David Campese
Encyclopedia
David Ian Campese also known as Campo, is a former Australia
n rugby union
player. Campese was capped
by the Wallabies
101 times, and held the world record for the most tries in test matches (64) until Daisuke Ohata
scored his 65th try playing for Japan on 14 May 2006. He was voted player of the tournament at the 1991 Rugby World Cup
after scoring nine tries in tests that season and six in the tournament. He is famous for his "goose-step" — a hitch-kick motion which left opponents stumbling to try to tackle him.
in his late teens and early stages of his professional career. After one year playing fourth grade for the Queanbeyan Whites, he was elevated to first grade club rugby. After only three years playing rugby union for the Queanbeyan Whites, at age 19, he was selected at fullback for the Australian under 21 side.
first exposure to Campese was at an Australian under 21s game against . Dwyer recalled in his autobiography, The Winning Way, that Campese had "cut the Fijian defence to shreds". One week later against the New Zealand under 21s, Campese scored a tremendous try to the astonishment of the Sydney crowd. In the book, David Campese, former Australian coach Alan Jones recalls,
Wallaby star Mark Ella
, at that juncture, unaware of Campese's existence, would come to hear much about Campese's efforts. In his book, Running Rugby, Ella recalls,
Shortly after Campese's debut for the Australian under 21 side, as many as ten Australian players made themselves unavailable for an upcoming Australian tour to New Zealand. Despite being short on players, then Australian coach Bob Dwyer had stated that Campese's selection was in part, based on the strength of his performances in Australia. As part of the Australian squad to tour New Zealand, Campese was to become an unlikely Test selection. Despite Australia's then most accomplished winger, Brendan Moon, making himself unavailable for the tour to New Zealand, two other Australian wingers of proven ability, Peter Grigg and Mick Martin
, were to tour New Zealand making a Test selection unlikely for Campese. However, Campese continued his dazzling form in early provincial matches on tour, and at age 19, was chosen to play his first Test match for Australia.
and responded by saying "Stu who?" Such a statement came as a shock to the New Zealand press, who were quick to write Campese as a brash and arrogant young player. Unbeknownst to all at the time, Campese had in fact not heard of Stu Wilson. Campese later mentioned when interviewed for a video biography of his rugby union life that he had not heard of Stu Wilson because of his rugby league
background, and that he had not intended to appear dismissive of the player's talents. Stu Wilson, however, was aware of Campese's comments which served as motivation for him to put the young Australian in his place. However, Campese would go on to make a tremendous impression on New Zealand soil by outfoxing the legendary Wilson, widely regarded then as the best winger in the world at the time, by utilizing the goose-step. In his autobiography, On A Wing And A Prayer, Campese was quick to play down the significance of his success against Wilson:
He would later add, "I had no discipline, was very young and wanted to do everything myself." Campese had, in fact, tried to pick up the ball with one hand in the first test and knocked on. Later he tried to change the ball in his hands when running towards defender, Allan Hewson
, and dropped the ball. These were a testament to Campese's unpredictability. However, he did score his first international try in a significant fashion. Campese gathered a chip-kick from Mark Ella
late in the game, signifying the beginning of a partnership that would bring great success to Australia for years to come.
But Campese's opinions on his own performances were not shared by Wilson, who would later go on to say that it was an honour to have played against Campese:
Campese was a significant part of a new Australian side trying to pioneer an exciting running game designed by backline specialist Bob Dwyer
. And in the second test Campese was quick to assert himself, scoring one try before setting up Glen Ella for a second. Australia would go on to win the game 19–16. The series had now come alive at 1–1 and a crowd of 52,000 was crammed into Eden Park
to see the final game. With Australia leading after half-time, Campese was quick to create some controversy by making a sensational break that led to a disallowed try. Scottish referee Alan Howie had ruled Campese's pass was thrown forward, a decision that was even contested by the All Black press, who called it a "flat pass". The try would have put Australia 18–6 ahead, but the momentum swung New Zealand's way and they ended up winning 33–18.
The Australian team, however, made a positive impression on the New Zealand public during the tour and Campese was among those celebrated for their entertaining style of play. Terry McLean, writing in the New Zealand Herald wrote after the tour that Campese "could side-step his way out of a sealed paper bag." Regarding Campese's early impressions on New Zealand soil, former All Black breakaway Graham Mourie
would compliment him by saying:
Campese, however, was dazzling with his efforts in the second game. So much so, that then established Australian fullback, Roger Gould
(who did not play in the game due to injury) would later confess to feeling a "chill wind" as he watched the match on television. Campese and Mark Ella linked together to create the try of the series. Playing at fullback, Campese beat two defenders who had him hemmed in on the sideline. He beat the second (Bernardo Miguens) with a well executed goose-step. Bob Dwyer
would later remark that of all Campese's tries, that was the one to remember. In his book, The Winning Way, Dwyer wrote of Campese's effective goose-step,
Campese, however, would show less than brilliance against in their one-off match in 1983 despite setting Simon Poidevin
up for a try. Entrusted with the goal-kicking duties, as well as the fullback role, Campese failed to manage a single success in four attempts at the sticks. This was in contrast to New Zealand's Allan Hewson
, a renowned sharp shooter in front of the sticks, who managed five from six attempts at the goals. Bob Dwyer later said: "If we had been able to take even the conversion points it would have given us heart." Australian captain Mark Ella seriously contemplated replacing Campese and attempting the kicking duties himself, but he later reflected: "Who's to say I'd have done any better?" Campese summed up his disappointment by exclaiming in his autobiography: "I felt like kicking myself but I probably would have missed." Campese's positional play, as fullback, was also found wanting in the game, as All Black centre Steven Pokere's kicking found Campese out several times.
It was, for Campese, his first experience in being a target for criticism in the media. Campese recalls in his book, My Game Your Game:
Campese was to later redeem himself against Italy, where a day after celebrating his 21st birthday, he managed to land three conversions and a penalty. Bob Dwyer earlier suggested that Campese have another try at kicking after sensing he was in good form. On the test eve Dwyer stated: "If David starts well, he'll kick well all day. But conversely, if he starts badly, then that's the end of him." Campese continued with the kicking responsibilities in a series against , but played a diminished role in the games as Australia elected a less expansive style of play. The safety-first style of rugby was not one suited to maximise the capabilities of the tricky winger.
" with the side which included Campese as well as Mark Ella
, Nick Farr-Jones
and Michael Lynagh
. To this day, the 1984 series remains the only time the Wallabies have completed the Grand Slam.
. Ella was quick to run in support, but was marked by English debutant Stuart Barnes
. Running out of space and about to be bundled into touch, Campese lofted a pass to Simon Poidevin
, who scored the final try. Australia won 19–3.
trying to stop the try, Poidevin hesitated, was caught in two minds and ended up throwing a forward pass to Burke, bombing what should have been a certain try.
Later on the second half, Campese gathered a wayward pass by Roger Gould before stepping past one defender and keeping the ball alive after being tackled. The ball found its way to Mark Ella on the left wing, who looped Campese before he beat a defender. As Ella ran along the wing, Campese was quick to get up and support Ella, who kicked the ball up-field for Campese to run on to. The ball stopped a metre or so before the line, and Campese, needing a deft touch of the boot to get the ball over the line and fall over it, was unable to finish off the try in a desperately close miss.
Campese would repay Ella later, however, by gifting Ella a simple try. With five minutes left and the scores tied at 9–9, Ella scored the try he considered the most important of his career. After second-rower Steve Cutler
won the ball at a line-out, Ella ran straight at his opposite number Paul Dean, as far as the advantage line. The Irish open-side flanker was slow to move up on Ella, and Deans, who wanted to mark Michael Lynagh, had to cover Ella. As this happened Ella slipped a short-ball to Michael Lynagh leading to a break. Lynagh neatly unloaded to Matt Burke, running in from the blind-side wing. Burke was then tackled 10 metres from the tryline but managed to pass to Campese, who had two defenders trying to stop him. Renowned in his team for his love of try-scoring, Campese with his talent for deceiving defenders, could have scored the try. Instead he side-stepped inside, confusing the defender most likely to tackle him, and allowing himself to be tackled by the second defender while he slipped a pass to Mark Ella, in support as always, who was completely unmarked and scored his second try of the tour.
The book Wallaby Gold documents Ella's recollection of the crucial game-winning try:
, David Campese has often remarked of his attention to detail, his obsession of knowing everything about the opposition, and being able to exploit what may be a potential weakness in the opposition. He often uses the example of the Welsh game from 1984 to prove this. Jones had learned through his sources, that Eddie Butler
, the Welsh number 8, had not played a game for three weeks and felt Australia should utilise the blind-side. "As a tactician, one of Jones' strong points was his ability to spot opposition weaknesses." Campese wrote in his tribute book David Campese,
As Australian number 8 Steven Tuynman took the ball from the back of the scrum, he searched for Nick Farr-Jones, utilizing the blind under Jones' command. Farr-Jones occupied Campese opposite winger and passed the ball to him, allowing Campese to run along the left wing. At the start of his run, Campese was able to run right past Eddie Butler, who was unable to make the defending tackle. But Campese's run was not over yet, he swerved past the Welsh fullback, and executed a wonderful sidestep to get past the Welsh inside center. Campese's sidestep led him toward a group of defenders, so he then offloaded to Simon Poidevin, who quickly passed the ball to Michael Lynagh who scored an easy try under the post. Australia went on to win 28–9 in one of their greatest victories at the time.
to play the Scottish team. Campese scored two tries and perhaps could have scored three. The first required little effort as Roger Gould crashed into two defenders and got a pass off to Andrew Slack
, who passed to Campese, who was completely unmarked to run into the corner for the simplest of tries. Campese's counter-attacking, in particular, was a highlight of the Scotland game. Early on he had caught a high ball running backwards before proceeding to run horizontally to beat the Scottish open-side flanker, then swerving to beat the Scottish inside center, before side-stepping the Scottish outside center. Campese then passed to Ella, who uncharacteristically fumbled the ball, but the signs were ominous that Campese was at his best.
Later on in the second half, Roger Gould made a break and had the chance to pass to Campese, who most likely would have scored. Gould, however, had promised Mark Ella his 4th try for the tour so he may have a Grand Slam of tries. Instead of going outside to Campese, he went inside to Ella, who was left unmarked as the Scottish five-eighth had expected Gould to pass to Campese. Gould has often joked at how he had to justify to Campese the reasoning behind not giving him a try, knowing all too well Campo loves his tries.
Toward the end of the game Campese booted the ball downfield. Australia's other winger, Peter Grigg, missed a tackle, allowing Scotland a possible chance to counter-attack. Grigg ran back to fix the mess he felt he created and intercepted the ball from Scottish prop Ian Milne. Grigg threw the ball to Ella, who in turn threw it to Campese. Campese had space to run with, and was able to beat the Scottish defender while passing to Australian number eight Steve Tuynman on the wing. Campese swiftly ran to support Tuynman, who in being tackled got a pass off to Campese.
