The All Blacks are heavily favoured to beat Scotland on Saturday in their rugby tour finale and complete a grand slam 27 years after their only previous sweep through the British Isles.
Victory at Murrayfield against a nation they have never lost to would lift the 2005 New Zealand squad beside their 1978 predecessors as the only All Blacks touring teams in 100 years to top Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland.
”The grand slam’s only been achieved once before, and when we get to this stage we need to finish the job,” said New Zealand coach Graham Henry.
South Africa achieved four grand slams, the last in 1961, and Australia did it at their last attempt in 1984.
But shortened tours after 1978 meant New Zealand didn’t play all four home unions on a single tour until now, and the latest grand-slam quest was confirmed only in April when Wales was added to the schedule to commemorate the 1905 visit by the ”Originals”.
That first team to be dubbed the All Blacks, for the colour of their kit, played 35 matches in five months through Britain, France and North America and lost only once, 3-0 to Wales in a match that remains controversial. To their graves, Bob Deans claimed he scored the tying try, while Rhys Gabe said he tackled Deans short of the line.
Wales ended successive bids by the All Blacks in 19 35 and 1953, the last time the Red Dragons beat New Zealand.
The 1963/64 New Zealand side featured greats such as Wilson Whineray, Colin Meads, Don Clarke and Brian Lochore. They beat Ireland 6-5, Wales 6-0 and England 14-0 and looked set for the sweep, but their overconfidence was met by a gritty Scotland, who drew 0-0.
Two of New Zealand’s greatest teams went undefeated through the British Isles but were denied the chance of a grand slam. The 1924/25 ”Invincibles” were not invited by Scotland after an argument over gate-takings with the 1905 side, and the 1967 team under Lochore was prevented from playing Ireland because of a foot-and-mouth outbreak.
An Ireland side with Willie John McBride, Mike Gibson and Fergus Slattery trumped the 1972/73 All Blacks in a 10-10 draw.
The All Blacks’ sixth grand-slam attempt under Mourie and coach Jack Gleeson in 1978 finally ended successfully. Ireland were beaten 10-6, Wales 13-12, England 16-6, and Scotland 18-9 among 17 wins in 18 matches.
Again, the Wales Test provided lasting infamy. Down 12-11, All Blacks lock Andy Haden deliberately dived out of a line-out to milk a penalty from English referee Roger Quittenton. The penalty was given, but for Wales lock Geoff Wheel illegally jumping off Frank Oliver’s shoulder, not Haden’s theatre.
Brian McKechnie converted the match-winning penalty, and found himself in the middle of more controversy three years later in a one-day cricket match, when Australia’s Trevor Chappell bowled underarm to prevent McKechnie hitting the winning runs.
South Africa
South Africa’s grand-slam bids started with the 1906/07 tour.
The first Springboks gave Wales their only home loss from 1900 to 1911, but they were undone by a loss to Scotland and draw with England.
Billy Millar led the Boks in 1912/13, and achieved the grand slam by knocking off Scotland 16-0, demolishing Ireland 38-0 with 10 tries, making a penalty to beat Wales 3-0, and topping England 9-3, and even added France 38-5 among 24 wins in 27 games.
The 1931/32 Boks won 23 of their 26 matches, but halves Danie Craven and Benny Osler guided dour 10-man rugby in awful weather to ground past Wales and Ireland 8-3, England 7-0 and Scotland 6-3.
Twenty years later, they dazzled under coach Danie Craven and captain Hennie Muller, demolishing Scotland 44-0, Ireland 17-5, Wales 6-3 and England 8-3 and adding France 25-3. They played 31 and won 30.
After beating the All Blacks 2-1 in a four-Test home series, the Springboks ventured north in 1960/61, seeking their fourth grand slam. But it wasn’t easy. They beat Wales 3-0 after a scoreless second half, beat England 5-0 with a first-half try converted by Frik du Preez on debut, downed Scotland 12-5, and beat England 8-3 with an injury-time try. The following year they would also clean sweep the British Lions.
The 1969/70 side, amid anti-apartheid protests, failed to win a Test. Then a grand-slam bid wasn’t scheduled until last year, and South Africa crashed in the second Test against Ireland 17-12. They also lost to England.
Australia’s first attempt ended before it began, when the Wallabies arrived in 1939. The next day England declared war on Germany.
In 1947/48, the Wallabies stumbled against Wales, failed to win all their Tests in 1957/58, beat only Wales and England in 1966/67, and beat only Ireland in 1975/76 and 1981/82.
But in 1984, Andrew Slack’s Wallabies beat England 19-3, edged Ireland 16-9, Wales 28-9 with a pushover try, and Scotland 37-12 for the grand slam. Star flyhalf Mark Ella scored a try in all four Tests, and retired at age 25, with nothing left to prove. — Sapa-AP