In the first Bledisloe Cup match of 1996, that then fell under the newly formed era of professionalism, and the inaugral Tri Nations, it was the All Blacks that dominated in a game of high skill considering the conditions.
They had 11 members of their World Cup Final side from the previous year, including Andrew Mehrtens who was on his way to notching up the fastest 200 points in Test history.
They also had a young fullback by the name of Christian Cullen, who was just 20 at the time, and playing only his fourth Test, but his first against Australia.
David Campese on the other hand, was on the wing for the Wallabies, with 96 Test caps as he head towards reaching the milestone of 100.
Wellington’s Athletic Park was wet and windy on the day, but the All Blacks came out firing as they took the Wallabies by surprise with their tactic of running the ball with such a wet field underfoot.
They dominated with a six try thumping of the Aussies, winning the match 43-6, retaining the Bledisloe Cup then going on to win that years Tri Nations.
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Classic Encounters – Australia vs New Zealand 1996
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Matthew Burke’s famous 80m try from 1996
Time:
07:20
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