Bill McLaren
would go on to become one of Campese's biggest fans,
Years later when McLaren would pick his personal selections for an all-time rugby XV, he would go on to call David Campese the greatest rugby player he had ever seen.
inside out in the process, before Campese, opting not to run past Ackerman in the process of embarrassing him, but rather offered himself to be tackled before passing the ball to Michael Hawker for a try.
It was later revealed that Campese and Ackerman had encountered a few personal scrapes with one another during different moments of their careers. Ackerman had previously played club rugby in Canberra not long before the Barbarians game, and according to Mark Ella in his book, Running Rugby, the two men did not get along with each other. After the Wallabies 1984 win against Wales at Cardiff Arms Park
, Campese claimed Ackerman had buried his head in the dirt during the game, adding to a sense of tension between the two. This tension further increased between the two, as Ackerman bumped into David Campese, Michael Lynagh and then Australian coach, Alan Jones, as they were entering the Angel Hotel in Cardiff. Ackerman walked up to the Wallabies coach and said in the presence of the two Australian backs, after Australia had beaten Wales 28 points to 9, "Congratulations, I didn't think your backs were too good today." Ackerman also expressed that, "You can't say your players are better individually than ours. Man on man, there is little difference."
Ackerman's comments upset Alan Jones, who would later write a tribute to Campese in the book, David Campese, regarding Campese's retaliation with his zig-zagging run: "In particular, I shall never forget the Barbarians game at Cardiff Arms Park to end our Grand Slam tour of 1984. We weren't in such good shape – our discipline had surrendered to celebration after beating Scotland and we knew this was to be Europe's game of retribution against us. We seemed to be constantly counter-attacking to get out of trouble and then Campese struck. He made a break from within his own half, the defence came at him and he stepped left and right with remarkable speed. And in the twinkling of an eye, the try line was his.
But he had one defender to beat, the Welsh centre Robert Ackerman. Ackerman, unfortunately, had criticised the Australian victory after our crushing victory in the Test against Wales and Campo didn't have the words to retaliate then. But he retaliated now, with his feet and hands.
He turned Ackerman inside out, threatening to go past, then changing direction, offering himself to be tackled then accelerating away until the crowd erupted, first in disbelief, then in sheer amusement and joy at what they were seeing.
One yard from the line, Campo passed to Michael Hawker, and I'm sure, to this day, the pass was forward, but the referee knew he had seen artistry of incomparable dimension at work and the only reward he could offer was a try, which he duly did.
It's an image I'll always associate with Campese.
It remains for me the metaphor of his career."
In his book, Running Rugby, Mark Ella described Campese's desire to flaunt his talents and be a showman: "If Campese wanted to, I am sure he could have sprinted for the corner and scored the try. Instead, he ran straight at Ackerman. The Welshman obviously knew enough about Campese to realise it was useless to try and tackle him front-on. Instead, he did what I suggested earlier that any defender should do against Campese – he ran with him. It was then that Campese began to zigzag, forcing Ackerman to zigzag, too, looking over one shoulder after another to see which way Campese was heading. I was following about 20 metres behind and could not believe what was happening. I have no doubt that Campese turned it on to make a personal point with Ackerman. When the defence eventually closed in on him, Campese flicked a pass over his shoulder to Michael Hawker, who scored the try."
On an ABC special entitled, The Rise and Rise of Australian Rugby, Ackerman admitted Campese could have passed him at any stage if he wanted to: "My line of thinking was is all I was trying to do in that time was to stall him. At the end of the day if he wanted to Campo could have just burnt me off on the outside. But I was just looking for a bit of cover and as it happened I did stall him and he didn't score that one. I was the player he made a fool of if anybody needs to remember."
With Campese scoring tries at an amazing rate and providing Australia with a string of dazzling performances, Australian coach Alan Jones would, in typical Jones exaggeration, proclaim David Campese to be "the Bradman of rugby". Jones expressed that Campese had a very special talent, and nobody in rugby had more talent. Jones' proclamation was well documented by the Australia media, and ultimately had a detrimental affect on Campese. As the weight of expectation grew, so too did the criticisms for any mistake Campese made. In his autobiography, Campese explains, "When he called me 'the Bradman of rugby football' it was an extraordinary compliment to pay anyone, and it left me quite stunned when I first heard him use it. Higher praise would not be possible for a rugby player in Australia, and it really made me think. But the trouble was that when I made a mistake, and especially if it had been expensive, he would throw this phrase back at me, saying, 'I told people you were the Bradman of rugby and now you have let me down.'"
. There is a consensus belief that Campese played very well on the tour, despite many unsavory moments.
Campese asserted himself into the first test by kicking forward a loose pass from Nick Farr-Jones from which he went on to score a try. Later in the game he made a wide pass to Australian winger Matthew Burke, resulting in another Australian try giving them a 13–6 lead. Campese also had a forgettable moment in the Test when, playing at full back, he caught a high ball and was about to kick it when he stalled, began to have second thoughts and decided to run the ball. In his indecision he was tackled while attempting a suicidal pass to Matthew Burke, which landed near Burke's feet. Joe Stanley was quick to scoop up the ball, who came close to the try line before passing the ball to Mark Brooke-Cowden, leading to an All Black try. The Wallabies spent the last 10 or so minutes desperately defending their narrow lead. Fortunately for Campese, Australia won the game 13–12, as a loss to the Baby Blacks would have led to great criticisms in costing a game many thought Australia would easily win.
Australian coach Alan Jones, however, was tolerant of Campese's blunder stating that, "By scoring a try and setting up another, Campese more than cancelled out his late blemish." Jones later went public, stating that Campese would remain fullback for the remaining two Tests. A day after the first Test, a melancholy Campese glumly confessed, "I still feel sick about that pass. It was the worst moment of my life. I'll never forget the looks on the faces of the other guys." Campese remarked he once had been told if he ever started thinking what he was going to do before he took the field he should retire. "I was thinking too much before the Test," the instinctive genius admitted. "I listened to everybody. Then I went out simply to be rock-safe and not make a mistake." Narked by constant claims Campese was better suited to the wing, Alan Jones shot back at the New Zealand media claiming, "New Zealanders are trying to get into Campese's mind. They want him to feel flawed and erratic when he plays fullback."
Shortly after the first Test, the Australian team had a variety night, where each player had to 'dress up' and perform an act. Australian coach Alan Jones dressed as Al Jolson and gave a rendition of 'Swanee'. Australian winger Peter Grigg performed an act portraying a drunken New Zealand dairy farmer. Many other Wallabies dressed as professional wrestlers. But perhaps the most memorable performance came from Wallaby lock, Steve Cutler, who performed a Wallabies' version of then popular game show Sale of The Century
. His first question was "Who scored two tries at Athletic Park on Saturday?" Cutler enlightened the confused Wallabies with the answer. "Campo. He scored one for us and one for them."
In the second test Campese played what he felt was a poor game at fullback by dropping a few high bombs on a wet and dreary day. This led to some controversy as Campese would later claim that then Australian coach, Alan Jones, had made an insulting remark about him behind his back by telling his teammates after the game, "Don't worry, fellows, you played without a fullback today." This reportedly occurred behind while Campese was in the showers (Campese was often the first player to hit the showers). In his book, For Love Not Money, former Wallaby Simon Poidevin
refutes such claims by Campese, "Tales of Jonsey screaming at Campese in the dressing-room immediately after the game for the poor way he played that afternoon was absolute nonsense. Nothing at all was said by anyone for nearly three-quarters of an hour, and the only noise I can recall was that of tough men openly sobbing from disappointment."
Campese, with his delicate sensitivities, was upset at hearing what had allegedly happened. In his autobiography On A Wing and a Prayer, Campese asserts he later tried to apologize to Jones for his unintentional mistake, which resulted in a verbal barrage of insults from Jones which lasted many minutes. In Nick Farr-Jones' autobiography, Nick Farr-Jones, an account is given of Farr-Jones overhearing Jones' verbal barrage before attempting to pacify the situation, "Farr-Jones happened to be passing soon after Campese had gone in, and could hear snatches of Jones' words, no less forceful for having to penetrate the door. 'You've let me down,' he remembers Jones saying. 'I told the press you were the Bradman of rugby and now you've done this to me… I simply don't understand how you could play like that… you made a complete fool of yourself…' Etcetera." Farr-Jones eventually entered the room to defuse the situation.
Campese became dejected and sullen soon after, predicting he had played his last game at fullback for Australia. A few hours after his attempted apology, Campese declared to his close friend, Mark Ella, that he was now ready to retire from rugby. Ella, a close friend of Campese, insisted Campese continue to play rugby. Gordon Bray writes in the tribute book David Campese, "The world's rugby enthusiasts can be grateful that Mark Ella consoled his teammate that night."
Alan Jones refuted the accusations of slander saying, "That's just rubbish. I'm sure I've said to someone with a smile on my face we played without a fullback today. And I'm sure it was Campo, after he's probably done or two bad things and 15 good things. It would be like telling Miss World she was the ugliest person in the room when she knows full she's the best looking bird who's ever set foot in the building. But it wasn't that day. That wasn't the day for that sort of stuff. But it doesn't matter. It's part of the folklore of the whole deal and it's one man's word against another's."
Alan Jones selected Campese on the wing for the final test instead of fullback. With Campese on the wing, a young All Black named John Kirwan was to mark him for the first time. Kirwan had missed the 1984 Bledisloe series due to injury, Campese likewise in 1985, and 1986 was to be the first time the two would meet in what would become a great rivalry between the two great wingers. Campese remained quiet for most of the game, however, he did score a try late in the game. With Australia closing in on victory, Campese scored a try on the inside of Kirwan while Kirwan was concerned about the man outside of him, turning him inside out. It would not the only time Campese would do that to Kirwan. The try clinched the series. Australia's first series win on New Zealand soil since 1949. In the book, Path to Victory, Mark Ella writes: "It was good to see David Campese get that last try because by now he had no confidence at all. He was absolutely shot to pieces."
in 1987
. An injury impeded Campese's campaign and Australia's hopes were dashed with a semi-final loss to a Serge Blanco
-inspired France
, though Campese did score and take the world record for tries in the process.
Australia entered a slump after the World Cup and suffered heavy defeats in the Bledisloe Cup
and in 1988 Campo's opposite number John Kirwan gave him a runaround on many occasions, a mauling that severely affected his confidence.
Campese capped off the year scoring five tries in a European tour.
In the 1989 series against the British and Irish Lions
, which Australia was widely expected to win, Campese famously gifted a soft try to the Lions in the third test when he recklessly tried to run the ball from his own try line. This resulted in the Lions winning the test as well as the series.
