Growing band of Kiwis with multiple wins over Aussies

Manu Vatuvei among others can now boast five career victories over the Kangaroos. Photo / Getty Images

Four Kiwis players have joined one of New Zealand league's most exclusive clubs as a result of Sunday's 26-12 Anzac test win over Australia.

The past six months have been a momentous period for the sport in this country, as the Kiwis have put together their most consistent set of performances in decades.

The recent results mean that Simon Mannering, Manu Vatuvei, Thomas Leuluai and Greg Eastwood can now all boast five career victories over the Kangaroos.

Up until now, it was a mark held only by the incomparable Stacey Jones, whose career spanned the highs of the late 1990s and the Tri Nations glory in 2005.

Now there are a famous five.

It's a significant milestone, as victories over Australia have traditionally been hard earned - and rare - down the years. Mark Graham and Olsen Filipaina, two of the finest players to wear the Kiwis jumper, only tasted victory once over the Kangaroos while Gary Freeman's long career (45 tests) included just two transtasman wins.

Indeed, there was a generation of players from mid-July 1991 to April 1997 that never played in a winning side against Australia.

It's hard to see that kind of drought in the near future.

This Kiwis unit have genuine belief, and they have dimmed the aura of the Australian side.

The quartet of Mannering, Leuluai, Vatuvei and Eastwood have been at the core of the Kearney era.

They were part of the World Cup campaign in 2008, the Four Nations triumph in 2010 and last year's heroics.

Leuluai and Vatuvei's legacy stretches back even further, with Leuluai part of a 30-16 win over Australia in 2003 and Vatuvei the only remaining member of the memorable 2005 Tri Nations campaign.

"Those kind of individuals know how to win," said Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney.

"When you are rubbing shoulders with those kind of guys, it's easy to know what your job is and how to get it done. Look at Simon for example ... regardless of the situation, he always delivers."

There's been a significant switch in the DNA of this side.

Less than half of the 17 that took the field for the first Four Nations match last year had beaten Australia, including Kieran Foran, Shaun Johnson, Dean Whare and Jesse Bromwich.

Now it's hard to find a Kiwi in the wider squad who hasn't, with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Sam Moa chalking up their first Australian scalps on Sunday night.

"It doesn't guarantee success - you still have to deliver - but it certainly helps," says Kearney.

"It helps when you look around your teammates and everybody knows what it takes ... everybody's been there before. That makes a difference."

"These results say a lot for the belief we have got in this team," said wing Jason Nightingale.

"We do a lot to make sure we don't feel like the underdog going into a game; it's been about focusing on ourselves for the last camps.

"It does really help not thinking about what is going on on the outside," he said.

Famous five
•Thomas Leuluai 2003, 30-16; 2008, 34-20; 2010, 16-12; 2014, 30-12; 2015, 26-12.
•Manu Vatuvei 2005, 38-28; 2005, 24-0; 2008, 34-20; 2014, 22-18; 2015, 26-12.
•Simon Mannering 2008, 34-20; 2010, 16-12; 2014, 30-12; 2014, 22-18; 2015, 26-12.
•Greg Eastwood 2008, 34-20; 2010, 16-12; 2014, 30-12; 2014, 22-18; 2015, 26-12.
•Stacey Jones 1997, 30-12; 1998, 22-16; 1999, 24-22; 2005, 38-28; 2005, 24-0.