John Eales helps revive legend of All Blacks' shock loss
When you're staging a play about beating the All Blacks, you could do worse than give John Eales a call.
Given recent results between the trans-Tasman rivals, it's hard to fathom that Wallabies legend Eales held a winning record over New Zealand.
As a 21-year-old playing the ninth of his 86 Tests, the towering second-rower was part of the Australia team that eliminated reigning champions New Zealand from the 1991 World Cup and went on to hoist the trophy aloft for the first time.
Given he retired in 2001, he was also captain the last time Australia beat the All Blacks in New Zealand, in what turned out to be his third-last Test for Australia.
So when Sydney's Ensemble Theatre began rehearsing its current production of Alone It Stands, there was only one man to call.
John Breen's comic play recounts Irish provincial side Munster's 1978 defeat of the touring All Blacks, a win that still ranks among world rugby's greatest upsets.
So dominant were the hosts in their 12-0 victory, the first by any Irish side over New Zealand, that winger Stu Wilson later said his All Blacks "were lucky to get nil".
Six actors are required to play 62 different characters between them, but for the talented company that would be just another day at the office.
Less familiar would be the process to familiarise themselves with a victory that shook one community of fans and invigorated another.
That was when Eales joined the actors in the rehearsal room.
"What they were trying to get was a bigger insight into the game and understanding being part of a team and a game like that," Eales told AAP.
"And what does a game like that mean?
"They were actually interested in understanding rugby on a deeper level."
As well as he knows the elation of beating the All Blacks, Eales witnessed his own Munster ambush when the Wallabies toured Europe in 1992.
Eales, rested for that 22-19 loss, shared his lasting memories of touring Ireland with the actors.
"The Irish rugby supporters, and particularly the Munster rugby supporters are quite unique in many respects," he said.
"You're in a town where rugby is super important. You know it's going to be a very difficult game whenever you play the game."
And even if only in the confines of the stage, Eales has enjoyed having one last chance to help plot the All Blacks' downfall.
"The All Blacks get beaten so seldomly that when they do, and particularly by a provincial team, it is something to celebrate," he said.
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> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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