Wynne Gray's 50 greatest rugby moments: No. 38

Everything about Grant Fox's rugby screamed professional at the 1987 World Cup.

Everything about Grant Fox's rugby screamed professional as he piloted the All Blacks through the amateur arena of the first World Cup.

The five-eighths worked and worked and then worked some more at nailing everything off, ensuring he'd done as much as he could, every time, to deliver a strong performance for his team.

Goal-kicking became Fox's signature where his routine became so reassuringly familiar. There were the slow, checked steps back, several sideways lunges, the pause, the waggle of the fingers to release the tension before the metronomic swing of the right leg.

Fox's ability to accumulate points was a massive part of the first World Cup triumph while his overall command and tactical approach allowed the All Blacks to maintain consistent pressure on their rivals.

When the All Black selectors sat down to navigate their World Cup plans, they had a pair of five-eighths who offered them very different strategies.

Fox had the reliable precision while Frano Botica offered brilliance mixed with some erratic parts.

Fox got the vote as backline general and he ended with a tournament-high tally of 126 points, including an invaluable 17 points in the 29-9 victory against France in the final. In four other World Cup tests, Fox kicked more than 20 points, giving the All Blacks a huge psychological advantage every time they took the field.

He did not become the side's regular goal-kicker until the World Cup and was in outstanding form from the start on his Eden Park home-track against Italy where he equalled the All Blacks' record with 26 points from 10 conversions and two penalties.

The Auckland provincial combination of David Kirk and Fox were the team's tactical leaders, the men who controlled the patterns and absorbed all the time they got together playing at the next level.

When the All Blacks ground through a tough quarter-final against Scotland, Fox's tactical kicking variation kept the pressure on the visitors. On occasions he ran, where he used the short-side to position his wings or loosies, or else he used his cutout passes to vary the width on attack. That efficiency carried through the semifinal and into the decider against France.