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 Wilson 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 made 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 added, "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 brought great success to Australia for years to come.
But Campese's opinions on his own performances were not shared by Wilson, stated that it was an honour to have played against Campese:
| “ | Well, David Campese hit New Zealand, his first tour over here. We'd heard about this brash, upstart little prick from Sydney – you know, he was running around, goose-stepping, and saying he'd do this and do that. We saw him during the provincial games. He was good – without a doubt the most exciting talent we'd seen for years – and I'm saying, 'He's on my wing, I have to mark him.' So I said to the big gorillas, 'Look boys, I catch him, we get him in the ruck, you do it to him: we'll give him the good, old fashioned New Zealand welcome, all right? I want size-fifteen boots right over the top of him.' They said, 'Can you catch him?' I said, 'I'll try.' Well, for three Tests I tried but couldn't catch him. We had the boys sharpening their sprigs. They said, 'Stuey, this time we'll get him.' I even brought Bernie Fraser over from the other wing and gave him 10 minutes. I said, 'Bernie, you come have a crack at him. I can't catch him – he's too quick.' He had the goose-step, he had the chip and chase, he had the typical cockiness of all Australian backs. But we just couldn't get near him – he was that good. He knew that we were after him, and he knew that if he'd got into the Doctor Death House, as we used to call the rucks, then Doctor Death would deliver. So he would always scoot around. When he got into the heavy weather, he'd make sure that he'd scramble out of the rucks before our boys could get to him. A good player, damn him. He made life hell for me for three tests. | ” |
Campese was a significant part of a new Australian side trying to pioneer an exciting running game designed by backline specialist Bob Dwyer. In the second test Campese was quick to assert himself, scoring one try before setting up Glen Ella for a second. Australia won 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 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 complimented him by saying:
| “ | Campo came onto the scene as a very young player, and unknown player in that series, and I think gave Stu Wilson nightmares. I think Stuey got a bit of a towelling by Campo during that series. You know, he had one or two innovations: the old stutter step was something which nobody had really seen before. These days, with video analysis, it's quite hard for players to have anything that's out of the ordinary or anything new, because when something is done once or twice, it's analyzed to death after that. But I think Campo with his style and his speed and his flair was certainly a bit of an individual. He took us by surprise. Stu got a bit of stick for that because he was probably our star winger in that period. He'd been with the All Blacks from 1976, 1977, right through and was an outstanding winger. Stuey never got near Campo. I mean, Campo was exceptional. He might've been a bit frightened, too, maybe, but we never caught him. | ” |
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