Classic Encounters - Wallabies vs All Blacks 2000

In front of a World Record attendance of 109,874 in July 2000, Stadium Australia witnessed one of the greatest games of rugby to ever be played.

The All Blacks vs the Wallabies in Bledisloe One will forever be remembered for the epic nature of a contest that was an incredible advert for rugby. It was a thrilling game that went back and forward until literally the last minute, and beyond.

New Zealand got off to a fyling start with stars like Christian Cullen, Jonah Lomu and Tana Umaga terrorizing the Aussies with some quickfire tries, taking the score to 24-0 after 6 minutes.

Australia staged a remarkable come back though thanks in part to two Stirling Mortlock tries and by half time the scores were equal at 24-24.

After the break the Aussies took the lead with a penalty, before Justin Marshall scored a brilliant individual effort that knocked the wind out of the rejuvenated Aussies' sails.

When Jeremy Paul scored for the Wallabies with time almost up, it looked like they had pulled off a memorable comeback that the record home crowd would celebrate for years to come. It looked as though the game would end 35-34, with the courageous Wallabies coming out on top.

Superstar Jonah Lomu put a dampener on the Australian celebrations though, scoring a dramatic late try that came from an excellent pass over the top by Taine Randell. The big man got the space he needed and brushed off flyhalf Stephen Larkham's attempted tackle with ease, going over to clinch victory and see his team finish off what they started in the first 6 minutes of the game.

One of the games of the century, this Tri Nations classic will be remembered for years to come as a fiercely contested battle that went back and forth for the full 82 mins.

Final Score: 39-35 to New Zealand

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Classic Encounters - Wales vs All Blacks 2004

As a highly entertaining year of rugby comes to an end, we feel we've done our best to cover every major rugby event from around the world. From the Super 14 final, where Bryan Habana scored a memorable last minute winner for the Bulls, to the World Cup where we saw the powerful Springboks come out victorious in a tight final encounter with the courageous English.

Near the end of this year we've been covering highlights from the European scene, with the Heineken Cup, French leagues and the UK Domestic competitions and IRB Sevens serving up some quality action. Some fantastic individual tries as well as a few unsavoury incidents have kept us busy, but it's been great fun and we hope you've enjoyed it.

In 2008 we'll bring you more of the same, and things will keep getting better here on Rugbydump so stick around and remember that without your continued support, we'd cease to exist. Here's to a fantastic New Year and looking forward to more quality rugby from around the world.

Seeing as we've covered the good stuff from 2007, here's a look back a little further, to November 2004, when the touring All Blacks met Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The game was a classic, with all the intensity and atmosphere accustomed to a meeting of the two nations that both share a huge amount of pride and rugby history.

Joe Rokocoko scored one of the best tries witnessed at the Millennium Stadium yet. The dummy to kick threw the defender off, allowing Smokin Joe to put the foot down and fly away for a great five points.

The game went back and forth, and in the end the All Blacks came out on top 26-25, beating the Welsh by just the solitary point.


Time: 07:53
Buck Rogers by Feeder

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