I remember arriving at Twickenham for the first time, for a game against Barbarians in 1989, and all those childhood memories came rushing back, of growing up and watching the All Blacks in the early hours with a cup of hot chocolate. As a young boy dreaming of one day being an All Black you’d lie in bed at night, dreaming of pulling on the shirt and running out at Twickenham, or Cardiff Arms Park – the great stadiums of the world. To be there, to run out on to that pitch, to see everyone eating their cucumber sandwiches in the car park as we drove in, those are great memories.
Eddie Jones: ‘New Zealand will always expect to win. It’s in their blood’
My next time at Twickenham was at the 1991 World Cup. By then I’d played 58 times for my country. We had a pretty experienced team, but for most of us including myself it was the first time we’d played against an Englishman. In those days England were quite different to us, in terms of the way they scrummaged, the way they packed the ruck, the line-outs. So we had to do a lot of specific preparations for that game. We came out on top that day, but by the time I came back again in 1993 England were a different prospect.
We were a developing team in those days, with a lot of young players. We’d played all right during that tour, and very well against Scotland the week before, but we lacked a bit of experience. You forget how good England were in those days. We weren’t a very large team and they were a lot bigger than us: Martin Johnson, Ben Clarke, Tim Rodber, these guys would tower over us. They were big, experienced, and we didn’t take our opportunities.
We lost 15-9, but that match was a real turning point for us. Looking back now, it was a game that showed us what we needed to do if we were going to be competitive going forward. It hurt at the time, for sure. That day just happened to be the reunion of the 1983 and 1973 teams who had beaten the All Blacks also, so the dinner that night was hard work. But we remembered that, and some of the comments we got that night, and going forward the mantra was, “Remember 93”. The next time we played England was in the semi-finals of the 1995 World Cup, and going into that match we spoke a lot about what happened at Twickenham in 1993. We didn’t lose that one.
Twickenham’s got some mixed memories for me, but it’s certainly one of the iconic grounds of the world
By the time I got back to Twickenham in 1997 the new West Stand had been built, and I felt that changed the atmosphere a bit. I was the touring captain, but an old knee injury had flared up and I had to sit in the stands as we were lucky to get out of there with a 26-26 draw. It was a new experience, and one I didn’t find easy. I’ve had a lot of practice since, and I’ll be covering this year’s game for Sky – I’m a lot more comfortable now with being a spectator. The crowd was very passionate, very loyal, and these days I enjoy the atmosphere at Twickenham. That was a tour I shouldn’t have come on – I’d had an operation on my knee in June or July and we thought it had come right, but I wasn’t fit enough to play, and that was the end of my international career.
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When I play golf, my favourite courses are the ones I’ve played well on. It’s the same with rugby: my favourite ground in the world is Loftus Versfeld, because we won a series there. I like grounds where the fans are very close to you, like Newlands or Loftus. I used to love Cardiff Arms. Twickenham’s got some mixed memories for me, but it’s certainly one of the iconic grounds of the world.
It’s been an interesting year for the All Blacks. We’ve lost a game, which isn’t normal, but I think the team is in good shape. There is a lot of depth in the squad, and a lot of the young guys have had a lot of Test minutes, which is going to be hugely beneficial at the World Cup next year. You’d like to think the guys will have another win to celebrate at Twickenham this weekend, but with all the new players in the England team it’s hard to know what to expect. As I learned, at Twickenham anything can happen.