Campo's corner, it came to be known. The patch of turf at the Paddington end of the Sydney Football Stadium, on the eastern side of the ground, where a wayward pass gave the Lions a try and catapulted wing genius David Campese into controversy. The event itself would become Campese's career low point for which he is still criticised to this day.
The Australian side had never won a series against the British and Irish Lions
at the time in 1989, and there was a general feeling amongst the Australian players that was about to change. Australia defeated the Lions easily in the first match, by utilising the boot of Michael Lynagh
to make the Lions forwards run around the paddock. Campese, however, played a diminished role in the win due to these tactics, a trend that would continue for much of the series. Australia would go on to lose the second game in a violent affair, leaving the series tied at 1–1, and setting the stage for the horrific moment that is often associated with Campese's fallibility.
Australia had struggled to a 12–9 lead early in the second half of the third game when Lions five-eighth Rob Andrew
missed with an attempted dropped goal. At that point, the game was being decided between the boots of Michael Lynagh
and the Lion's Gavin Hastings
. Campese had hardly seen the ball when he caught the ball in his in-goal and started off with a mind to counter attack. He was immediately confronted by Lions winger Ieuan Evans
before throwing a loose pass to fullback Greg Martin, who was completely unaware of Campese's surprising intentions. The ball struck Martin on the shoulder and bounced away. Evans, who had the mere job of falling on the ball, played the opportunist to score in a moment of complete disaster.
There was a sense of horror about what Campese had just done. Standard procedure on such an occasion is to simply ground the ball in the in-goal, which would have allowed Australia to restart play twenty-two metres downfield. With his tremendous boot, Campese could also have run the ball out of the in-goal and simply booted the ball far downfield and into touch. Rather than playing the percentages, Campese had failed in a seemingly mindless and illogical attempt to do something creative. However, Jack Pollard
, author of Australian Rugby: The Game And The Players, always maintained that Campese's idea that day was a good one. Pollard happened to be sitting adjacent to where the incident occurred, so he had a good view of it. He said that the Lions' defence on that side of the field was under-manned and that there was a real opportunity for a counterattack, which Campese obviously recognised. If Martin had taken the pass, Pollard said, Australia might have scored instead of the Lions. So in Pollard's view it was a clever move – just poorly executed. "It was my fault because I tried to step inside and pass at once, thinking that Evans would come with me," Campese wrote in his autobiography On a Wing and a Prayer. "In fact, when I passed, he was in between me and Martin, and when I threw such a hopeless pass he had a simple job in touching it down…. I still think the idea was perfectly sound, it was just that the execution was wrong."
Campese was devastated as Australia ended up losing 18–19 and thus lost the series. As Campese walked off the ground a fan shouted, "Hey Campo, that's another Test you've lost for Australia". It was a memory that would remain with him. Campese's fragile state of mind was not helped by, according to Campese, an after match snubbing by his team mates. According to Campese, none of his team mates spoke to him in the dressing room or offered a word of consolation. Many of them gave him solemn stares leaving the impression of what they thought of him. This deeply offended Campese, who felt as let down by his team mates as they were by his mistake. Campese has often reflected upon his appreciation of a few small words Australian coach Bob Dwyer offered to him after the game, "Mate, forget it. It's one of those things."
While Campese was widely blamed for losing the test and the series, coach Bob Dwyer said after the match: "I don't think that try cost us the game at all." The Australians were beaten in the forwards, unable to control a Lions pack spearheaded by backrowers Mike Teague and Dean Richards, prop David Sole and second rower Paul Ackford. The Australians were under pressure in the scrum, losing one with feed on the opposition line, and on several occasions were stripped of the ball at the breakdown. Campese himself had stated he felt the whole incident was beyond blown out of proportion, and that to single out one mistake in a game where many mistakes can be made is silly. Campese has often expressed his view that losing the tighthead on the opposition line was also a horrible mistake made at a crucial moment. Bob Dwyer has, in fact, in the past singled out the '89 Lions tour as a series which revealed an attitude in the Australian forwards which could be deemed "too soft". In essence, Campese's famous blunder may have been how the Lions series was lost, but not necessarily why.
The criticisms aimed at Campese after Campo's Corner were unrelenting in the ongoing weeks and months. Members of the Australian media and former Australian players called for his sacking. As a man who enjoyed the media spotlight, Campese felt a deep sense of offence that the media he had become accustomed to, no longer sought the Campese interview or his opinion, but were more content with criticising him. Former Australian captain, Andrew Slack, publicly blasted Campese in the papers fuming that, "You do not play Mickey Mouse rugby like that in the Green and Gold of Australia." Slack would go on to criticize Campese's time spent in Italy, claiming Campese had become ill-disciplined as a result of his time spent there. Slack referred to Campese's pass as "Spaghetti rugby". Australian rugby writer Greg Campbell queried if Campo was now a 'legend of liability'. Campese commented to Gordon Bray, the day after his mistake that he once again felt like retiring.
Campese would later give a logical viewpoint of his mistake in his autobiography — that being creative has led to an impressive number of tries, and that the risk of failure is something always at stake when one looks to be creative. Campese, after all, had succeeded with some of rugby's most brilliant runs and plays that were against the tide of play. "If you want an ordinary wing, that's fine, just don't look up the record books which tell you some players can score 30 or 40 tries in their career, and then wonder why your guys don't do that."
In response to the rush of criticisms aimed at Campese, Nick Farr-Jones, the then Australian captain, would write a letter to The Sydney Morning Herald
newspaper defending Campese:
However, the harsh reaction to Campese's error was not to subside. David Campese's brother, Mario, was later attacked outside a pub. When asked if he was the brother of David Campese, the simple answer of "yes" lead to a punch. It was not the first time his brother would be attacked. To protect Campese's sensitive frame of mind, Campese's family concealed his brother's attacking for months to prevent Campese from becoming more emotionally upset.
Two years later, during a dinner at the start of the world cup, in an official publication for the tournament, Campese noticed an advertisement for a music store. The full-page ad, for a range of rugby videos, featured a photograph of Campese with the heading reading, "Watch him fumble whenever you want." Campese later confessed he had a burning desire at the 1991 World Cup to leave new memories for the people who only wanted to ponder of the negatives of his game. A goal he undoubtedly achieved. However, Campo's Corner has been forever since linked with Campese's legacy of highs and lows. As a rugby player heavily into credit when weighing his positive contributions against his negative contributions to the game of rugby, people have tended to ponder upon his weaknesses; this is partly due to the strong memory of Campo's Corner.
, former Welsh great Barry John
said,
In 1991 Campese had perhaps the highest point of his career, being named Man of the Tournament for the World Cup. Campese was now one of the most dangerous players in World Rugby, devoid of the undisciplined tendencies that crept up from time to time earlier on in his career and still the tricky unpredictable winger that opposition wingers had nightmares of. Campese was so immense in Australia's success that Nick Farr-Jones would go on to say that Australia might not have won the World Cup if not for him. Campese scored tries against (2), (1), (2) in an exciting quarter-final and in the semi-final victory against the defending champions New Zealand. The match against New Zealand was, at the time, considered as important as any game in Australia's rugby history. As the All Blacks lined up to perform the haka, one man intently stood behind the goals, practicing his kicking in preparation for one of rugby's all-time great performances.
Campese scored the first Wallaby try in the 12th minute, drifting off the blind wing into the five-eighth position to take the first pass from the ruck. He then angled across field to turn his arch rival, John Kirwan, inside out before touching down. Many who saw the try were confounded as to why the All Black defenders allowed Campese to run such an angle. Bob Dwyer himself felt that the All Blacks were afraid to move out of their line of defence to stop Campese. Whatever the reason, Campese was quick to make an immediate impact on the match.
In the 35th minute he gathered a chip-kick from Australian five-eighth Michael Lynagh which he foresaw, allowing him to speed up before the kick was made. All Black winger John Timu
gave chase to Campese, while Campese avoided All Black full-back Kieran Crowley with a side-step. Campese's efforts to get past Crowley had allowed Timu to make some ground in his desperate pursuit to tackle Campese. Knowing he couldn't score with two defenders so close to him, Campese made a career-defining pass which epitomised his mercurial nature. With two defenders about to tackle him, Campese made a blind throw over his shoulder to Australian center Tim Horan, who went on to score the try. Despite never seeing Horan, Campese later boasted: "I knew Tim was there, I was just trying to suck the winger in and next thing I knew I was looking up the ground to see Tim put the ball down."
In a more descriptive narration of the try, Campese would also add:
The try remains a testament to Campese's mercurial nature of electing unorthodox, complicated and unpredictable methods to rugby scenarios, and while his pass was hailed for its brilliance, perhaps it showed the same daring, imagination and unpredictability of his failed pass during the 1989 Lions tour. As All Black coach Alex Wylie later remarked:
In awe of Campese's efforts as a wing to have such a tremendous a decisive impact on a match, former Irish five-eighth Tony Ward
would go on to exclaim:
British rugby writer Stephen Jones would later add:
"If I had to put together the greatest rugby match I've ever seen I'd have the first half of Australia versus New Zealand in '91 in Dublin…" At this point Campese was as much a house-hold name as anybody in Australia. However, he had one more match to go.
In the run-up to the final against England, Campese led a host of people criticising England's style of ten-man rugby stating: "I wouldn't play for England even if you paid me." After watching England beat Scotland in a tryless semi-final, he added: "Playing that sort of boring stuff is a good way to destroy the image of the game. They all so scared of losing over here they won't try anything." Campese would go on saying if he played for England, he would insist on the five eighth position, since this would at least ensure him a touch of the ball. As rugby writer Stephen Jones remarked: "It was good quotable stuff", and Campese's comments were well publicised. Many felt, as a result of these wind-ups, England changed their style of game and ran the ball more, negating the perceived advantage England had in their forwards.
Australia would go on to win the final 12–6, and Campese cheekily added afterwards: "You know, if England actually played ten-man rugby, they probably would've beaten us."
English revenge for the 1991 Rugby World Cup
was to come in the next World Cup when they beat the Wallabies in a nail-biting quarter-final. After the match, Campo somehow found himself on the same bus as all the English and endured quite some ribbing.
He was in fine form for the highly competitive 1992 Bledisloe series and was voted world player of the year as well. Later in his career, his blistering pace declined but he still remained able to unlock the tightest of defences with clever passing and well-angled runs. Competition from younger players eventually made his place less secure but he still contributed when selected. His final match was against the Barbarians at Twickenham in 1996 in which he scored after sliding through a tight defence in a manner which evoked memories of his early career.
