As Australians, we have revelled in many great sporting moments, such as the America’s Cup win in 1983 and our sporting heroes such as Don Bradman, Dawn Fraser, Rod Laver and Ian Thorpe.
But what is rarely written or discussed are the dark days in Australian sport.
I have come up with a ranked list of the five events in Australian sporting history we prefer not to talk about.
I am not talking about scandals such us drunk footballers, salary cap cheats, performance enhancing drugs or cricket players not doing their homework.
These are events where what happened on the field hurt our pride and left us shattered, angry or embarrassed.
5. 2003 Rugby World Cup loss
Australia defeated New Zealand in the semi-final to set up a mouth-watering World Cup final against England. In one of the great matches of all time, neither team could get break from the other.
England led by three in the final minutes before Elton Flatley kicked a penalty to even scores up.
Extra time was tit for tat. Both teams scored a further penalty but were unable to break the deadlock.
With just a handful of seconds left in extra play time, English hero Johnny Wilkinson kicked truly from 30 metres out to leave Australia heartbroken.
4. 1976 Montreal Olympics
There was much public disappointment over Australia’s performance in London 2012, but when compared to Montreal in 1976, London was a gold rush.
Montreal remains the only Olympics post-WWII that Australia has failed to win a gold medal – only one silver (men’s hockey) and five bronze medals were won.
There was great public disappointment over the result of the games, which prompted the Prime Minister at the time, Malcolm Fraser, to develop the AIS, widely credited for the gold rush experienced in the 2000s.
3. 1945 Aussie rules bloodbath
The 1945 VFL grand final between Carlton and South Melbourne was meant to celebrate a new peace in the world as WWII had recently concluded. But what transpired was sport at its absolute worst.
From the second quarter onwards, fights broke out across the field. Cowardly hits from behind were committed by both teams.
Umpires lost control of play as both teams focused on playing the man not the ball – the exact opposite of what sport is all about.
All up nine players were charged and seven found guilty. Some stories to emerge from the game were beyond comprehension.
During one melee in the final quarter, Fred Fitzgibbon (Carlton), who was already out suspended, ran from the stands to throw a punch at an opposition player. He was suspended for a further four games.
Ted Whitfield (South Melbourne) was charged with abusing a goal umpire, attempting to strike a field umpire and then covering his guernsey so the umpire could not take his number to report him. He was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to 21 games on the sideline.
The newspapers spent the following weeks dissecting the events of that day and some commentators claimed the tension of war over the past six years had spilled over onto the football field.
Photos emerged of some of the injuries suffered with black eyes and bruises covering the front pages of Melbourne newspapers.
Carlton won the game by five goals but 29th September 1945 eventually became known as ‘the bloodbath’ – one of the most brutal days recorded in Australian sporting history.
2. 1981 underarm ball
As Australians, we like to pride ourselves on playing hard but fair. But on February first, 1981, our national team, the team that is supposed to represent everything Australia stands for, decided that winning was more important than playing fair.
New Zealand needed a six off the final ball to tie the match. Australian captain Greg Chappell instructed his younger brother to bowl underarm to eliminate any chance of New Zealand stealing a tie.
Trevor Chappell obliged and the match resulted in an Australian win.
Though this was legal at the time, it is among the poorest acts of sportsmanship ever witnessed by an Australian team.
Prime Ministers on both sides of the Tasman criticized the incident but it was summed up best by commentator Richie Benaud who simply labelled it “disgraceul” in the post-game summary.
1. 1998 Sydney to Hobart
Everything listed on this list can be considered a bad moment in Australian sport. But the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is the only one that can be considered tragic.
Sport is about overcoming adversity, about fighting hard for victory even when all seems lost. But in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race, six men lost their lives trying to do this. Many others came close to death.
The race started out as normal but a large storm developed off the coast at Eden. Reports later revealed the storm had the strength of a low grade tropical cyclone.
Less than half the starting boats finished the race that year. Six boats sunk.
As a seven-year-old at the time, I found the images and stories to come out of the Pacific Ocean beyond comprehension. How could such an amazing adventure go so wrong?
It was a question that was gradually answered as details of the race came to light. The storm was underestimated and communications between the weather bureau and race officials was poor.
