The year 2019 marks two decades since Australia’s greatest ever sporting year.
Sure, Australia’s greatest ever sporting achievement may have occurred in another year – the America’s Cup in 1983 – but looking at the sheer number of sports where Australia was crowned world champions in 1999, it is tough to beat.
Here’s a look back at the key achievements for Australia in that year.
Rugby union
In a bygone era that today’s rugby fans pine for, the Wallabies reached the pinnacle by bringing ‘Bill’ – officially known as the William Web Ellis Trophy – back down under.
The Australians breezed through the group stages and the quarter-final against hosts Wales.
The semi-final was a nail-biter against South Africa. With the scores level after regular time, Stephen Larkham emerged as the hero in an unlikely way.
Larkham nailed a 48-metre drop goal – his first ever field goal in Test matches – to send the Wallabies into the final.
In the decider, Australia overcame a plucky French side who had caused a major boil-over by defeating New Zealand in their semi-final.
The 1999 victory meant the Wallabies were the first team to win the Rugby World Cup twice.
The side also complemented their retention of the Bledisloe Cup earlier in that year, another foreign concept for modern rugby fans.
Cricket
Australia’s victory in the 1999 Cricket World Cup marked the beginning of a period of dominance in the one-day sphere that would continue for well over a decade.
However, things got off to a rocky start. Losses to New Zealand and Pakistan meant the Aussies were in danger of failing to qualify for the Super 6 stage.
A victory over the West Indies in their final group match meant Australia finished runner-up in their group behind Pakistan.
Comfortable victories over India and Zimbabwe in the Super 6 stage steadied the ship. However the Aussies still needed to win their final Super 6 match against tournament favourites South Africa to progress to the semi-final.
South Africa batted first and posted an imposing 271 from their 50 overs. Australia were in early trouble at 3/48 before Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh combined for a 126-run stand to get them back into match.
On 56, Waugh was infamously dropped by Herschelle Gibbs, which will forever be referred to as dropping the World Cup.
Waugh would go on to punish the South Africans by scoring an unbeaten 120 and helping Australia chase down the target with just two balls to spare.
The victory meant Australia faced the South Africans again in the semi-final.
(Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Australia batted first and posted a modest 213 and were bowled out within 50 overs. In reply, South Africa started strongly with Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs posting 48 for the opening stand.
Australia were in trouble until Shane Warne entered the attack. He bowled both Kirsten and Gibbs as well as dismissing skipper Hansje Cronje for a duck. Warne also dismissed Jacques Kallis late in the innings to finish with figures of 4/29.
At the start of the final over, the South Africans required nine runs for victory. Big-hitting Lance Klusener crunched the first two deliveries to the boundary to level the scores and put the South Africans on the cusp of victory.
However, a cataclysmic run-out between Klusener and Allan Donald saw the match tied with Australia progressing to the final on the account of their previous victory in the Super 6 stage.
Australia easily defeated Pakistan in the final to cap an amazing tournament and become world champions for the second time. The Aussies would go on to win three of the next four World Cups.
Tennis
Australia were also on top in the tennis world, claiming the Davis Cup with victory over the French in France. It was Australia’s first title since 1986.
Not only was the victory on foreign soil, but it was achieved without Australia’s No.1 player Pat Rafter, who missed the final due to injury.
Mark Philippoussis gave Australia a lead in the tie with a straight sets win over Sebastien Grosjean. Cedric Pioline levelled the tie with a victory over a young but determined Lleyton Hewitt, who was playing in Rafter’s absence.
In the doubles match, the legendary Woodies combination of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge dropped the opening set before recovering to claim the match in four sets, giving the Aussies a crucial 2-1 lead heading into the reverse singles.
Philippousssis sealed the tie and the cup with a four-set victory over Pioline.
It was second time in the year that Australia had beaten France in a final.
Netball
It wasn’t just the men who dominated the sporting field. Australian claimed their eighth netball world title, downing New Zealand in an epic final. Australia cruised through the group stages as well as the quarter and semi-finals.
The Diamonds would face their arch rivals in a final for the ages. New Zealand led by six goals at three-quarter time with one hand on the trophy. But the Aussies rallied in the final quarter and a final-second shot by Sharelle McMahon saw Australia prevail 42-41. It would be of many epic matches the two sides would play in the years to come.
Other notable wins in 1999 include dominance on the hockey field with both the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos winning the Champions Trophy. We were also on top in the water with Mark Occhilupo and Layne Beachley being crowned surfing champions in the men’s and women’s competitions respectively.
Not bad for a single year.
Do any other years even come close?
torchbearer
Guest
And 1999 flowed into 2000, the Sydney Olympics hailed the greatest ever, and Australia having its best performance and topping the Paralympic table. Hewitt starts 90 weeks as World Number 1. Australian made movies like The Matrix and Moulin Rouge dazzle the world, Kylie goes Number one everywhere. Was a great time to be Australian.