Throughout his career he was to be known for his forthright views and the running commentary of chairman Campese was never for the faint of heart. The English were a particular target for his vitriol as a lambasted them for their boring and unadventurous play, however he was not afraid to also speak out against Australians, for instance when some elected to play for their states rather than represent Australia in the Hong Kong Sevens
.
In retirement, Campese remains a fierce critic of England
, maintaining his criticism even after England were crowned world champions in 2003. However, he was a good enough sport to accept the merciless heckling from the English media in the aftermath of England's victory with good grace, and walked humiliatingly the length of Oxford Street
wearing a sandwich board on which was the English flag
overlaid with the words "I admit, the best team won!" to make good on a somewhat rash promise he'd made before the tournament. His nickname was "Too Easy (Campese)". The phrase 'Easy Campese' has passed into the vernacular
in Australia, meaning something like no worries
.
Hall of Fame.
Off the field, Campese was regarded as the first professional when rugby union
was strictly an amateur sport and when he declared himself "rugby's first millionaire", it was controversial at the time. Professionals were often banned from playing in the early part of his career and players not allowed to profit in anyway from their image as players. Campese played a part in changing this but he also brought professionalism to the game in the manner in which he felt teams should prepare for games, most noticeably when he played at Milan
. These attitudes are now normal in many clubs, not just elite ones. This cannot solely be contributed to him but he was early in advancing these ideas.
He also dramatically altered the style of play expected of wingers. Before him, wingers were often just the quick men who caught passes and then sprinted for the line. They were expected to stay on their wings and wait for the ball to come their way, the English were special targets for his criticism here. Campese, rejecting that thought, scored many tries from all kinds of positions where defences were not expecting a winger to appear from. Modern wingers are now all expected to have a higher work rate and are more complete players who have a fuller range of skills than the speed merchants of before.
He is best remembered by many as from being part of an era when it was acceptable to try things and take risks. With highly structured game plans and so much at stake in the modern game, this is not common anymore. It is ironic as he was the highest profile of the Australian players who won the 1991 World Cup. The upsurge in interest in Australia in rugby union can also be attributed to him in a large part and therefore perhaps helped create the professionalism which does not favour the style he liked to play.
Campese is now recording a TV show which is featured at www.11thcommandment.tv.
David Campese donated his handprints to endangered species and world peace causes with Davson's Artists for Life charity in 1993.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player. Campese was capped
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
by the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
101 times, and held the world record for the most tries in test matches (64) until Daisuke Ohata
Daisuke Ohata
Daisuke Ohata is a former Japanese rugby union player. He usually played rugby at wing, and sometimes centre, for Japan national rugby union team. He made his name internationally as a speedy ace in the IRB World Sevens Series, and went on to become a regular member of the national team...
scored his 65th try playing for Japan on 14 May 2006. He was voted player of the tournament at the 1991 Rugby World Cup
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
after scoring nine tries in tests that season and six in the tournament. He is famous for his "goose-step" — a hitch-kick motion which left opponents stumbling to try to tackle him.
Early rugby career
Campese played touch rugbyTouch rugby
Touch rugby, Refers to games derived from rugby football in which players do not tackle in the traditional, highly physical way, but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball....
in his late teens and early stages of his professional career. After one year playing fourth grade for the Queanbeyan Whites, he was elevated to first grade club rugby. After only three years playing rugby union for the Queanbeyan Whites, at age 19, he was selected at fullback for the Australian under 21 side.
Australian under 21s
Campese was a standout performer at fullback for the Australian under 21s side. Then Australian coach Bob Dwyer'sBob Dwyer
Bob Dwyer is an Australian rugby union coach.Educated at Sydney Boys High School, he coached Sydney club Randwick to four Sydney championship wins before becoming Australia's national team coach. He coached Australia from 1982-83, and again from 1988...
first exposure to Campese was at an Australian under 21s game against . Dwyer recalled in his autobiography, The Winning Way, that Campese had "cut the Fijian defence to shreds". One week later against the New Zealand under 21s, Campese scored a tremendous try to the astonishment of the Sydney crowd. In the book, David Campese, former Australian coach Alan Jones recalls,
- "I was at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1982 when this unknown CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
teenage fullback was playing in what was regarded as something of a trial, a curtain raiser to a Test against a New Zealand Under 21 side, though rarely did anyone from such a trial graduate immediately to much else. People were wandering into the ground and those who were there gave little attention to what was happening on the paddock. But on this day, and not for the first time, a remarkably gifted and fleet of foot Canberra teenager swept into the backline, received the ball at the end of a pass, chip-kicked, accelerated, gathered and scored."
Wallaby star Mark Ella
Mark Ella
Mark Gordon Ella is an Indigenous Australian former rugby union player, often considered as one of his country's all-time greats in that sport. In a relatively short career , Mark Ella established himself as one of the all-time greats in world rugby union...
, at that juncture, unaware of Campese's existence, would come to hear much about Campese's efforts. In his book, Running Rugby, Ella recalls,
- "Like a lot of other people, I first became aware that a promising young player named David Campese had arrived on the scene when he appeared in a curtain-raiser to a Test against at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
in 1982. Campese was playing for the Australian under 21s against the New Zealand under 21s. I was a reserve that day for the Test, so I was in the dressing-room and did not watch the curtain-raiser myself, but I soon came to hear about it. Although Australia won the Test against Scotland handsomely, all the talk after the match was about the performance in the curtain-raiser by the fullback from Canberra. Everyone who watched Campese that day had been astonished by his ability."
Shortly after Campese's debut for the Australian under 21 side, as many as ten Australian players made themselves unavailable for an upcoming Australian tour to New Zealand. Despite being short on players, then Australian coach Bob Dwyer had stated that Campese's selection was in part, based on the strength of his performances in Australia. As part of the Australian squad to tour New Zealand, Campese was to become an unlikely Test selection. Despite Australia's then most accomplished winger, Brendan Moon, making himself unavailable for the tour to New Zealand, two other Australian wingers of proven ability, Peter Grigg and Mick Martin
Mick Martin
Michael Paul "Mick" Martin was an Irish soccer player during the 1970s and 1980s.Born in Dublin, he played for Bohemians, Manchester United, Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion, Vancouver Whitecaps, Cardiff City, Preston North End, Peterborough United, Rotherham United and the Republic of...
, were to tour New Zealand making a Test selection unlikely for Campese. However, Campese continued his dazzling form in early provincial matches on tour, and at age 19, was chosen to play his first Test match for Australia.
The new Wallaby v Stu Wilson
Prior to his first Test Campese was asked by an Australian journalist how he felt marking the All Black great Stu WilsonStu Wilson
Stu Wilson is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played for Wellington and New Zealand, captaining national team in the 1983 tour of England and Scotland....
and responded by saying "Stu who?" Such a statement came as a shock to the New Zealand press, who were quick to write Campese as a brash and arrogant young player. Unbeknownst to all at the time, Campese had in fact not heard of Stu Wilson. Campese later mentioned when interviewed for a video biography of his rugby union life that he had not heard of Stu Wilson because of his rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
background, and that he had not intended to appear dismissive of the player's talents. Stu Wilson, however, was aware of Campese's comments which served as motivation for him to put the young Australian in his place. However, Campese would go on to make a tremendous impression on New Zealand soil by outfoxing the legendary Wilson, widely regarded then as the best winger in the world at the time, by utilizing the goose-step. In his autobiography, On A Wing And A Prayer, Campese was quick to play down the significance of his success against Wilson:
- "I beat Stu Wilson, the All Black wing, a few times, on a couple of occasions by employing the goose-step. So much has been made of that fact over the years that it has been blown out of all proportion."
He would later add, "I had no discipline, was very young and wanted to do everything myself." Campese had, in fact, tried to pick up the ball with one hand in the first test and knocked on. Later he tried to change the ball in his hands when running towards defender, Allan Hewson
Allan Hewson
Allan Roy Hewson, born 6 June 1954 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, represented the New Zealand All Blacks in 19 Rugby Union internationals between 1981 and 1984. Hewson played at fullback...
, and dropped the ball. These were a testament to Campese's unpredictability. However, he did score his first international try in a significant fashion. Campese gathered a chip-kick from Mark Ella
Mark Ella
Mark Gordon Ella is an Indigenous Australian former rugby union player, often considered as one of his country's all-time greats in that sport. In a relatively short career , Mark Ella established himself as one of the all-time greats in world rugby union...
late in the game, signifying the beginning of a partnership that would bring great success to Australia for years to come.
But Campese's opinions on his own performances were not shared by Wilson, who would later go on to say that it was an honour to have played against Campese:
Campese was a significant part of a new Australian side trying to pioneer an exciting running game designed by backline specialist Bob Dwyer
Bob Dwyer
Bob Dwyer is an Australian rugby union coach.Educated at Sydney Boys High School, he coached Sydney club Randwick to four Sydney championship wins before becoming Australia's national team coach. He coached Australia from 1982-83, and again from 1988...
. And in the second test Campese was quick to assert himself, scoring one try before setting up Glen Ella for a second. Australia would go on to win the game 19–16. The series had now come alive at 1–1 and a crowd of 52,000 was crammed into Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
to see the final game. With Australia leading after half-time, Campese was quick to create some controversy by making a sensational break that led to a disallowed try. Scottish referee Alan Howie had ruled Campese's pass was thrown forward, a decision that was even contested by the All Black press, who called it a "flat pass". The try would have put Australia 18–6 ahead, but the momentum swung New Zealand's way and they ended up winning 33–18.
The Australian team, however, made a positive impression on the New Zealand public during the tour and Campese was among those celebrated for their entertaining style of play. Terry McLean, writing in the New Zealand Herald wrote after the tour that Campese "could side-step his way out of a sealed paper bag." Regarding Campese's early impressions on New Zealand soil, former All Black breakaway Graham Mourie
Graham Mourie
Graham Neil Kenneth Mourie is a former New Zealand All Black flanker and coach of the Hurricanes. He was one of the great All Black Captains in the late 70s and early 80s...
would compliment him by saying:
Hit and miss in 1983
1983 was to prove a year of mixed results for Campese. His good form continued against the , where he scored four tries in a formidable 49–3 win for Australia. Australia would then host for a two test series when they were outclassed by an immense Argentine scrum in the first test, resulting in a 3–18 loss.Campese, however, was dazzling with his efforts in the second game. So much so, that then established Australian fullback, Roger Gould
Roger Gould
Roger Gould, M.D. is an American writer, psychiatrist and leading authority on adult psychological development.In his book, “Tranzformaers” , Gould presents his view that adult psychological development consists of the “dismantling of the illusions of safety developed in childhood.” Gould’s theory...
