NZHistory, New Zealand history online - world cup

Steve Sumner at the 1982 Soccer World Cup

To view as slideshow you will need to Download latest Flash Player.

Images of the New Zealand All Whites captain Steve Sumner in action at the finals of the 1982 Soccer World Cup.

Steve Sumner collection

del.icio.us Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

Media Group:

interactive

NZ history:

1982 Football World Cup

tags:

world cup

soccer

All Whites beat Australia on road to Spain

The New Zealand football team’s 2–0 victory in Sydney was a defining moment in an epic qualifying campaign for the 1982 World Cup finals. The team was the first from this country to make it to the finals of the sport’s premier international tournament. Local football fans had to wait 27 long years before another New Zealand team reached the finals by defeating Bahrain 1–0 in a two-legged qualification play-off in 2009.

The ‘All Whites’, as the team became known, had begun their campaign with a 3–3 draw against Australia in Auckland on 25 April, followed by wins in Fiji and Indonesia and a draw in Taiwan. The rematch between the trans-Tasman rivals at the famous Sydney Cricket Ground would effectively decide which team progressed to the second qualifying round against the three Asian group winners. A first-half strike from Steve Wooddin and a thunderous long-range header from combative midfielder Grant Turner sealed a comprehensive win, and convinced many New Zealand soccer fans that we finally had a team capable of competing on the world stage.

The All Whites would have to play a further 10 games, culminating with a heart-stopping play-off victory over China in Singapore, to clinch qualification. At the World Cup finals in Spain in June 1982, the New Zealanders earned respect for their competitive displays, despite losing their three group matches against Brazil, the Soviet Union and Scotland.

Image: the All Whites squad in April 1981

Further information - 1987 Rugby World Cup

This web feature was written by David Green and produced by the NZHistory.net.nz team.

Books

Gerald Davies, The history of the Rugby World Cup, Viking, Melbourne, 2003
Joseph Romanos, The Judas game: the betrayal of New Zealand rugby, Darius Press, Wellington, 2002
Derek Wyatt, Rugby disunion, Victor Gollancz, London, 1995
Spiro Zavos, Watching the Rugby World Cup, Awa Press, Wellington, 2007

Rugby News world cup preview issue, 1987

The 1987 Rugby World Cup preview edition of Rugby News (NZ)

The All Black with the number seven on his back is Jock Hobbs, a former captain of the team and now chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union. He had actually retired by the time of the 1987 World Cup and was replaced at this position by Michael Jones (who scored the first try of the tournament).

The other All Black pictured is John Kirwan, who scored a famous try against Italy in the first game of the World Cup. He was passed the ball following the Italians' kick-off and ran more than 80 metres to score, side-stepping about half the Italian team as he did so. He also scored a crucial try, despite a hamstring injury, in the final against France.

Image: Rugby relics

del.icio.us Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

rugby

all blacks

world cup

Rugby News world cup cover, July 1987

This cover of Rugby News features the iconic image of All Black captain David Kirk holding the Webb Ellis Cup.

Rugby relics

del.icio.us Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

Rugby News world cup cover, June 1987

Cover of Rugby News (UK), June 1987

The dots on the map, at first glance, mark the cities where matches were played. Yet there are three in far north Queensland and one in Central Otago where no matches were played. Also, several actual New Zealand venues are missing. Was it drawn by someone who did not know Antipodean geography?

Rugby relics

del.icio.us Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

David Kirk kisses the Webb Ellis Cup, 1987

All Black captain David Kirk with the Webb Ellis Cup at Eden Park after the Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and France on 20 June 1987. The All Blacks won 29–9.

Alexander Turnbull Library,
Reference no: EP/1987/2998/22-F
Further information and copies of this image may be obtained from the Library through its Timeframes website
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

del.icio.us Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

New Zealand's World Cup book, 1982

New Zealand’s World Cup: the inside story, by the coaching duo John Adshead and Kevin Fallon ('as told to Armin Lindenberg'), was one of several books published in 1982 to celebrate the All Whites’ epic qualifying campaign and finals’ appearance. The cover featured a young Ricki Herbert – himself now the national team coach – celebrating his match-winning goal against China at Mount Smart Stadium.

Paul Hamer private collection

del.icio.us Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

world cup

soccer

The World Cup - New Zealand cricket

A brief history

New Zealand's Black Caps were 1 of 16 teams competing in the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies during March and April 2007. The teams are divided into four groups of four, with the top two teams in each group then competing in a 'Super 8' format to determine the semi-finalists.

The first men's world tournament was played in 1975. The first three tournaments were all held in England, with the final played at Lord's in London, which is regarded as the home of cricket. The World Cup has since been played in other countries, with New Zealand co-hosting the 1992 tournament with Australia. Playing in front of enthusiastic home crowds, New Zealand won its first seven games, but was beaten in the semi-finals by the eventual winners, Pakistan. New Zealand has reached the semi-finals final of the World Cup on four other occasions (1975, 1979, 1999 and 2007).

