget the funereal feeling walking through the streets of Wellington after the match which was in such sharp contrast to the carnival atmosphere beforehand. I actually enjoyed the loss to France in 99 as it was such a typically unpredictably brilliant performance from the French (that they seem to reserve for us). There were a series of heartbreaking losses in the early 2000's to Australia when I even wondered if we would ever win back the Bledisloe, such was the psychological hold Australia held over us (kind of how we've had the wood on the Wallabies since 2003). Outside of the World and Bledisloe Cups the worst loss I endured was the record 17-40 loss by any All Blacks side to Sydney at Penrith Stadium in 1992. It was such a gutless and untypical All Black performance. The last game of the Tri Nations against the Boks in 1998 also deserves mention. A record fifth consecutive loss, a try awarded to James Dalton that even he admitted clearly wasn't, and the all too familiar second half comeback that we just couldn't repel despite our best performance of the year. Otherwise I agree with OJ, most Kiwi's are generous enough to acknowledge when we haven't played well enough to win and can accept those close losses.
True Tah
Guest
OJ you can keep blaming the ref all you like for 2007 - but their huddle attack with one out were their own fault...forgive me if Im wrong but I seem to recall Luke McCallister coming out and saying we didnt go for a drop goal, because we were confident we would score a try...obviously the AB forwards didnt have that same confidence in Luke and his backs, otherwise they might have given him some ball instead of tucking it up their jumpers. I thought the defining moment of that game was Elissaldes tackle on a flying Nick Evans - he must have grabbed a thread of his shorts, but excellent tackle. Look, we got beaten by the Poms as well, but we didnt deserve to win, and the posts in this thread emphasise that.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Bloody Wellington, eh?
Jerry
Guest
Actually I think I should take some of the blame for invoking the mocker gods by flying halfway round the world to watch some rugby. Also, I may be something of a jinx as I've managed to see the All Blacks lose 4 times previously including the first test I ever attended (vs Aus at Wgtn 86) the end of the nearly 4 year undefeated streak (Aus in Wgtn again, this time in 90) and what was until recently the only SA win in NZ since readmission (Wgtn 98) and the only loss to the Lions in the last 3 series (Wgtn 93).