(who did not play in the game due to injury) would later confess to feeling a "chill wind" as he watched the match on television. Campese and Mark Ella linked together to create the try of the series. Playing at fullback, Campese beat two defenders who had him hemmed in on the sideline. He beat the second (Bernardo Miguens) with a well executed goose-step. Bob Dwyer
Bob Dwyer
Bob Dwyer is an Australian rugby union coach.Educated at Sydney Boys High School, he coached Sydney club Randwick to four Sydney championship wins before becoming Australia's national team coach. He coached Australia from 1982-83, and again from 1988...
would later remark that of all Campese's tries, that was the one to remember. In his book, The Winning Way, Dwyer wrote of Campese's effective goose-step,
- "An Argentine defender had Campese well covered, but when he moved in to tackle him, Campese did his famous goose-step. The change of pace deceived the Argentine so comprehensively that he dived into touch, clutching thin air. The referee, the Welshman Clive NorlingClive NorlingClive Norling is a former Welsh international rugby union referee. Norling is one of the world's most experienced referees, having officiated in a then-record 35 international tests prior to his retirement in 1992, including a quarter final of the inaugural Rugby World Cup...
, was so impressed by this that he went up to Campese as soon as he had scored and told him it was the best try he had ever seen."
Campese, however, would show less than brilliance against in their one-off match in 1983 despite setting Simon Poidevin
Simon Poidevin
Simon Paul Poidevin OAM is a former Australian rugby union player.-Rugby union career:Born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Poidevin played rugby at St Patrick's College in New South Wales, and made the Australian Schoolboy side...
up for a try. Entrusted with the goal-kicking duties, as well as the fullback role, Campese failed to manage a single success in four attempts at the sticks. This was in contrast to New Zealand's Allan Hewson
Allan Hewson
Allan Roy Hewson, born 6 June 1954 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, represented the New Zealand All Blacks in 19 Rugby Union internationals between 1981 and 1984. Hewson played at fullback...
, a renowned sharp shooter in front of the sticks, who managed five from six attempts at the goals. Bob Dwyer later said: "If we had been able to take even the conversion points it would have given us heart." Australian captain Mark Ella seriously contemplated replacing Campese and attempting the kicking duties himself, but he later reflected: "Who's to say I'd have done any better?" Campese summed up his disappointment by exclaiming in his autobiography: "I felt like kicking myself but I probably would have missed." Campese's positional play, as fullback, was also found wanting in the game, as All Black centre Steven Pokere's kicking found Campese out several times.
It was, for Campese, his first experience in being a target for criticism in the media. Campese recalls in his book, My Game Your Game:
- "My first bitter experience was in 1983, when we played the All Blacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground in a one-off Bledisloe Cup game. My general play was fine, but we had gone into the game without a recognised goal-kicker. Our regular fullback Roger Gould was injured and yours truly was given the job. None out of four was the end result and the All Blacks won the Test 18–8, despite Australia scoring two tries to one. The press had a great time with that one."
Campese was to later redeem himself against Italy, where a day after celebrating his 21st birthday, he managed to land three conversions and a penalty. Bob Dwyer earlier suggested that Campese have another try at kicking after sensing he was in good form. On the test eve Dwyer stated: "If David starts well, he'll kick well all day. But conversely, if he starts badly, then that's the end of him." Campese continued with the kicking responsibilities in a series against , but played a diminished role in the games as Australia elected a less expansive style of play. The safety-first style of rugby was not one suited to maximise the capabilities of the tricky winger.
The Grand Slam
Australia successfully completed the "Grand SlamGrand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
" with the side which included Campese as well as Mark Ella
Mark Ella
Mark Gordon Ella is an Indigenous Australian former rugby union player, often considered as one of his country's all-time greats in that sport. In a relatively short career , Mark Ella established himself as one of the all-time greats in world rugby union...
, Nick Farr-Jones
Nick Farr-Jones
Nicholas Campbell Farr-Jones is a former Australian rugby union footballer. His position was scrum-half. He attended Newington College and St Andrew's College within the University of Sydney...
and Michael Lynagh
Michael Lynagh
Michael Lynagh is a former Australian rugby union footballer who played as a Fly-half.Lynagh represented Australia from 1984 to 1995, playing at both inside centre and fly half. Lynagh was capped 72 times for Australia, and was captain from 1993 to 1995. He was the world points scoring record...
. To this day, the 1984 series remains the only time the Wallabies have completed the Grand Slam.
England
The Wallabies had a nervy start in the game against , the first international test of the Grand Slam tour. Campese almost scored early on by chasing a high kick from Michael Lynagh. Australia settled later on after tries from Ella and Lynagh, before Campese was to make a break down the left leading to a gem of a try. Nick Farr-Jones had received the ball coming from the line-out, who in turn passed the ball to Roger Gould who threw a long wayward pass, which Mark Ella astoundingly caught while running and leaning forward at the same time displaying his safe hands. Finding the English defence lacking in numbers, Ella passed to Campese who was off trying to out-sprint English winger Rory UnderwoodRory Underwood
Rory Underwood MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played wing for, most notably, Leicester Tigers and Bedford. He represented England and the British Lions and is a former Royal Air Force pilot....
. Ella was quick to run in support, but was marked by English debutant Stuart Barnes
Stuart Barnes
Stuart Barnes is a former English rugby union footballer, and now rugby commentator for Sky Sports. Barnes played fly-half for Newport RFC, Bristol, Bath; and represented England and the British Lions at international level.-Biography:Born in Essex, Barnes was educated at Rougemont and Bassaleg...
. Running out of space and about to be bundled into touch, Campese lofted a pass to Simon Poidevin
Simon Poidevin
Simon Paul Poidevin OAM is a former Australian rugby union player.-Rugby union career:Born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Poidevin played rugby at St Patrick's College in New South Wales, and made the Australian Schoolboy side...
, who scored the final try. Australia won 19–3.
Ireland
Campese was quick to make an impact in the second game against . As Michael Lynagh ran a diagonal angle, he shaped to pass to outside centre Andrew Slack but instead slipped it to David Campese in a switch play. Campese accelerated through a gap, which the Irish number eight allowed by not moving across quickly, leading to an incisive run by Campese where he stepped off both feet to beat two defenders. "Early in that game I made a run, and I stepped through a couple of guys and gave the ball to Simon Poidevin." Campese then passed the ball to Simon Poidevin, who had the simple task of either running to the try line, or passing the ball to Matthew Burke on the right wing. Seeing Irish fullback Hugo MacNeillHugo MacNeill (rugby player)
Hugh Patrick "Hugo" MacNeill is a former Ireland international rugby union player. In 1983 he toured New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions and a the time played club rugby for Oxford University RFC....
trying to stop the try, Poidevin hesitated, was caught in two minds and ended up throwing a forward pass to Burke, bombing what should have been a certain try.
Later on the second half, Campese gathered a wayward pass by Roger Gould before stepping past one defender and keeping the ball alive after being tackled. The ball found its way to Mark Ella on the left wing, who looped Campese before he beat a defender. As Ella ran along the wing, Campese was quick to get up and support Ella, who kicked the ball up-field for Campese to run on to. The ball stopped a metre or so before the line, and Campese, needing a deft touch of the boot to get the ball over the line and fall over it, was unable to finish off the try in a desperately close miss.
Campese would repay Ella later, however, by gifting Ella a simple try. With five minutes left and the scores tied at 9–9, Ella scored the try he considered the most important of his career. After second-rower Steve Cutler
Steve Cutler
Steve Cutler is an Australian former state and national representative rugby union player who represented Australia in 40 test matches between 1982 and 1991. He is a former Senior vice president and Chief operating officer of Kendle International, an international contract research organization...
won the ball at a line-out, Ella ran straight at his opposite number Paul Dean, as far as the advantage line. The Irish open-side flanker was slow to move up on Ella, and Deans, who wanted to mark Michael Lynagh, had to cover Ella. As this happened Ella slipped a short-ball to Michael Lynagh leading to a break. Lynagh neatly unloaded to Matt Burke, running in from the blind-side wing. Burke was then tackled 10 metres from the tryline but managed to pass to Campese, who had two defenders trying to stop him. Renowned in his team for his love of try-scoring, Campese with his talent for deceiving defenders, could have scored the try. Instead he side-stepped inside, confusing the defender most likely to tackle him, and allowing himself to be tackled by the second defender while he slipped a pass to Mark Ella, in support as always, who was completely unmarked and scored his second try of the tour.
The book Wallaby Gold documents Ella's recollection of the crucial game-winning try:
Wales
When discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the then Australian coach, Alan JonesAlan Jones (radio broadcaster)
Alan Belford Jones AO is an Australian radio broadcaster, former rugby union and rugby league coach and administrator.Jones hosts Sydney's most popular breakfast radio program, on radio station 2GB...
, David Campese has often remarked of his attention to detail, his obsession of knowing everything about the opposition, and being able to exploit what may be a potential weakness in the opposition. He often uses the example of the Welsh game from 1984 to prove this. Jones had learned through his sources, that Eddie Butler
Eddie Butler (rugby player)
Edward Thomas "Eddie" Butler is a journalist, sports commentator, and former Welsh Rugby Union player, who won 16 caps for the team between 1980 and 1984 and scored 2 tries. Butler was educated at Monmouth School and Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge...
, the Welsh number 8, had not played a game for three weeks and felt Australia should utilise the blind-side. "As a tactician, one of Jones' strong points was his ability to spot opposition weaknesses." Campese wrote in his tribute book David Campese,
- "Before we played Wales in 1984, he suggested he play the blinds. He had noticed the Welsh number 8, Eddie ButlerEddie ButlerEddie Butler is an Israeli singer. He was born in Dimona and is one of 11 brothers and sisters. His parents came to Israel from Chicago after long wanderings. They belong to the Black Hebrew Israelite community....
, had not played for three weeks and he had a hunch he would not be fit. So the first chance I got I went down the blind side and from that we scored under the posts."
As Australian number 8 Steven Tuynman took the ball from the back of the scrum, he searched for Nick Farr-Jones, utilizing the blind under Jones' command. Farr-Jones occupied Campese opposite winger and passed the ball to him, allowing Campese to run along the left wing. At the start of his run, Campese was able to run right past Eddie Butler, who was unable to make the defending tackle. But Campese's run was not over yet, he swerved past the Welsh fullback, and executed a wonderful sidestep to get past the Welsh inside center. Campese's sidestep led him toward a group of defenders, so he then offloaded to Simon Poidevin, who quickly passed the ball to Michael Lynagh who scored an easy try under the post. Australia went on to win 28–9 in one of their greatest victories at the time.
Scotland
Despite his amazing runs and terrific support play, Campese had remained tryless in the 1984 Grand Slam success until he reached MurrayfieldMurrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...
to play the Scottish team. Campese scored two tries and perhaps could have scored three. The first required little effort as Roger Gould crashed into two defenders and got a pass off to Andrew Slack
Andrew Slack
Andrew Gerard Slack is an Australian former state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in 19 Test matches in between 1984 and 1987...
