Considering how important the connection has been for both countries, it’s surprising how many Aussie rugby villains spring to a Kiwi mind.
There was their CEO John O’Neill, whisking away joint hosting rights for the 2003World Cup. Wallabies coach Michael Cheika could behave like a caricature of an ugly Aussie if he felt things hadn’t gone his way. There was even a time decades ago when they decided the best man to coach the team was Alan Jones, the most viciously wasp-tongued talkback radio host in Sydney.
Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan used to work for the ‘Dirty Digger’ Rupert Murdoch, and then ran an international ad agency. To get a hint of McLennan’s style, he told a Sydney journalist he “loved” his nickname in the business world of Hamish the Hammer, for the way he approached deals.
Certainly the way he’s acted with New Zealand Rugby has had the subtlety of a punch in the face. Expect more aggro as McLennan slugs it out in efforts to get more Australian control, which, crucially, would translate to more money for them.
The odd thing is that, having engaged with many Aussie rugby people through the years, I can vouch for the fact there are actually more good guys than ratbags.
Proof? Consider a quick list of five top Ocker rugby men.
Australian captain John Eales with the Webb Ellis Trophy at the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Photo / Photosport
One - 1999 World Cup winning captain John Eales. His alleged nickname “Nobody”, because “Nobody’s perfect”, was a media invention, but it fits the bill. A fantastic player, he’s so sportsmanlike that he swears the best test he’s ever played in was the 2000 game in Sydney against the All Blacks in front of 109,874 people. Why is that such an extraordinary thing to say? Eales’ Wallabies lost the game, 39-35, when Jonah Lomu scored in the dying minutes.
Two - Michael Hooper, who has captained Australia more times than anyone. On the field Hooper at his best was a constant pain in the neck, scrapping for the ball in much the same way Richie McCaw did for the All Blacks. Off the field Hooper was the good natured, softly spoken Yang to his long-term coach Cheika’s often brutish Yin.
Three - David Campese. The great wing of the 1990s was loved by everyone on the press bench, because he was not only hugely exciting on the field, he was a quote machine off it. In 1991 his Aussie coach Bob Dwyer primed him and set him loose before the World Cup final with England. Campo raved for a week about how boring the rugby England played was. In the final England tried to be daring, and failed. The Wallabies kept it tight, and won the Cup.
Four - Peter FitzSimons. The former Wallaby lock is that rarity amongst rugby writers, a genuinely funny man. It was hard as a Wallaby playing the All Blacks, he once wrote, “to not respond to the chilling cries of ‘Ka mate! Ka mate!’ with one word: ‘Taxi!’”
Five - Nick Farr-Jones, the 1991 World Cup winning Wallabies captain. Super bright, and endlessly likeable, we’d got to know each other on the rugby speaking circuit. On the day before the 91 semifinal with the All Blacks in Dublin, our paths crossed in the city’s busy Grafton St. He was with a group of Wallabies, shaking hands and posing for photographs with Saturday morning shoppers. What were they up to? There was a conspiratorial smile. “Mate, just making sure the Irish fans are barracking for us tomorrow.”