Ten years after the event, the winner of the 1998 event, Larry Ellison, stated he did not win that race, he was just the first survivor.
ozinsa
Guest
Totally agree on RWC Final in 2003. Took my daughter with some mates and felt nothing but pride for the effort. Her enthusiasm may have given me perspective but I was happy for English mates who travelled and whose team was the clear world No. 1 and deserved the win. Still hate Woodward though
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
"There are two teams out there - one is making an effort to play the great game of cricket, and the other is not. Good day to you, Sir'
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Note that 1976 was in the absolute middle of the drugging of athletes in the old Eastern bloc. We might have lost a lot, but we were clean.
Straight Ball
Guest
Worst moment in Australian Sport - the day Leigh Mathews went in against Barrie Robran's knee and effectively ended the career of the greatest Australian Rules footballer ever.
Ken
Guest
The underarm ball was an act of tactical brilliance and serving it up to those whining kiwis just made it all the more enjoyable.
Simoc
Guest
Yes you have. The Freo Dockers making the AFL Grand Final must be up there. Second best team in the world!
Simoc
Guest
The 2003 loss at RWC was just fine. It followed the most dubious refereeing ever witnessed in a test match all in Australias favour. They were comprehensively outplayed but rescued by a referee who ruled that a stronger scrummaging front row was illegal. It's better to win without incompetent refereeing. And there is nothing I like more than beating Poms, but that was diabolical.
Armchair expert
Guest
Australia should of attacked more when they had the extra man on the field.
ciudadmarron
Guest
Some major scandals in Aussie Rules over the years: https://theconversation.com/essendon-charged-with-bringing-the-game-into-disrepute-a-history-of-footy-scandals-16801 As someone mentioned above I'd also say the superleague war saw some pretty dark days. Perhaps also some dark days in the World Series Cricket breakaway.
ciudadmarron
Guest
It's a fair enough call on Phar Lap. It just popped into my head as a dark day because like Bradman at the time the horse was lifting spirits etc, going overseas to show what Australia could do but didn't get the chance. The riot is from another time and place. Cricket riots were not uncommon at the time in inter-colonial matches (i.e., between Victoria and NSW) - one occurred in which Tom Wills of Australian Rules fame publicly swore never to return to Sydney having been pelted with blue metal! It's hard to judge the impact by our own standards. But the fact that it affected Australian/English relations at the time indicate that it was a fairly dark day, especially for a bunch of colonies who were trying to prove that they were not brutish and uncivilised. The Springboks tour is an interesting one as well because you can look at it from a number of articles. There are people who say it was a dark chapter because we let politics interfere with sport, while there are others who would say it was a dark time because we were turning a blind eye to some horrific circumstances in South Africa. Either way it was pretty turbulent and saw some scenes the like of which we've not seen before or since. Some might argue the way cricket authorities handled the packer revolution was fairly dark. All of these things are controversial things which lie underneath the shiny veneer really. But I'm racking my brain trying to come up with days within contests themselves - either huge upset losses, soul destroying ones a la Iran, or incredible low points where you just think, things couldn't get any worse. I suspect that the reason it is hard to think of these other than the more recent ones is because until the last 20-30 years, Australians for the most part were happy with a win on the world stage here and there (cricket aside perhaps). Our expectations have risen, meaning so has our level of disappointment when things don't go to plan.
John Hamilton
Roar Pro
A fantastic reply. I wish I had known about the Sydney test match. I'd never heard of it but I did find this on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Riot_of_1879 Phar Lap would have been a good choice but I was under the impression he died while off the track which doesn't fit my criteria for 'on field' events. I'm not so sure about the 1971 Springboks tour. It was well before my time and I've never really heard much about it. Certainly an interesting point in Australian history though If I was to redo the article with a top 10, I would certainly be adding that riot in 1879 as well as the loss to Iran in 97. Peter Brocks death would also be up there.
