The first first-class game of rugby was played at Forsyth Barr Stadium two years ago today when North Otago beat West Coast. Sports reporter Steve Hepburn looks back at the sporting spectacles in the first two years at the stadium.
Stats
Games played: 67.
Rugby: 49.
Football: 16.
Rugby league: 2.
Spectators: 485,771 (average: 7259).
Biggest crowd: 29,000, All Blacks v Springboks, September 2012.
Best games
Highlanders 25
Sharks 22
May 2013
The Highlanders had lost eight straight and the Sharks were desperate for a win. The Highlanders scored a great try through Colin Slade and somehow hung on - in Brad Thorn's 100th game at this level - to finally grab a win.
Highlanders 27
Crusaders 24
March 2012
The first game in the stadium for the Highlanders and a full house roars approval as the Highlanders get behind but then clinch the game with a late Hosea Gear try.
Phoenix 2
Roar 0
December 2011
The Phoenix was having its usual inconsistent season but was all over defending champion Roar, from Brisbane, thanks to an early Paul Ifill goal and then scored again near the end to deservedly seal the win.
Worst games
All Blacks 21
Springboks 11
September 2012
Sure, it was a great atmosphere, but as a game was very average. All Blacks not quite on song with an out-of-sorts Piri Weepu not helping matters. Aaron Smith came on and scored the winning try. Springboks would have won if they had kicked their goals.
Waikato United 6
Otago United 1
December 2012
Waikato was supposed to be in disarray, with players walking out and the coach departing. But adversity often galvanises teams and it was all over a disjointed home team.
Brumbies 30
Highlanders 19
April 2013
The Brumbies scored a soft try in the opening minutes and the Highlanders failed to fire a shot, dropping balls seemingly at will.
Best atmospheres
Ireland 36
Italy 6
World Cup, October 2011
Absolutely extraordinary atmosphere. The stadium was a sea of green, although most of the Irish were from Dunedin. City ended its World Cup adventure with a bang.
England 13
Argentina 9
World Cup, September 2011
First World Cup game in stadium and fantastic. Amazing Argentine fans and thrilling game that went to the wire. Shocking goalkicking added to the drama.
Roar 5
Phoenix 1
August 2011
In only the second real game of any sport in the stadium, the football was almost secondary as everyone got used to the new lines and being so close to the field. Strange how the same two teams came back four months later and 10,000 fewer people turned up.
Controversies
Clockwatch, Crusaders v Highlanders, March 2012
No-one seemed to know what was going on as the clock at the stadium was not in tune with the official clock. Highlanders kicked it out three times to end the game, only for it to continue. Eventually, time ran out and the Highlanders had a win.
Goalkicking
Kicking indoors with no wind to worry about would surely be a cakewalk for the best kickers. But not for the likes of Jonny Wilkinson and Morne Steyn.
Wilkinson said the variable in goalkicking at the stadium was that there was no variable. He never seemed to like kicking there and sparked more controversy when an English coach swapped balls when Wilkinson was about to kick.
The Wiki tackle
Not so much a controversy as something out of the ordinary. Warriors trainer Ruben Wiki felled a streaker at halftime in a Warriors match earlier this year with a classic tackle. The feat was repeated a few months later by AJ the chicken, a Highlanders mascot.
Wish list
NRL game
The Warriors drew more than 15,000 to a pre-season game against the Broncos in February this year. Surely they must come back and play in a proper full NRL game. If the NRL can go to Darwin, Mudgee and Mackay, then surely it can come to little old Dunedin.
Final of any kind
The last final - in rugby anyway - to be played in Dunedin was in 1999. That is too long between drinks. It is a tall order in both the Super 15 and ITM Cup but one can only cross fingers.
First test v British Lions, 2017
The Bledisloe Cup is coming later this year and the only topper to that is a Lions test. The Lions are coming in four years. Will they play a test in Dunedin? One hopes so. Accommodation issues may be more of a factor than whether the stadium is big enough.