, who passed to Campese, who was completely unmarked to run into the corner for the simplest of tries. Campese's counter-attacking, in particular, was a highlight of the Scotland game. Early on he had caught a high ball running backwards before proceeding to run horizontally to beat the Scottish open-side flanker, then swerving to beat the Scottish inside center, before side-stepping the Scottish outside center. Campese then passed to Ella, who uncharacteristically fumbled the ball, but the signs were ominous that Campese was at his best.
Later on in the second half, Roger Gould made a break and had the chance to pass to Campese, who most likely would have scored. Gould, however, had promised Mark Ella his 4th try for the tour so he may have a Grand Slam of tries. Instead of going outside to Campese, he went inside to Ella, who was left unmarked as the Scottish five-eighth had expected Gould to pass to Campese. Gould has often joked at how he had to justify to Campese the reasoning behind not giving him a try, knowing all too well Campo loves his tries.
Toward the end of the game Campese booted the ball downfield. Australia's other winger, Peter Grigg, missed a tackle, allowing Scotland a possible chance to counter-attack. Grigg ran back to fix the mess he felt he created and intercepted the ball from Scottish prop Ian Milne. Grigg threw the ball to Ella, who in turn threw it to Campese. Campese had space to run with, and was able to beat the Scottish defender while passing to Australian number eight Steve Tuynman on the wing. Campese swiftly ran to support Tuynman, who in being tackled got a pass off to Campese.
Bill McLaren
Bill McLaren
William Pollock "Bill" McLaren CBE was a Scottish rugby union commentator, teacher, journalist and one time rugby player. Until his retirement in 2002, he was known as 'the voice of rugby'...
would go on to become one of Campese's biggest fans,
- "So it was in Edinburgh, where in 1984 he had brought the Murrayfield crowd to its feet with a vintage performance culminating in a typically gorgeous try, that I caused him some embarrassment by thanking him for the vast pleasure he had given me in commentary at matches in which he had been involved."
Years later when McLaren would pick his personal selections for an all-time rugby XV, he would go on to call David Campese the greatest rugby player he had ever seen.
Humiliating Robert Ackerman
Australia would go on to play against the Barbarians one week after winning the Grand Slam. That match is perhaps best remembered for David Campese's zig-zagging run that turned Welsh centre Robert AckermanRobert Ackerman
Robert Angus Ackerman is a Welsh former dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer. In 1983 he toured New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions whilst playing for London Welsh RFC. A centre, he also played club rugby for Newport RFC...
inside out in the process, before Campese, opting not to run past Ackerman in the process of embarrassing him, but rather offered himself to be tackled before passing the ball to Michael Hawker for a try.
It was later revealed that Campese and Ackerman had encountered a few personal scrapes with one another during different moments of their careers. Ackerman had previously played club rugby in Canberra not long before the Barbarians game, and according to Mark Ella in his book, Running Rugby, the two men did not get along with each other. After the Wallabies 1984 win against Wales at Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
, Campese claimed Ackerman had buried his head in the dirt during the game, adding to a sense of tension between the two. This tension further increased between the two, as Ackerman bumped into David Campese, Michael Lynagh and then Australian coach, Alan Jones, as they were entering the Angel Hotel in Cardiff. Ackerman walked up to the Wallabies coach and said in the presence of the two Australian backs, after Australia had beaten Wales 28 points to 9, "Congratulations, I didn't think your backs were too good today." Ackerman also expressed that, "You can't say your players are better individually than ours. Man on man, there is little difference."
Ackerman's comments upset Alan Jones, who would later write a tribute to Campese in the book, David Campese, regarding Campese's retaliation with his zig-zagging run: "In particular, I shall never forget the Barbarians game at Cardiff Arms Park to end our Grand Slam tour of 1984. We weren't in such good shape – our discipline had surrendered to celebration after beating Scotland and we knew this was to be Europe's game of retribution against us. We seemed to be constantly counter-attacking to get out of trouble and then Campese struck. He made a break from within his own half, the defence came at him and he stepped left and right with remarkable speed. And in the twinkling of an eye, the try line was his.
But he had one defender to beat, the Welsh centre Robert Ackerman. Ackerman, unfortunately, had criticised the Australian victory after our crushing victory in the Test against Wales and Campo didn't have the words to retaliate then. But he retaliated now, with his feet and hands.
He turned Ackerman inside out, threatening to go past, then changing direction, offering himself to be tackled then accelerating away until the crowd erupted, first in disbelief, then in sheer amusement and joy at what they were seeing.
One yard from the line, Campo passed to Michael Hawker, and I'm sure, to this day, the pass was forward, but the referee knew he had seen artistry of incomparable dimension at work and the only reward he could offer was a try, which he duly did.
It's an image I'll always associate with Campese.
It remains for me the metaphor of his career."
In his book, Running Rugby, Mark Ella described Campese's desire to flaunt his talents and be a showman: "If Campese wanted to, I am sure he could have sprinted for the corner and scored the try. Instead, he ran straight at Ackerman. The Welshman obviously knew enough about Campese to realise it was useless to try and tackle him front-on. Instead, he did what I suggested earlier that any defender should do against Campese – he ran with him. It was then that Campese began to zigzag, forcing Ackerman to zigzag, too, looking over one shoulder after another to see which way Campese was heading. I was following about 20 metres behind and could not believe what was happening. I have no doubt that Campese turned it on to make a personal point with Ackerman. When the defence eventually closed in on him, Campese flicked a pass over his shoulder to Michael Hawker, who scored the try."
On an ABC special entitled, The Rise and Rise of Australian Rugby, Ackerman admitted Campese could have passed him at any stage if he wanted to: "My line of thinking was is all I was trying to do in that time was to stall him. At the end of the day if he wanted to Campo could have just burnt me off on the outside. But I was just looking for a bit of cover and as it happened I did stall him and he didn't score that one. I was the player he made a fool of if anybody needs to remember."
The Bradman of rugby
Australia desperately missed Campese in the one-off Bledisloe Cup game in 1985 which was lost 9–10. Mark Ella later wrote that, "Without David Campese, our backs seemed to have forgotten how to score tries." Australia was also without genius Ella, who had retired after the Grand Slam tour. Campese started off 1986 with perhaps his most complete performance at the time against Italy, scoring two tries. Campese was then moved to fullback for the injured Roger Gould in a one-off game against France, scoring a try and providing Australia another quality performance. Campese's good form did not subside in the following two-Test series against Argentina. In the second game of that series, Campese ensured he would start the upcoming series against New Zealand in his favoured fullback role when he scored two of Australia's three tries. The second try was spectacularly scored. In an explosion of pace, Campese hit the line and took a pass from centre Brett Papworth. At full pace, Campese swept past the Pumas and scored what was his sixth try in his last four games.With Campese scoring tries at an amazing rate and providing Australia with a string of dazzling performances, Australian coach Alan Jones would, in typical Jones exaggeration, proclaim David Campese to be "the Bradman of rugby". Jones expressed that Campese had a very special talent, and nobody in rugby had more talent. Jones' proclamation was well documented by the Australia media, and ultimately had a detrimental affect on Campese. As the weight of expectation grew, so too did the criticisms for any mistake Campese made. In his autobiography, Campese explains, "When he called me 'the Bradman of rugby football' it was an extraordinary compliment to pay anyone, and it left me quite stunned when I first heard him use it. Higher praise would not be possible for a rugby player in Australia, and it really made me think. But the trouble was that when I made a mistake, and especially if it had been expensive, he would throw this phrase back at me, saying, 'I told people you were the Bradman of rugby and now you have let me down.'"
A Bledisloe win
Campese was part of the 1986 Australian team to conquer the New Zealand All Blacks on New Zealand soil for the first time since 1949. Campese played at fullback for most of the tour as a replacement for the injured Roger GouldRoger Gould
Roger Gould, M.D. is an American writer, psychiatrist and leading authority on adult psychological development.In his book, “Tranzformaers” , Gould presents his view that adult psychological development consists of the “dismantling of the illusions of safety developed in childhood.” Gould’s theory...
. There is a consensus belief that Campese played very well on the tour, despite many unsavory moments.
Campese asserted himself into the first test by kicking forward a loose pass from Nick Farr-Jones from which he went on to score a try. Later in the game he made a wide pass to Australian winger Matthew Burke, resulting in another Australian try giving them a 13–6 lead. Campese also had a forgettable moment in the Test when, playing at full back, he caught a high ball and was about to kick it when he stalled, began to have second thoughts and decided to run the ball. In his indecision he was tackled while attempting a suicidal pass to Matthew Burke, which landed near Burke's feet. Joe Stanley was quick to scoop up the ball, who came close to the try line before passing the ball to Mark Brooke-Cowden, leading to an All Black try. The Wallabies spent the last 10 or so minutes desperately defending their narrow lead. Fortunately for Campese, Australia won the game 13–12, as a loss to the Baby Blacks would have led to great criticisms in costing a game many thought Australia would easily win.
Australian coach Alan Jones, however, was tolerant of Campese's blunder stating that, "By scoring a try and setting up another, Campese more than cancelled out his late blemish." Jones later went public, stating that Campese would remain fullback for the remaining two Tests. A day after the first Test, a melancholy Campese glumly confessed, "I still feel sick about that pass. It was the worst moment of my life. I'll never forget the looks on the faces of the other guys." Campese remarked he once had been told if he ever started thinking what he was going to do before he took the field he should retire. "I was thinking too much before the Test," the instinctive genius admitted. "I listened to everybody. Then I went out simply to be rock-safe and not make a mistake." Narked by constant claims Campese was better suited to the wing, Alan Jones shot back at the New Zealand media claiming, "New Zealanders are trying to get into Campese's mind. They want him to feel flawed and erratic when he plays fullback."
Shortly after the first Test, the Australian team had a variety night, where each player had to 'dress up' and perform an act. Australian coach Alan Jones dressed as Al Jolson and gave a rendition of 'Swanee'. Australian winger Peter Grigg performed an act portraying a drunken New Zealand dairy farmer. Many other Wallabies dressed as professional wrestlers. But perhaps the most memorable performance came from Wallaby lock, Steve Cutler, who performed a Wallabies' version of then popular game show Sale of The Century
Sale of the Century
Sale of the Century is a television game show format that has been screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969. The show found its biggest success in Australia, where it aired weeknights from 1980 to 2001...
. His first question was "Who scored two tries at Athletic Park on Saturday?" Cutler enlightened the confused Wallabies with the answer. "Campo. He scored one for us and one for them."
