Exclusive Insight
Author Lance Peatey has interviewed an extensive list of the most influential administrators, legendary players, coaches and officials in the modern era. Here is a small taste of what readers will find inside...
‘The Home Unions always thought it was their game and ridiculed us badly. They didn’t care too much about the colonies. But what they didn’t seem to realise was people in the colonies could easily pick up a sport and run with it, like Kerry Packer did with cricket. It was a great opportunity that we [the rugby community] could take the game a step further and keep it under the control of rugby people.’ –
Sir Nicholas Shehadie describes the early boardroom challenges and the underlying motive that he and Dick Littlejohn had in wanting to create a Rugby World Cup – they simply did not want to see the game fall in the hands of entrepreneurial greed.
‘We went to a place where [All Blacks coach] Brian Lochore was from and we were all billeted out for the night. We all went into this pub called The Lake and there were all these families having dinner. The team manager gathered us and yelled out our names before introducing us to the family we were staying with. We then grabbed our bags and jumped in the family truck before staying the night at their farms.’ – All Blacks Legend Sean Fitzpatrick recalling the modest surrounds of Rugby World Cup 1987. How times have changed.
‘My first memory of Jason is stealing the ball off him and I scored a try and he started crying, when we were probably only 10 or 11-years-old.’ – Dual Rugby World Cup winner and Player of the Tournament in 1999, Tim Horan, recalling his first memory of Jason Little, with whom he would establish one of the finest centre/midfield partnerships of the modern era.
‘Jonah Lomu was a phenomenon. He was just so huge, so quick and it was great for the fans to watch him destroy teams. It wasn’t good being on the receiving end though. I remember the first try in 1995 when he ran over Mike Catt and I thought … “It’s going to be a long, long day”.’ – Former England Captain Martin Johnson recalls the agony of falling victim to a rampaging Jonah Lomu in the Rugby World Cup 1995 semi-final against New Zealand.
'Sometimes when we play one or two good games, or one great game, inside we have a lot of satisfaction. This was the same for the 1999 team that beat New Zealand as it was for the team in 1987 after beating Australia [in the semi-final]. But to be consistent enough to win a World Cup, we need to be afraid for each game and stay focussed … we need to have something very tense inside the stomach for every game.' - France legend Philippe Sella offers his advice for how France can produce more than one outstanding performance and win the tournament.
‘What Rod Macqueen did for Australian rugby was quite amazing. When we won in 1999 we had basically the same pool of players as when we were struggling in 1996-97. Rod created a structure that turned that all around. He had a great vision for how the game could be played and how to win a Rugby World Cup.’ – Former Australia captain and dual Rugby World Cup winner John Eales reflects on the massive transformation in Australian rugby ahead of their 1999 triumph.
