1 year ago
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Bledisloe Cup greats Mat Rogers, Justin Marshall and Mils Muliaina person provided immoderate fascinating penetration into the 2003 trophy transfer which triggered 2 decades of symptom for Wallabies fans.
Rogers joked that Eminem had conscionable released The Marshall Mathers LP when Australia past held the elephantine trophy and "the manner was a spot antithetic too."
The Wallabies reigned ultimate from 1998-2002 with Rogers scoring a important effort successful the tense 16-14 triumph successful Sydney to interruption All Blacks hearts again.
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Bizarre past of Bledisloe Cup
"With astir 10 minutes to go, they were up by six points and I'd conscionable dropped the ball," Rogers told Stan Sport.
"And I virtually thought to myself, 'I've conscionable mislaid the Bledisloe Cup.' I conscionable retrieve having this chiseled thought successful my caput that I volition bash thing to triumph this game.
"I scored close adjacent to the post. I thought, 'oh, Burkey, he'll sound this implicit and we'll triumph the Bledisloe, consecutive arsenic a die.' But oh, no."
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Burke made amends for his uncharacteristic 2002 conversion miss by coolly slotting the match-winning punishment for the Eddie Jones coached-team instead.
"For me, it was what dreams are made of," Rogers said.
It would beryllium to beryllium the past clip Australian lips supped brew from the elephantine cup.
"Game one, 2003, was not a bully time for Australian rugby," Rogers noted.
"They wanted revenge."
Indeed, backmost successful Sydney, the All Blacks were imperious as Joe Rokocoko scored 3 tries successful a 50-21 demolition occupation which was a grounds astatine the time.
"I vividly retrieve the determination successful our side," Marshall told Stan Sport.
"What radical astir apt don't realise was our bus, it broke down and we lone turned up with 35 minutes to spell until kickoff. So each the officials were successful a panic and said 'well, we request to hold the game.'
"And you cognize what? We said, 'no, shit, we're keen to play, worldly it'."
Rogers described the hammering arsenic "one of the astir demoralising nights of my life" arsenic the Kiwis past eyed up their prize successful the instrumentality lucifer astatine Eden Park.
"They are present chasing the dream," Marshall said of the Wallabies.
"Come and get it if you're bully capable due to the fact that we're controlling it now."
In a tense struggle, Doug Howlett scored 2 tries successful New Zealand's 21-17 triumph and the All Blacks began a stranglehold they garbage to surrender.
"It's astir apt 1 of the hardest things that I've suffered connected a rugby pitch. It's a beauteous hard happening to handle," Rogers said of that 2003 defeat.
"So present it's 21 years since we've lifted that trophy and I cognize each Wallaby that's gone retired determination has enactment their bosom and psyche successful to effort to regain that thing.
"But it is simply a hard cupful to win."
Multiple All Blacks players and coaches person since spoken astir the work of not being the squad to relinquish the coveted cup.
"I deliberation it acceptable the instauration for Bledisloe for All Blacks players," Marshall said.
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"Once we had it that, we had to marque it adjacent connected intolerable for Australia to get an accidental to triumph it back."
Victory astatine the MCG connected Saturday would guarantee the trophy remains astatine New Zealand Rugby office successful Wellington, on with the Rugby Championship.
Muliaina besides recalled the 2003 autobus thrust to Sydney's Olympic Stadium.
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"We had a constabulary escort but they decided to halt astatine each azygous light. So possibly it was portion of the aged tactics to enactment america off. We were precocious arriving but it was the commencement of thing peculiar and to triumph it backmost was awesome...
"I deliberation our manager ended up hopping disconnected the autobus and asking the constabulary escort to benignant of hurry up due to the fact that we're present going to beryllium late.
"But we stopped astatine each light, arsenic dilatory arsenic we could. I don't wherefore we adjacent had a constabulary escort."
Muliaina said the Bledisloe ranked down lone the Rugby World Cup successful presumption of value to New Zealanders.
"And for america rugby players, brew tastes truthful bully retired of it. That's portion of the existent peculiar reason, but besides the wounded and the symptom that's travel on with it...
"It's ever been 1 of the astir important cups to america and it astir apt stems from each that implicit the years and we've had a batch of pain.
"But fortunately enough, 20 years... man, that's a agelong time, isn't it?
"It astir apt comes astir from fearfulness much than thing else. The anticipation of the All Blacks is you've got to triumph each azygous game.
"We've present had it for truthful long. No-one wants to beryllium successful that squad that hands it backmost over."
NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney, Morgan Turinui and Stephen Hoiles unpack a heartbreaking Wallabies nonaccomplishment against the Pumas and hunt for Bledisloe Cup hope
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