In the second test Campese played what he felt was a poor game at fullback by dropping a few high bombs on a wet and dreary day. This led to some controversy as Campese would later claim that then Australian coach, Alan Jones, had made an insulting remark about him behind his back by telling his teammates after the game, "Don't worry, fellows, you played without a fullback today." This reportedly occurred behind while Campese was in the showers (Campese was often the first player to hit the showers). In his book, For Love Not Money, former Wallaby Simon Poidevin
Simon Poidevin
Simon Paul Poidevin OAM is a former Australian rugby union player.-Rugby union career:Born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Poidevin played rugby at St Patrick's College in New South Wales, and made the Australian Schoolboy side...
refutes such claims by Campese, "Tales of Jonsey screaming at Campese in the dressing-room immediately after the game for the poor way he played that afternoon was absolute nonsense. Nothing at all was said by anyone for nearly three-quarters of an hour, and the only noise I can recall was that of tough men openly sobbing from disappointment."
Campese, with his delicate sensitivities, was upset at hearing what had allegedly happened. In his autobiography On A Wing and a Prayer, Campese asserts he later tried to apologize to Jones for his unintentional mistake, which resulted in a verbal barrage of insults from Jones which lasted many minutes. In Nick Farr-Jones' autobiography, Nick Farr-Jones, an account is given of Farr-Jones overhearing Jones' verbal barrage before attempting to pacify the situation, "Farr-Jones happened to be passing soon after Campese had gone in, and could hear snatches of Jones' words, no less forceful for having to penetrate the door. 'You've let me down,' he remembers Jones saying. 'I told the press you were the Bradman of rugby and now you've done this to me… I simply don't understand how you could play like that… you made a complete fool of yourself…' Etcetera." Farr-Jones eventually entered the room to defuse the situation.
Campese became dejected and sullen soon after, predicting he had played his last game at fullback for Australia. A few hours after his attempted apology, Campese declared to his close friend, Mark Ella, that he was now ready to retire from rugby. Ella, a close friend of Campese, insisted Campese continue to play rugby. Gordon Bray writes in the tribute book David Campese, "The world's rugby enthusiasts can be grateful that Mark Ella consoled his teammate that night."
Alan Jones refuted the accusations of slander saying, "That's just rubbish. I'm sure I've said to someone with a smile on my face we played without a fullback today. And I'm sure it was Campo, after he's probably done or two bad things and 15 good things. It would be like telling Miss World she was the ugliest person in the room when she knows full she's the best looking bird who's ever set foot in the building. But it wasn't that day. That wasn't the day for that sort of stuff. But it doesn't matter. It's part of the folklore of the whole deal and it's one man's word against another's."
Alan Jones selected Campese on the wing for the final test instead of fullback. With Campese on the wing, a young All Black named John Kirwan was to mark him for the first time. Kirwan had missed the 1984 Bledisloe series due to injury, Campese likewise in 1985, and 1986 was to be the first time the two would meet in what would become a great rivalry between the two great wingers. Campese remained quiet for most of the game, however, he did score a try late in the game. With Australia closing in on victory, Campese scored a try on the inside of Kirwan while Kirwan was concerned about the man outside of him, turning him inside out. It would not the only time Campese would do that to Kirwan. The try clinched the series. Australia's first series win on New Zealand soil since 1949. In the book, Path to Victory, Mark Ella writes: "It was good to see David Campese get that last try because by now he had no confidence at all. He was absolutely shot to pieces."
World Cup woes
On the back of this achievement, the Wallabies were the favourites for the inaugural Rugby World CupRugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
in 1987
1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two...
. An injury impeded Campese's campaign and Australia's hopes were dashed with a semi-final loss to a Serge Blanco
Serge Blanco
Serge Blanco is a former rugby union footballer who played fullback for Biarritz Olympique and the French national side, gaining 93 caps, 81 of them at fullback. His alternative position was wing....
-inspired France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
, though Campese did score and take the world record for tries in the process.
Australia entered a slump after the World Cup and suffered heavy defeats in the Bledisloe Cup
Bledisloe Cup
Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
and in 1988 Campo's opposite number John Kirwan gave him a runaround on many occasions, a mauling that severely affected his confidence.
Campese capped off the year scoring five tries in a European tour.
In the 1989 series against the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
, which Australia was widely expected to win, Campese famously gifted a soft try to the Lions in the third test when he recklessly tried to run the ball from his own try line. This resulted in the Lions winning the test as well as the series.
Campo's corner
"David Campese liked to play his rugby of the highwire – without a safety net", Gordon Bray once wrote, "When he slips, the result can be catastrophic."Campo's corner, it came to be known. The patch of turf at the Paddington end of the Sydney Football Stadium, on the eastern side of the ground, where a wayward pass gave the Lions a try and catapulted wing genius David Campese into controversy. The event itself would become Campese's career low point for which he is still criticised to this day.
The Australian side had never won a series against the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
at the time in 1989, and there was a general feeling amongst the Australian players that was about to change. Australia defeated the Lions easily in the first match, by utilising the boot of Michael Lynagh
Michael Lynagh
Michael Lynagh is a former Australian rugby union footballer who played as a Fly-half.Lynagh represented Australia from 1984 to 1995, playing at both inside centre and fly half. Lynagh was capped 72 times for Australia, and was captain from 1993 to 1995. He was the world points scoring record...
to make the Lions forwards run around the paddock. Campese, however, played a diminished role in the win due to these tactics, a trend that would continue for much of the series. Australia would go on to lose the second game in a violent affair, leaving the series tied at 1–1, and setting the stage for the horrific moment that is often associated with Campese's fallibility.
Australia had struggled to a 12–9 lead early in the second half of the third game when Lions five-eighth Rob Andrew
Rob Andrew
Christopher Robert "Rob" Andrew MBE , nicknamed "Squeaky", is a former English rugby union footballer and currently Director of Operations at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons. As a player, Andrew was assured in his kicking and defensive skills off both feet...
missed with an attempted dropped goal. At that point, the game was being decided between the boots of Michael Lynagh
Michael Lynagh
Michael Lynagh is a former Australian rugby union footballer who played as a Fly-half.Lynagh represented Australia from 1984 to 1995, playing at both inside centre and fly half. Lynagh was capped 72 times for Australia, and was captain from 1993 to 1995. He was the world points scoring record...
and the Lion's Gavin Hastings
Gavin Hastings
Andrew Gavin Hastings, OBE is a former Scotland rugby union player. He is frequently considered one of the best, if not the best, rugby player to come out of Scotland. His nickname is "Big Gav".Hastings was born in Edinburgh...
. Campese had hardly seen the ball when he caught the ball in his in-goal and started off with a mind to counter attack. He was immediately confronted by Lions winger Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Evans is a former rugby union footballer who played on the wing for Wales. He is regarded as one of the best Welsh wingers of all time, despite playing through a disappointing era of Welsh rugby. A prolific try scorer at International level, Evans is listed 19th in the world on the all-time...
before throwing a loose pass to fullback Greg Martin, who was completely unaware of Campese's surprising intentions. The ball struck Martin on the shoulder and bounced away. Evans, who had the mere job of falling on the ball, played the opportunist to score in a moment of complete disaster.
There was a sense of horror about what Campese had just done. Standard procedure on such an occasion is to simply ground the ball in the in-goal, which would have allowed Australia to restart play twenty-two metres downfield. With his tremendous boot, Campese could also have run the ball out of the in-goal and simply booted the ball far downfield and into touch. Rather than playing the percentages, Campese had failed in a seemingly mindless and illogical attempt to do something creative. However, Jack Pollard
Jack Pollard
Jack Ernest Pollard OAM was an Australian sports journalist, writer and cricket historian.-Early life:Born in Sydney, New South Wales on 31 July 1926, Pollard began his journalism career in 1943 as a copy boy at Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper...
, author of Australian Rugby: The Game And The Players, always maintained that Campese's idea that day was a good one. Pollard happened to be sitting adjacent to where the incident occurred, so he had a good view of it. He said that the Lions' defence on that side of the field was under-manned and that there was a real opportunity for a counterattack, which Campese obviously recognised. If Martin had taken the pass, Pollard said, Australia might have scored instead of the Lions. So in Pollard's view it was a clever move – just poorly executed. "It was my fault because I tried to step inside and pass at once, thinking that Evans would come with me," Campese wrote in his autobiography On a Wing and a Prayer. "In fact, when I passed, he was in between me and Martin, and when I threw such a hopeless pass he had a simple job in touching it down…. I still think the idea was perfectly sound, it was just that the execution was wrong."
Campese was devastated as Australia ended up losing 18–19 and thus lost the series. As Campese walked off the ground a fan shouted, "Hey Campo, that's another Test you've lost for Australia". It was a memory that would remain with him. Campese's fragile state of mind was not helped by, according to Campese, an after match snubbing by his team mates. According to Campese, none of his team mates spoke to him in the dressing room or offered a word of consolation. Many of them gave him solemn stares leaving the impression of what they thought of him. This deeply offended Campese, who felt as let down by his team mates as they were by his mistake. Campese has often reflected upon his appreciation of a few small words Australian coach Bob Dwyer offered to him after the game, "Mate, forget it. It's one of those things."
While Campese was widely blamed for losing the test and the series, coach Bob Dwyer said after the match: "I don't think that try cost us the game at all." The Australians were beaten in the forwards, unable to control a Lions pack spearheaded by backrowers Mike Teague and Dean Richards, prop David Sole and second rower Paul Ackford. The Australians were under pressure in the scrum, losing one with feed on the opposition line, and on several occasions were stripped of the ball at the breakdown. Campese himself had stated he felt the whole incident was beyond blown out of proportion, and that to single out one mistake in a game where many mistakes can be made is silly. Campese has often expressed his view that losing the tighthead on the opposition line was also a horrible mistake made at a crucial moment. Bob Dwyer has, in fact, in the past singled out the '89 Lions tour as a series which revealed an attitude in the Australian forwards which could be deemed "too soft". In essence, Campese's famous blunder may have been how the Lions series was lost, but not necessarily why.
The criticisms aimed at Campese after Campo's Corner were unrelenting in the ongoing weeks and months. Members of the Australian media and former Australian players called for his sacking. As a man who enjoyed the media spotlight, Campese felt a deep sense of offence that the media he had become accustomed to, no longer sought the Campese interview or his opinion, but were more content with criticising him. Former Australian captain, Andrew Slack, publicly blasted Campese in the papers fuming that, "You do not play Mickey Mouse rugby like that in the Green and Gold of Australia." Slack would go on to criticize Campese's time spent in Italy, claiming Campese had become ill-disciplined as a result of his time spent there. Slack referred to Campese's pass as "Spaghetti rugby". Australian rugby writer Greg Campbell queried if Campo was now a 'legend of liability'. Campese commented to Gordon Bray, the day after his mistake that he once again felt like retiring.
