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This is an extract of a piece written by Owen Finegan for The Roar’s sister site AthletesVoice. Owen was named as the No.6 in your Greatest Wallaby World Cup XV.
Just before I left Australia for the 1999 World Cup, I had a barbecue at my parents’ place. There were about 40 people there and I told them all about a dream I had that I was going to score a try as we won the World Cup final.
When I gave the last pass to Ben Tune for the first try against France in the final, I remembered that, and figured I’d got it slightly wrong.
The Roar is counting down the Wallabies’ Greatest World Cup XV of all time from No. 15-1 with thanks to thousands of votes from our readers.
But in injury time it came true.
My try summed up a lot about that Wallabies team – the first to play in a World Cup after the end of the amateur era. We were led by a meticulous coach in Rod Macqueen, who had overhauled the way we approached everything. That try came directly from the analytical work we’d done on how the French defend a lineout.
They had Olivier Magne at the back of their lineout and he always went hard at the five-eighth. The plan was for George Gregan to run across the field and feed the ball back into me so I could dissect the back of their lineout defence.
There was a hiccup as that call needed the ball to be thrown to the back of the lineout and Jeremy Paul had just come on the field to do the lineout throws. You would usually give your hooker an easier throw as a sighter and Andrew Blades suggested we change the initial call.
I said, ‘Let’s not’, and ended up scoring that try.
There was one slight disappointment.
It would have been perfect if I’d been able to run away and enjoy the celebrations. But because I dived there were 14 other people on my back and it took 30 seconds to get up. By the time I got up to throw the ball in jubilation, everyone else was walking away.
Owen Finegan heads for the try line in the 1999 final. (Ross Setford/Getty mages)
Bryan Habana scored tries and celebrated with a back flip and high-fiving teammates. That’s the way to do it. When I got up some of my teammates were already back at halfway.
But in the back of my head I was thinking I just scored a try in a Rugby World Cup final, a memory I will have for the rest of my days.
It’s the little things you remember.
In 1999, Australia was voting as to whether we would be a Republic or not; whether the Queen would continue as our head of state or if we’d go our own way.
After the game, John Eales, who had been quite vocal about the Republic and who he was voting for, had to go up to the Queen to collect the trophy from her. The second player up to meet her was Tim Horan as the vice-captain. And Tim told her, ‘John didn’t vote for you, but I did.’ Our team loved that.
We took ‘Bill’ – the William Webb Ellis Cup – on a lap of the Millennium Stadium and they played ‘It’s a Beautiful Day’ and ‘Down Under’ on the speakers. Those two songs, if I hear them today, I’m immediately back there at that tournament, goosebumps and a big smile on my face.
When we reached the change room, the trophy was passed one by one throughout the players and staff for the same ritual. As it reached me, everyone else yelled out, ‘Owen Finegan! World champion!’ and I drank out of the Cup.
Australian players pose with the Webb Ellis Cup after the 1999 Rugby World Cup final match France vs Australia at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on November 06, 1999. (Credit: William West/AFP/Getty Images)
The whole world is trying to win the World Cup and it’s difficult to do. That’s why we’ve only managed two, in 1991 and 1999. I have no doubt this current crop of Wallabies wants to add to that but they won’t be fully aware of how it would change them.
It becomes part of your legacy and you don’t realise how important it will be in your life. I was 27 years old and looking back, it’s a beautiful memory I will never forget.
We started the campaign at Portmarnock Golf Club, where we were staying near Dublin, with a golf day sponsored by Guinness.
The idea was not to have us off doing our own thing. We had a big night, plenty of the sponsor’s product. The guitars were out, we were singing songs, celebrating each other’s company until 2 o’clock in the morning. Having a great time.
In those days we had echoes of the amateur era, and it was important to a lot of people who played across both those eras.
Sports science has improved a fair bit and I’m betting it will show you that drinking 10 pints of Guinness isn’t the greatest preparation for the start of the World Cup.
There’s one telling stat that sums up that Wallabies World Cup team. We lifted the trophy having conceded just one try in the entire tournament, and that came, not in the final or semi-final against South Africa, but in a routine pool win against the United States.
If anyone talks about that semi-final it’s always about the same thing – Stephen Larkham’s field goal. His one and only.
But if Owen Finegan’s not giving away the last penalty just before fulltime, we’re not going to extra time. To win a tournament you have things go against you and you have to bounce back and show resilience when those things are happening.
It was great we won that game, but the greatest thing is Gordon Bray’s commentary when I gave away the late penalty – because he blames Michael Foley.
I had tried to steal the ball out of the ruck but got penalised for having my hand in there. I thought it was 50-50 and if I could steal the ball it would win the game, but it was 45 metres out and Jannie de Beer hadn’t missed all day and just slotted it to push us into extra time.
Australia celebrate Owen Finegan’s try against France during the Rugby World Cup final. (Credit: Nick Wilson/Allsport)
Now I tell people that it was part of my plan. That when we had the break at fulltime, I told Stephen Larkham, ‘Take a shot at field goal and they’ll make a memorabilia piece about it and we’ll be able to go halves’.
If I didn’t give away the penalty, he would’ve never kicked the field goal. Those sorts of moments go down in history. A game like that is what you dream of in a Rugby World Cup, going toe-to-toe to the end.
We were back at our hotel the next day to watch New Zealand beat France to play us in the final. Except it never happened. The French looked out of it in the first half, then came out and scored three or four tries and turned the game on its head.
As the game finished up on the TV, grown men were jumping up and down and running around the pool table like crazy.
The French always turn up for World Cups but New Zealand would’ve been a lot tougher game for us, just because of the continued rivalry. Our boys were excited about France being a great opportunity for us.
And that’s how it worked out.
To win a World Cup I think you need to have shared experiences of good times and bad times. You’ve got to have a group that wants to spend time with each other. If there’s conflict, it doesn’t work.
There was a close connection. Rod Macqueen did a great job of that. The Wallabies now don’t do what we did then. They’re back to living in hotels.
It was the camaraderie and banter that we shared that brought cohesion and a desire for success.
Owen Finegan is your choice of No.6 for The Roar’s Greatest Wallabies Rugby World Cup XV, powered by ASICS, the Official Performance Apparel and Footwear supplier for the Wallabies. Finegan won with 30.8% of the vote, followed by Willie Ofahengaue and Simon Poidevin. Check back tomorrow to find out who was selected at No.5.
The Roar’s Greatest Wallabies Rugby World Cup XV
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.