The Otago Daily Times counts down the 150 greatest moments in Otago sport.
No 25: The great Bledisloe Cup test (1993)
As occasions go, the 1993 Bledisloe Cup test at Carisbrook generated almost unprecedented test fever.
It enveloped the entire city, the entire province, and more than 40,000 crammed into Carisbrook to watch the All Blacks beat the Wallabies 25-10.
The Southern club had the first of the famous "tent villages" at Bathgate Park and the Otago Daily Times produced the first of its special Saturday night editions, which the players were able to read at the test dinner at Larnach Castle.
Maybe it was because Otago rugby was on a high. Maybe it was because an Otago man, Laurie Mains, was the coach and three Otago favourites - John Timu, Arran Pene and Jamie Joseph - were in the team. Maybe it was because the All Blacks had lost 2-1 to Australia in an enthralling series the previous year, but every man, woman and child seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion.
The skies were overcast, the weather mild, the ground immaculate and former greats Colin Meads and Simon Poidevin delivered the cup to the centre of Carisbrook by helicopter.
It was 9-3 at halftime but the All Blacks broke the game open in the five minutes after the break with tries to the captain, Sean Fitzpatrick, and the hard-running centre Frank Bunce. Australia scored a late try through Tim Horan but the All Blacks were in control almost throughout.
But it was the occasion as much as the test itself which will live on in the memory. At the final whistle, the opposition wingers, David Campese and Vaiga Tuigamala, embraced and walked arm-in-arm from Carisbrook. That summed up the spirit of the day.
It is generally accepted that the tumultuous 1956 series between the Springboks and All Blacks brought New Zealand to the brink of rugby hysteria. The 1993 test at Carisbrook probably came closer than any other test to matching that atmosphere.
It was the start of a special era during which Dunedin became known as Rugby City or the Rugby Capital of New Zealand for the way in which it embraced test matches. It was a rugby week like no other and ended with coach Mains relaxing at home with the Bledisloe Cup on his coffee table.