Campese would later give a logical viewpoint of his mistake in his autobiography — that being creative has led to an impressive number of tries, and that the risk of failure is something always at stake when one looks to be creative. Campese, after all, had succeeded with some of rugby's most brilliant runs and plays that were against the tide of play. "If you want an ordinary wing, that's fine, just don't look up the record books which tell you some players can score 30 or 40 tries in their career, and then wonder why your guys don't do that."
In response to the rush of criticisms aimed at Campese, Nick Farr-Jones, the then Australian captain, would write a letter to The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
newspaper defending Campese:
However, the harsh reaction to Campese's error was not to subside. David Campese's brother, Mario, was later attacked outside a pub. When asked if he was the brother of David Campese, the simple answer of "yes" lead to a punch. It was not the first time his brother would be attacked. To protect Campese's sensitive frame of mind, Campese's family concealed his brother's attacking for months to prevent Campese from becoming more emotionally upset.
Two years later, during a dinner at the start of the world cup, in an official publication for the tournament, Campese noticed an advertisement for a music store. The full-page ad, for a range of rugby videos, featured a photograph of Campese with the heading reading, "Watch him fumble whenever you want." Campese later confessed he had a burning desire at the 1991 World Cup to leave new memories for the people who only wanted to ponder of the negatives of his game. A goal he undoubtedly achieved. However, Campo's Corner has been forever since linked with Campese's legacy of highs and lows. As a rugby player heavily into credit when weighing his positive contributions against his negative contributions to the game of rugby, people have tended to ponder upon his weaknesses; this is partly due to the strong memory of Campo's Corner.
His finest moment
David Campese once said, "I want to be remembered like Barry John in Wales. I want people to look back and say Campo did this, this and this." After the 1991 Rugby World Cup1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
, former Welsh great Barry John
Barry John
Barry John is a former Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s and early 1970s. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964...
said,
- "Like PeléPeléHowever, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
, he is associated with the very best and historic moments in sport; he has a special genius which shows an individual can still paint his own portrait and leave an indelible mark for all to treasure. The ingredients are all the same: stature, presence, personality, style and an immense belief in the God-given talents."
In 1991 Campese had perhaps the highest point of his career, being named Man of the Tournament for the World Cup. Campese was now one of the most dangerous players in World Rugby, devoid of the undisciplined tendencies that crept up from time to time earlier on in his career and still the tricky unpredictable winger that opposition wingers had nightmares of. Campese was so immense in Australia's success that Nick Farr-Jones would go on to say that Australia might not have won the World Cup if not for him. Campese scored tries against (2), (1), (2) in an exciting quarter-final and in the semi-final victory against the defending champions New Zealand. The match against New Zealand was, at the time, considered as important as any game in Australia's rugby history. As the All Blacks lined up to perform the haka, one man intently stood behind the goals, practicing his kicking in preparation for one of rugby's all-time great performances.
Campese scored the first Wallaby try in the 12th minute, drifting off the blind wing into the five-eighth position to take the first pass from the ruck. He then angled across field to turn his arch rival, John Kirwan, inside out before touching down. Many who saw the try were confounded as to why the All Black defenders allowed Campese to run such an angle. Bob Dwyer himself felt that the All Blacks were afraid to move out of their line of defence to stop Campese. Whatever the reason, Campese was quick to make an immediate impact on the match.
In the 35th minute he gathered a chip-kick from Australian five-eighth Michael Lynagh which he foresaw, allowing him to speed up before the kick was made. All Black winger John Timu
John Timu
John Timu is a retired professional rugby league and rugby union footballer of the 1980s and 90s.Timu's position of choice was as a centre...
gave chase to Campese, while Campese avoided All Black full-back Kieran Crowley with a side-step. Campese's efforts to get past Crowley had allowed Timu to make some ground in his desperate pursuit to tackle Campese. Knowing he couldn't score with two defenders so close to him, Campese made a career-defining pass which epitomised his mercurial nature. With two defenders about to tackle him, Campese made a blind throw over his shoulder to Australian center Tim Horan, who went on to score the try. Despite never seeing Horan, Campese later boasted: "I knew Tim was there, I was just trying to suck the winger in and next thing I knew I was looking up the ground to see Tim put the ball down."
In a more descriptive narration of the try, Campese would also add:
The try remains a testament to Campese's mercurial nature of electing unorthodox, complicated and unpredictable methods to rugby scenarios, and while his pass was hailed for its brilliance, perhaps it showed the same daring, imagination and unpredictability of his failed pass during the 1989 Lions tour. As All Black coach Alex Wylie later remarked:
In awe of Campese's efforts as a wing to have such a tremendous a decisive impact on a match, former Irish five-eighth Tony Ward
Tony Ward (rugby player)
Anthony Joseph Patrick Ward , commonly referred to as Tony Ward, was an Irish rugby union and soccer player during the 1970s and 1980s. He played rugby as a fly-half for, among others, Munster, Leinster, , the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians...
would go on to exclaim:
- "He is the Maradonna, the PeléPeléHowever, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
of international Rugby all rolled into one. You cannot put a value on his importance to our game. He is a breath of fresh air and I think perhaps the greatest player of all time."
British rugby writer Stephen Jones would later add:
"If I had to put together the greatest rugby match I've ever seen I'd have the first half of Australia versus New Zealand in '91 in Dublin…" At this point Campese was as much a house-hold name as anybody in Australia. However, he had one more match to go.
In the run-up to the final against England, Campese led a host of people criticising England's style of ten-man rugby stating: "I wouldn't play for England even if you paid me." After watching England beat Scotland in a tryless semi-final, he added: "Playing that sort of boring stuff is a good way to destroy the image of the game. They all so scared of losing over here they won't try anything." Campese would go on saying if he played for England, he would insist on the five eighth position, since this would at least ensure him a touch of the ball. As rugby writer Stephen Jones remarked: "It was good quotable stuff", and Campese's comments were well publicised. Many felt, as a result of these wind-ups, England changed their style of game and ran the ball more, negating the perceived advantage England had in their forwards.
Australia would go on to win the final 12–6, and Campese cheekily added afterwards: "You know, if England actually played ten-man rugby, they probably would've beaten us."
English revenge for the 1991 Rugby World Cup
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
was to come in the next World Cup when they beat the Wallabies in a nail-biting quarter-final. After the match, Campo somehow found himself on the same bus as all the English and endured quite some ribbing.
He was in fine form for the highly competitive 1992 Bledisloe series and was voted world player of the year as well. Later in his career, his blistering pace declined but he still remained able to unlock the tightest of defences with clever passing and well-angled runs. Competition from younger players eventually made his place less secure but he still contributed when selected. His final match was against the Barbarians at Twickenham in 1996 in which he scored after sliding through a tight defence in a manner which evoked memories of his early career.
Throughout his career he was to be known for his forthright views and the running commentary of chairman Campese was never for the faint of heart. The English were a particular target for his vitriol as a lambasted them for their boring and unadventurous play, however he was not afraid to also speak out against Australians, for instance when some elected to play for their states rather than represent Australia in the Hong Kong Sevens
Hong Kong Sevens
The Hong Kong Sevens is considered the premier tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series in rugby sevens—a variant of rugby union....
.
In retirement, Campese remains a fierce critic of England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
, maintaining his criticism even after England were crowned world champions in 2003. However, he was a good enough sport to accept the merciless heckling from the English media in the aftermath of England's victory with good grace, and walked humiliatingly the length of Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
wearing a sandwich board on which was the English flag
Flag of England
The Flag of England is the St George's Cross . The red cross appeared as an emblem of England during the Middle Ages and the Crusades and is one of the earliest known emblems representing England...
overlaid with the words "I admit, the best team won!" to make good on a somewhat rash promise he'd made before the tournament. His nickname was "Too Easy (Campese)". The phrase 'Easy Campese' has passed into the vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
in Australia, meaning something like no worries
No worries
No worries is an Australian English expression, meaning "do not worry about that", "that's alright", or "sure thing". It is similar to the American English no problem. The phrase is widely used in Australian speech and represents a feeling of friendliness, good humour, optimism and "mateship" in...
.
Legacy
In 2007 he was honoured in the third set of inductees into the Australian Rugby UnionAustralian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
Hall of Fame.
Off the field, Campese was regarded as the first professional when rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
was strictly an amateur sport and when he declared himself "rugby's first millionaire", it was controversial at the time. Professionals were often banned from playing in the early part of his career and players not allowed to profit in anyway from their image as players. Campese played a part in changing this but he also brought professionalism to the game in the manner in which he felt teams should prepare for games, most noticeably when he played at Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. These attitudes are now normal in many clubs, not just elite ones. This cannot solely be contributed to him but he was early in advancing these ideas.
He also dramatically altered the style of play expected of wingers. Before him, wingers were often just the quick men who caught passes and then sprinted for the line. They were expected to stay on their wings and wait for the ball to come their way, the English were special targets for his criticism here. Campese, rejecting that thought, scored many tries from all kinds of positions where defences were not expecting a winger to appear from. Modern wingers are now all expected to have a higher work rate and are more complete players who have a fuller range of skills than the speed merchants of before.
He is best remembered by many as from being part of an era when it was acceptable to try things and take risks. With highly structured game plans and so much at stake in the modern game, this is not common anymore. It is ironic as he was the highest profile of the Australian players who won the 1991 World Cup. The upsurge in interest in Australia in rugby union can also be attributed to him in a large part and therefore perhaps helped create the professionalism which does not favour the style he liked to play.
Campese is now recording a TV show which is featured at www.11thcommandment.tv.
David Campese donated his handprints to endangered species and world peace causes with Davson's Artists for Life charity in 1993.
Printed
- Campese, David - On a wing and a prayer
- Derriman, Phillip - The rise & rise of Australian rugby — written by Phillip Derriman.
- Ella, MarkMark EllaMark Gordon Ella is an Indigenous Australian former rugby union player, often considered as one of his country's all-time greats in that sport. In a relatively short career , Mark Ella established himself as one of the all-time greats in world rugby union...
and Smith, Terry - Path to Victory: Wallaby Power in the 1980s - FitzSimons, PeterPeter FitzSimonsPeter John FitzSimons AM is an Australian journalist and author, based in Sydney. He is a former radio presenter and national representative rugby union player.-Early life:...
- Nick Farr-JonesNick Farr-JonesNicholas Campbell Farr-Jones is a former Australian rugby union footballer. His position was scrum-half. He attended Newington College and St Andrew's College within the University of Sydney...
— the Authorised Biography - Jenkins, Peter Wallaby Gold
- Webster, Jim - Simon PoidevinSimon PoidevinSimon Paul Poidevin OAM is a former Australian rugby union player.-Rugby union career:Born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Poidevin played rugby at St Patrick's College in New South Wales, and made the Australian Schoolboy side...
: For Love Not Money
Internet
Other
- David Campese — Ironbark Legends.
- Rugby's my Life — Video Documentary Of David Campese's rugby career.