Zinzan Brooke is adamant the 1995 Rugby World Cup final against the Springboks “was not a level playing field” due to food poisoning hitting the New Zealand camp.
speaking The good, the bad, rugby ANZ In the podcast, the former All Blacks No 8 reflected on the infamous saga and the impact it had on the Kiwis’ extra-time loss at Ellis Park.
“No… (it) was definitely not a level playing field,” Brooke said of host Andy Rowe. “That’s right. It was just one of those things. Yes. We could have won that game.
“But I think it may have happened for the right reasons, but it certainly wasn’t a level playing field.”
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In the build-up to the final, 27 out of 35 members of the All Blacks squad fell ill. Brooke recalls getting sick after a team lunch.
“I think the last time we had lunch was on a Thursday afternoon. “It was good,” he said. “Well, not when it came out. It wasn’t good. Yes, I filled the boot, but it came out quickly.”
Although Brooke acknowledged the frustration, he returned to South Africa the following year and noted that the historic series win over the Boks provided some measure of salvation.
“It was really beautiful to win the Test series and that soothes me, you know, it says equality,” he said.
Reflecting on the intensity of the 1996 tour, Brooke said: “I was really exhausted, but I thought, ‘Shhh, we did it.’ That was the moment I thought, ‘Yes, I did it!’ And to me, that just closes a huge door in life.”
Photo: Mike Hewitt/Allsport/Getty Images
