1News presenter Melissa Stokes speaks to All Blacks legend Sir Michael Jones about the moment he scored the first try of the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987.
When I told my dad I was interviewing Sir Michael Jones, he said, "I patted him on the back once". It was after a Ranfurly Shield match in the late '80s at Lancaster Park in Christchurch when the crowds could spill on to the pitch after the match and surround the players. My husband, Dave said, "Tell him I filmed him at .. " and producer Lucy's father was also just as awed. Sir Michael was his favourite rugby player.
I thought it was very sweet to hear these men still have such respect and fond memories of the man that played 55 games for the All Blacks.
Now, having spent a morning with "just call me Michael", I wish I could've taken all of you to Eden Park. A few hours with Michael Niko Jones is life-affirming, funny and full of joy.
This Newsmaker series is about revisiting one moment in time that made the headlines. There are many we could have picked for Sir Michael.
But today, on the eve of the All Blacks playing in their quarter final against Ireland, he talked us through scoring the first individual try, of the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987.
As we walk out of the tunnel at his Eden Park, Sir Michael says he remembers it like it was yesterday.
"It's a funny thing — It's surreal at the time but it's always imprinted in your memory banks. I'll never forget the game — it was everything I'd dreamed off."
Sir Michael paces out the field, and finds the spot where he reckons he got the ball, the try line around 15-20 metres in front of us.
"All I had to do was find my fastest track here and so I just gunned it, sprinted as fast as I can. I think about here, I'm not going to risk getting caught, this is my dream moment, so I launched and the next minute, it's a bit like a dream I'm flying. I probably thought I was flying a hundred metres. It felt great, like I was flying in the clouds and then down."
A try, on his field of dreams, at the west end of Eden Park where his family had always sat at the stadium and pointing in the direction of home in West Auckland.
"For me it was that yahoo moment, not so much that'd I'd scored, but that word from G-Dub [Gary Whetton]."
Imagine it for a moment: You're 22 and about to play your first game for the All Blacks, surrounded by names like Shelford, Kirk, Fox. Sir Michael remembers pulling on his jersey in the changing room, when Gary Whetton pulled him aside.
"Saying 'Michael, it's good you are part of this, I know it is your dream come true, the games going to go fast before you know it it'll be half time, then it'll be full time. So just do your job and we're here to make it an armchair ride for you but remember I just want to tell you something in the All Blacks we have a saying, if you want to be a great All Black, score a try in your first game', and I was like 'oh great, thanks G-Dub'."
Yeah, no pressure, but the man they called "Ice" for always keeping cool loved the advice.
"I love what he was saying to me as a young All Black, you know Michael be happy, but don't be satisfied."
Thirty minutes into the World Cup match against Italy, Grant Fox managed a pass to the flanker. Sir Michael says he could smell the try line and he was never not going to make it.
Standing on the try line now, 35 years later, he says he can hear the crowd's response, loud and huge "a beautiful sound".
"That word from G-Dub, I had that in my mind, you've got to score a try if you want to be a good or great AB and I thought, I think I'm going to be okay in this jersey."
Some would say that's an understatement.
His flying leap to the try line — a bit of a flourish from his basketball days — is now immortalised at the front of Eden Park in bronze.
Sir Michael says he'll never get used to that, but for him it was always about the team.
"I was very grateful I was playing with a group of All Blacks who were all playing at the very peak of their careers at the time, if I think about it, we played some sublime rugby, I think we took rugby to another dimension, we sort of got ahead of the game, we were in front of the world at that time.
"They made it a dream ride, and I don't think I've ever had it so good, so I'll always be eternally grateful."
Throughout the morning, Sir Michael's had a twinkle in his eye about his mate Grant Fox... and his erm, inability to score a try (Fox scored one try in 46 Tests). He said it was all down to the All Black's goal kicker that he crossed the line.
"I just happened to score the first try to be in the right place at the right time, and back myself that Foxy wouldn't score it, thanks so much Foxy, I'll always love him for that."
They were crowned world champions in 1987. Sir Michael scored a try in the final too.
"It really does remind me of everything that was wonderful and great about that '87 team, and that whole journey and what it did to bring a whole nation with us. Really I suppose hopefully it brings a lot of healing too as we really felt rugby had to do something special, and we had perfect stage, the first inaugural World Cup."
And for the record, he's backing black in this weekend's quarter final.
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