Non-playing All Black back Aaron Mauger sits alone on the All Black bench after defeat. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Non-playing All Black back Aaron Mauger sits alone on the All Black bench after defeat. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Nervous All Black supporter relives ’07 trauma by returning to scene of the crime.
Some sporting wounds cut so deep the scars never really heal. So it is for the devout All Blacks fans making a return trip to Cardiff eight years after witnessing one of the most humbling, shocking days in New Zealand's proud rugby history - the 2007 quarter-final defeat by Franceat the Millennium Stadium.
"When the final whistle went no one was talking," recalls Brad Santo, a Singapore-based Kiwi whose nerves are jangling as he prepares to bear witness to a rematch that appears almost pre-ordained. "We just had our arms around each others' shoulders, standing there staring at the pitch in silence."
The French had stumbled through pool play, even losing to unfancied Argentina. The All Blacks had been in imperious form, rattling up 309 points in four matches. Defeat was unimaginable. All Blacks fans - and players - were stunned and distressed when France ran out winners 20-18.
Mr Santo and his mate James Honeyfield - who will be watching from his home in Auckland - were sitting next to friends and family of several All Blacks. Mr Honeyfield vividly recalls the despair of halfback Andy Ellis' parents, who before the match had been chatting excitedly about what was to be the trip of a lifetime.
James Honeyfield (left), Craig Carson, Brad Santo and Rob Priestley were there to cheer on the All Blacks in 2007.
"I do remember Andy Ellis' parents with heads in hands and tears running down cheeks," he recalls.
After pulling it together, the Kiwi pair headed to the stadium concourse where they sold their semifinal tickets to England fans at a 300 per cent mark up.
"That was a least a bit of a consolation," Mr Honeyfield said.
Their night ended at a Cardiff pub, where they swapped their NZ jerseys with joyous French fans.
As for the match: "One thing that everyone remembers is that damn forward pass," said Mr Santo. "But I am a bit of a believer that if you have played well enough over the 80 minutes - you are not going to get every ball and every call - but if you have done enough over the match you are going to win. So you can't blame the forward pass."
He doesn't blame referee Wayne Barnes either, as many did. The All Blacks got about what they deserved from the match.
Mr Santo also bears the emotional scars from attending the 1999 semifinal at Twickenham, when the French famously overturned a 14-point halftime deficit. The 2011 final - which the devoted fan also attended - did little to banish a deep-seated fear of the French.
"It was only 8-7 so it wasn't really getting the monkey off the back. It's still stuck there. We've got to put this to bed. We've got to put the French away.
"I'm looking forward to it but, you know, the French, here we go again, the old nemesis. I am nervous. I think the whole country is nervous."
With just two players from that 2007 test (captain Richie McCaw and first five-eighths Dan Carter) still in the frame, the All Blacks insist there is no mental baggage. The same can't be said for the spectators. It won't take much to fracture the delicate psyche of many fans, predicts Mr Honeyfield.
"If [The French] stay in the game for 60 minutes we will start bricking it. There is a scab there and it can be torn off fairly easily. All it will take is for a goal kick to bounce off a post or an intercept. Kiwi fans will start to go quiet, shudder and adopt the fetal position or hide under the duvet."
Santo expects to have a good time when he returns to Cardiff whatever the result - but just how good remains to be seen.
"The craic [in Cardiff] is going to be good. It is always good in the pubs, but we'll see how we are faring after the final whistle.
"I don't really want to be swapping another jersey."
