David Campese - His Finest Moment

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 Cup, former Welsh great Barry John said,

"Like Pelé, 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 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 captain Nick Farr-Jones said that Australia might not have won the World Cup if not for him. Campese scored tries against Argentina (2), Wales (1), Ireland (2) in an exciting quarter-final and in the semi-final victory against the defending champions New Zealand. The match against New Zealand was 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 scored a try. Despite never seeing Horan, Campese 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 added:

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. All Black coach Alex Wylie 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 exclaimed:

"He is the Maradona, the Pelé 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 added: "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 said 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 won 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 final defeat came 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 some ribbing.

Campese 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 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.