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Kiwi of the Week

Bernard Freyberg

A First World War hero and commander of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Bernard Freyberg was British-born but New Zealand-raised. He proved to be a charismatic and popular military leader who would later serve a term as Governor-General

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Today in History

20 June

1987 All Blacks win the first World Cup

With tries to Michael Jones, John Kirwan and captain David Kirk, the All Blacks defeated France 29-9 at Eden Park. Kirk became the first (and so far only) All Black captain to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy.

The first Rugby World Cup was hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Rugby powerhouse South Africa did not compete due to the international sports boycott that was in place because of its apartheid policies.

In the opening match of the tournament All Black winger John Kirwan ran almost the length of the field, beating most of the Italian team to score a memorable try. The All Blacks won 70-6 and went on to top their pool with comfortable wins over Fiji and Argentina. Their form carried over into the knock-out phase where Scotland was defeated 30-3 and Wales 49-6 before the final showdown with France.

The World Cup has since proven to be an elusive holy grail for New Zealand players and fans. Despite dominating the world rankings, 1987 remains the All Blacks' only World Cup success. The closest they have come to repeating their 1987 victory came in the 1995 final when they lost in extra-time to South Africa. The All Blacks have also suffered three semi-final defeats: in 1991, 1999 and 2003. In the 2007 tournament they recorded their worst-ever result in World Cups when they were defeated by France in the quarter-finals.

Image ref: BBC