Zinzan Brooke lifts the Super 12 trophy after the 1996 final. Photo / Brett Phibbs
This article was published in the Herald on May 27, 1996, following the inaugural Super 12 final. It was written by South African rugby writer Dan Retief.
To paraphrase Dr Danie Craven's farewell to New Zealand after the 1956 Springbok tour: "It's all yours, Auckland."
The best compliment for a compelling performance from the Auckland Blues rugby side on Saturday was uttered by Natal's assistant-coach, Hugh Reece-Edwards: "The only excuse we have is that we have no excuses at all. We were simply beaten by a better team on the day."
Gary Teichmann and his men failed at the final hurdle of an epic tournament simply because they turned over too much possession to a team whose ball retention is exceptional.
Auckland scrummaged superbly, tackled ferociously and built their performance on the five pillars of pace, enterprise, ball retention, rugged tackling and that human pile driver, Jonah Lomu.
A potential 14-point turnaround, when Henry Honiball was unable to link with his support after a scything break in the 21st minute, resulting in Lomu turning defence into devastating attack, was probably the point the scales dipped irretrievably away from Natal.
But for me, it was Lomu's bristling attitude which set the pattern.
Out of sorts until it mattered, Lomu got involved from the start, with Auckland's opening penalty coming off a ruck he set up. His try that followed was confirmation of his awesome potential and must have dealt a debilitating psychological blow to the Natal Sharks.
From that moment a clinically efficient Auckland team pounded out a clarion warning to South African rugby.
The Blues may supply as many as 11 players to the All Black team for the tri-nation series which looms in July, and it is not a comforting though that they comfortably dispatched South Africa's leading two provincial teams on successive Saturdays.
The Aucklanders provided a chilling reminder of the exceptional pool of talent from which All Black coach John Hart will be able to pick his test squad, and one wonders at the thoughts which must have coursed through Scottish coach Jim Telfer's mind as he watched this supreme demonstration of the rugby he so admires.
With All Black bluebloods Zinzan Brooke and Michael Jones setting the example, Auckland's big hits rattled and scattered a Natal pack and destroyed their normal in-depth support of the ball carrier.
While Australian referee Wayne Erickson was lax in punishing Auckland's offsides and cunning killing of the ball on the ground, these are minor quibbles.
Even the most optimistic supporter of the Sharks would be the first to admit that it did not make much difference.
The playing of the Super 12 under the recent law dispensations has shown that rugby has evolved into a game of winning, using and never surrendering possession, and Auckland certainly were superior in this aspect.
While the game showcased the core of the All Black side, it was not a true reflection of the strength of Springbok rugby. Mark Andrews, Andre Joubert and James Small are automatic choices for the Boks, while Honiball, Teichmann, John Allan and Andre Le Roux will have advanced their claims with outstanding consistency in the Super 12 series.
But the unpalatable truth is that Springbok coach Andre Markgraaff faces a difficult task in arriving at the correct First XV, especially with many of the 1995 World Cup side either injured or out of form.