"Time has gone quickly," says coach Brian McClennan. "But you never forget. With what we did, we'll be friends for life."
From the outset, things didn't look that flash. Benji Marshall, fresh from the Wests Tigers' grand final glory, was ruled out due to off-season surgery. Sonny Bill Williams, Matt Utai, Jerome Ropati, Dene Halatau and Lesley Vainikolo withdrew for the same reasons and Thomas Leuluai was out with a broken leg.
Was the rookie coach nervous?
"No, I was excited," says McClennan. "I'd met with Ruben [Wiki] and he wanted to have a big one. [Assistant coach] Graeme Norton was full of ideas and I had the Butcher [Leitch] as manager - he makes things happen. And I was confident in what I could do, what I was going to bring."
McClennan and Norton spent hours planning, creating themes for each match, starting with 'Bully the bully' for the first in Sydney.
"Australia had been dominant for so long, and particularly in Sydney," says McClennan. "They had been the bullies but we wanted to turn things around."
At the team meeting, McClennan played footage of the last Kiwis victory in Sydney in 1959 and of Muhammad Ali beating the formidable George Foreman.
There was also 'Burn the boats' for the first match in England, based on the Viking practice of destroying their ships at the start of an invasion, and 'Slay the Dragon' for the final.
Such methods, and the close bond within the team, gave the squad confidence and belief but it wasn't just about motivation.
"We needed good tactics," McClennan says. "I spoke with our leaders about our territorial game and they bought into it. We wanted the Aussies back-pedalling. We wanted aggressive defence, winning the ruck."
Stacey Jones came out of retirement for the first two matches, then kept playing, despite commitments to the Catalans Dragons.
"I leaned on him at first but, from then on, it's the team environment," says McClennan. "He could feel something special was happening."
It turned into a campaign for the ages, full of indelible memories, like Clinton Toopi grabbing three tries in Sydney to inspire a 38-28 victory against a team that included Darren Lockyer and Andrew Johns, the fearsome defence in Auckland and the free-scoring display in London, when the Kiwis racked up a record 42 points against England, and McClennan dancing along the touchline after the incredible finale at Elland Road.
McClennan wasn't afraid to innovate. Nigel Vagana was a revelation at five-eighth and Motu Tony proved a capable hooker. McClennan introduced the mousetrap move with double dummy-halves, last seen in Auckland club league in the 1980s. And in the final, he switched centre Shontayne Hape to the back row, using him and Paul Whatuira close to the ruck for extra pace.
Off the field, too, instead of boozy bonding sessions, Wiki passed the kava bowl around after games. And to prevent cabin fever, those outside the matchday squad were allowed to break camp for a few days, with Wiki, Vagana, David Kidwell and others enjoying a memorable break in Sardinia one week.
The build-up to the final was complicated by Jones' round-the-world dash for the birth of his son William. He flew from Europe and back again in five days, returning the evening before the test. Despite jet lag, Jones orchestrated three of the four Kiwis tries.
"It still amazes us to this day," says McClennan. "At halftime, he turned to me and said, 'I'm f**ked'. I said, 'you'll be right, mate'. It means a lot to all of us that he won a final, to top off his career.
"We made a mark and each Kiwis team since has kept progressing," says McClennan who, along with the team, will be guests of the NRL at next Sunday's grand final. "I'm really proud of the current boys. They are the greatest Kiwis team of all time."