ciudadmarron
Guest
For it to be a dark day I think it needs to be a recognised low point - either just as a statement of "so this is where the sport is at now", or something very controversial - or really hit the country in the guts in some way. As others have said, getting to a final of an international tournament and losing narrowly doesn't really make for a "dark" day. A disappointing day to some maybe but not a dark day. I would nominate the 97 Iran debacle as well. What is seared into my head from that one are the commentators afterwards who could just barely speak and were visibly holding back the tears. The manner of it as well - 2 goals up and then.... the wallabies may well have been more popular at the time but I don't think any wallabies loss has ever hit as hard as what that one did to the football community. Anyway, these are mostly very recent. I'm sure there are some very dark days in Australian sport that we've forgotten about (apart from the "darkest day in Australian Sport" which is what I assumed this article was about. Death of Phar Lap in dodgy circumstances - that hit the country pretty hard. Also on the controversial side of things, the numerous allegations in the first half of the 20th century levelled at VFL teams "playing dead". The test match abandoned in Sydney due to crowd behaviour. The 1971 Springboks tour.
Johnno
Guest
A few others Pom in OZ -1st winter olympic's gold medal Steve Bradbury. Others slipped, and he got lucky. But in many ways the best was Torah Bright winning gold, as there wasn't the same type of chaotic slip ups by her competitors. -Herb Elliot breaking the mile world record. Betty Cuthbert at Melbourne 1956 -Debbie-Flintoff-King 400m hurdles gold 1988 Soeul Olympics -Lionel Rose world title. Les Darcy heavyweight world title. -winning first ODI World Cup cricket 1987
Bee bee
Guest
I must admit I wasn't quite born for Montreal but I imagine the historical context is worth considering. The Cold War was hot in 76. Many medals were dubious at best and not just by roids and testosterone fulled hairy women. Imagine how many Soviet gymnasts had their pet cats held hostage by win at all cost coaches. Some of the shennanigans at these Olympics would make Lance Armstrong look cleaner than Mr Sheen. We really were bystanders to 2 superpowers trying to out do each other big time.
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
LOL...Thanks John! I think the name Don Bradman is enough in itself. Simply awesome! I'll have to Google Edwin Flack...and Jesse Martin. Hey, what about Jessica Watson? Also, some great tennis achievements. Phar Lapp...or is that considered too bestial or too Kiwi? Plenty of Olympic greats too, especially in the swimming. I've always admired Oz for punching well above it's weight in sporting endeavours. It's one of the reasons I love this country...
John Hamilton
Roar Pro
That has been done to death. Off the top of my head here are 10: Don Bradman (take your pick from about 10 different achievements) Edwin Flack at 1896 Olympics Dawn Fraser domination Rod Lavers Grand Slam Americas Cup win (was it 1983) The 5-0 Ashes clean sweeps Jesse Martin sail around the world (does this count as sport as it wasn't competition?) Knocking the Windies off in 93? or 94? Winning the 1999 world cup from nowhere (cricket) Winning 3 straight world cups (cricket) Winning 91 and 99 Rugby world cups (first country to win it twice) John Landy 4 minute mile I've probably missed a few real obvious ones
st saens
Guest
Glen Housman, 1500m swimming, Adelaide 1990. Breaks Salnikov's longstanding sub 15 minute WR. Only to be told subsequently that the electric timing equipment had failed and his hand timed 'record' would not be recognized. Soon disappeared into obscurity (in Kieran Perkins' shadow).
Johnno
Guest
Agree Pom in OZ. And the other problem it creates, is it stuffs up the training program of athletes the trials. In Aussy swimming you, have to prepare for basically 2 high intensity events, in a short turn around time it's not suitable. Certain athletes should be excluded. I don't know about athletics in Australia, but I think Cathy Freeman, was excluded from 2000 Australian Olympic team athletic trials. But athletes, like Thorpe,Grant Hackett,Kieren Perkins,Steve Hooker, Steve Moneghetti, Cathy Freeman, Sally Pearson, shouldn't have to bother with Olympic trials.
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
As an aside, I'd be interested to hear people's opinion on the best ever of Australia's sporting endeavours, as opposed to the darkest. Maybe you could do a piece on that John Hamilton...
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
Hi Johnno. You raise another interesting point. Olympic trials are always a problem. Imagine if you picked your cricket team based on the last performance or two of each player. It would be ridiculous. I have to agree with you. I think a swimmer of Thorpe's calibre shouldn't even have had to take part in the trial. An Olympic trial suggests you're proving your worthiness to represent your country. Well, I would have thought that the Thorpedo had already proved that beyond doubt.