Five nations have won the World Cup. Australia is the most successful, having won on four occasions. In winning the 2007 final Australia clocked up an incredible 29 wins in a row, a run stretching back to the 1999 tournament in England. The West Indies have triumphed twice, while India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have each won once.

A Women's Cricket World Cup has been held since 1973. New Zealand lost the 1993 and 1997 finals, before triumphing over Australia in 2000. The Australian women have dominated this event, appearing in seven of the eight finals and winning it on five occasions.

Some individual and team records in the World Cup

Cricket is a sport dominated by statistics; records are kept on every aspect of the game. Here are a few highlights from World Cup history.

Batting records

Sachin Tendulkar (India) has the highest run total, with 1796 runs overall, and he also holds the record for the most runs in a single tournament, scoring 673 in the 2003 World Cup.
New Zealand's most successful World Cup batsman is Stephen Fleming with a total of 1075 runs. During the 2007 World Cup, Scott Styris became the most successful New Zealand batsman in a single tournament, scoring 499 runs and surpassing Martin Crowe's previous record of 456 runs, which were scored during the 1992 World Cup. Crowe was the 1992 tournament's top run scorer, a feat rewarded with the Player of the Tournament title.
Gary Kirsten (South Africa) scored 186 not out against the United Arab Emirates in 1996.
New Zealand's highest scorer in a game is Glenn Turner, with 171 not out against East Africa in 1975.
Matthew Hayden of Australia scored the fastest century in World Cup history, taking only 66 balls to reach the milestone against South Africa in 2007.
Brendan McCullum of New Zealand took only 20 balls to score the fastest 50 in World Cup history, in 2007 against Canada.
Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly of India put on 318 runs for the second wicket against Sri Lanka in 1999.
New Zealand's highest partnership is for the fourth wicket versus Australia in 1996 when Lee Germon and Chris Harris combined to score 168 runs.

Bowling records

Glenn McGrath of Australia has dominated the bowling records for the World Cup, having captured more wickets than anybody else (71), and he has taken the most wickets in a single tournament, capturing 26 wickets in his final World Cup in 2007. He also holds the record for the best match figures of 7/15.
New Zealand's best match figures belong to Shane Bond who took 6/23 against Australia in 2003.
Chris Harris (32 wickets) holds the record for the most World Cup wickets by a New Zealander.

Highs and lows

India piled on 413/5 against Bermuda in 2007. India's winning margin – 257 runs – is the highest of all one-day international games.
Canada was bowled out for just 36 against Sri Lanka in 2003.
New Zealand's highest total at the World Cup is 363/5, scored against Canada in 2007.
New Zealand's lowest total is 112, scored against Australia in 2003.

The 1987 Rugby World Cup

Although international rugby has been played for well over a century, the Rugby World Cup is a relatively recent phenomenon. The first tournament took place in May and June 1987, with games played in both New Zealand and Australia. The final was held at Eden Park, Auckland, on 20 June, where the home team beat France to become the inaugural holders of the Webb Ellis Cup.

David Kirk kisses rugby's world cup

In a country where rugby is often referred to as a religion, hosting and winning the first Rugby World Cup was certainly a big deal. For much of the 20th century the All Blacks had been regarded as one of the best teams in international rugby, but without a world cup such claims were difficult to prove. Before 2011's triumph New Zealand had not won the four-yearly competition since 1987, a fact that weighed heavy on the hearts and minds of New Zealand fans. Photographs of captain David Kirk holding the Webb Ellis Cup aloft in 1987 became one of our most famous sporting images. Until Richie McCaw was able to repeat the scene in October 2011 many feared Kirk's image would remain our only proof of rugby supremacy.

In a remarkable case of history repeating itself the 2011 tournament (once more hosted by New Zealand) saw the same four teams compete in the semi-finals - New Zealand, Australia, Wales and France - and like 1987 the same two - New Zealand and France squared off in the final at Eden Park. This proved to be a much closer game than the 1987 final and indeed closer than most predicted. The All Blacks prevailed 8-7 in the lowest scoring final in the tournament's history.

What is less well known is how the first Rugby World Cup came about. This fascinating story highlights a number of key themes, including the struggle between the amateur ideal and creeping professionalism, tensions between the British home unions and southern hemisphere countries, and international protests over sporting contacts with South Africa. The story begins with a look at the 19th-century origins of international rugby.

NZHistory, New Zealand history online - world cup

Steve Sumner at the 1982 Soccer World Cup

All Whites beat Australia on road to Spain

Further information - 1987 Rugby World Cup

Links

Books

Rugby News world cup preview issue, 1987

Rugby News world cup cover, July 1987

Rugby News world cup cover, June 1987

David Kirk kisses the Webb Ellis Cup, 1987

New Zealand's World Cup book, 1982

The World Cup - New Zealand cricket

A brief history

Some individual and team records in the World Cup

The 1987 Rugby World Cup