Baggio
Guest
The joeys (under 17 football) were a penalty shootout from winning the world cup. An incredible achievement, considering we struggle to qualify for that tournaments these days.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Totally agree. But also keep in mind that the last World Championship was 4yrs ago. Calling them World Champs, while technically correct, suggests they are best in the world when the Australian team is currently ranked 5th in ICC rankings. 5th in the world is still a good ranking, but in terms of where you would expect the Australian team to be, it kinda sucks.
The Bush
Roar Guru
From a theoretical perspective you’re right, they’re not necessarily mutually exclusive, but a common sense approach suggests being world champions at something means you do not, by the common understanding of the phrase, suck.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
And just because they are World Champs doesn’t mean they don’t suck. These aren’t mutually exclusive things here. You put it that you can’t be both at the same time, I posit that you can. Measuring the current quality of the team based on the teams performance from four years ago probably isn’t the most accurate way to measure either. Note that I haven’t said if they suck or not, just that being World Champs doesn’t exclude that option.
The Bush
Roar Guru
Is your point that the 2003 team was better than the 2015 team? Probably, but that doesn’t mean the current team, who are World Champions, “suck”.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
We became a 2nd tier nation in tennis because kids don't have that discipline required to make it in an individualist sport like that anymore. When was the last time you saw a net up at a high school?
Paulo
Roar Rookie
To be fair the actual quote is: “The cricket team sucks compared to that golden era“ Yes, they are World Champs but is the competition what it was back in the day? If the team today played the team from then, how would it go?
Barney
Roar Rookie
Soccer’s global dominance is really based on two reasons. Firstly, it is a simple game. Simple in rules and easily accessible to virtually all. This makes it easy to sell to the masses but less interesting to the middle classes. Secondly, due to the more mainstream take up of soccer, it often becomes an extension of political or nationalistic rivalries therefore further cementing it in the national consciousness. Of course there are cultural and climatic factors. These might explain why cricket, although a relatively complex sport, is a sport for the masses in some countries.
Neel
Roar Guru
That was a wonderful time to be an Aussie sports fan. That Wallabies team was simply brilliant. I hated the All Blacks losing to them because the Wallabies were just that good. How times have changed though in the Rugby. Cricket wise, Australia aren’t as dominant as they once previously were, but they can still muster a 6th World Cup victory in 2019 in England.
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
NO DON’T!!! The year that South Africa and Australia were tied at full time in both Rugby & Cricket World Cup’s and yet Australia went through and won the tournaments that year. The most frustrating year in South Africa’s two most prominent sports!!! But glory for Australia on both occasions. Oh how it could’ve been so different. SA too would’ve beaten both France in rugby and Sri Lanka in the those finals. But for Stephen Larkham (or the Boks not playing Henry Honibal) and for the Alan Donald- Klusener disaster.... The year where emotions ran from absolute elation (yep we’ve got it now!!!) to absolute travesty and despair so quickly.... twice!!!
JamesH
Roar Guru
It would have been better had Kouta missed the prelim.
LC
Guest
Pommy Land's national sport and most passionately followed game is Football (i.e Soccer). It dominates the sporting calendar for 9 months of the year unless there's a World Cup or Euro then it's 12 months. Cricket and especially Rugby are upper class sports in England which is why we 'colonies' are pretty much the only nations that are passionate about those games. We had those sports imposed on us during the 19th century. The rest of the world, never being part of the British Empire, just preferred Soccer.
LC
Guest
We were 'great' at English upper class sports because the competition factor is much, much less challenging than true global sports. When Tennis was an 'anglo' sport we dominated but then the Europeans and others took up the game and we became a '2nd division' nation because the competition was too hot. Aussies don't seem to know the difference between provincial, commonwealth and elite global sports. Our AFLW gals are hailed as 'brilliant' and 'trend setters' despite only being around for a couple of years and only compete with a local talent pool of 300 players. Meanwhile the Matildas will be considered failures if they lose to the mighty USA or a European/Latin American/Asian powerhouse.
The Bush
Roar Guru
Considering this article mentions the ODI side only regarding cricket, it should probably be pointed out that this current cricket team, that "sucks", is world champions...
Istanbul Wingman
Roar Guru
America's Cup is just a rich man's sport. Australia's achievements in the other codes were far more meritorious. They were certainly on top of the Anglosphere in traditional games that were spread by the Pommy empire. A remember Australia was really big on its sporting institutes back then, and imagined something between a science laboratory and a production factory. Whatever they were, they certainly seemed to work. It took a while for the rest of the Anglosphere to catch up.
Gee
Roar Rookie
"The side also complemented their retention of the Bledisloe Cup earlier in that year, another foreign concept for modern rugby fans." Painfully true. The cricket team sucks compared to that golden era and our most famous tennis players are little snots but the current Wallabies are just plain embarrising.