Wynne Gray's 50 greatest rugby moments: No.24

Serge Blanco scores against the Wallabies. Photo / Getty

Serge Blanco was born in Venezuela and played his rugby with such panache that he wore rugby nobility easily in 93 appearances for his adopted France. His mother was Basque and the young Blanco was raised in Biarritz where he played for the local club.

He was usually a fullback where his invention, elan and speed made him such an exciting contributor for France. There was a majesty about his ambition and during an 11-year international career his aristocratic style augmented the other stars of the backline.

At the first World Cup, Blanco struggled to overcome a thigh injury but still provided two of the best tries of the tournament. Footage of the first against Scotland is missing because Blanco's quick thinking from a tap penalty caught out the camera operators.

However his late try in the opening semifinal sank the Wallabies 30-24 at Concord Oval and condemned them and their caustic coach Alan Jones to the unwelcome third and fourth playoff match.

Minutes before, a mistake from Blanco allowed the Wallabies to level at 24-all before France countered from their own half and kept the move going either side of the field until Blanco sprinted 20m to evade the covering tackle of Tom Lawton in the corner.

France would play the All Blacks in the final but could not compete with their hosts' intensity and even Blanco looked weary after his semifinal exertions.

Blanco loved touring New Zealand and befriended Whangarei youngster Tony Vellere when France stayed and trained near Whangarei. Blanco gave the family tickets to many games and, after the final, swapped jerseys with his All Black opposite John Gallagher and gave the black No 15 uniform to young Tony.

When he walked out of Eden Park that day with Gallagher's jersey slung over his shoulders, a suspicious security guard disputed his right to the souvenir and took it. He thought the boy had stolen the jersey in the general melee after the whistle.

Eventually the jersey was handed to ARU deputy chairman Jack McGowan and it stayed in his family until a Herald story alerted them to Vellere's forlorn search for the uniform and the pair were reunited.