FOX showed a replay

today of a '96 classic between Natal vs ACT Brumbies. Natal were the then CC champions and it's not hard to understand why.In the Natal team were notables like Teichman, Andre Joubert, James Small, Dick Muir, Ollie Le Roux, Wayne Fyvie and Henry Honiball. Notables in the Brumbies side was Joe Roff, Larkham(Fullback), Gregan, Finnegan, Noriega and Ewan McKenzie(QLD Coach). I hadn't seen a lot of Honiball and  Muir so I was very happy to catch the game and  of further interest was that some of the players were very young and starting on test careers whereas some like McKenzie and Muir were at the end of theirs. The Sharks with Honiball calling the shots played very well and showed a lot of enterprising backline play until a young Roff decided to unleash by scoring four tries. For awhile the Sharks made the Brumbies look ordinary but as the tide turned so to did the quality of the Sharks game. Lovely moves often broke down by players across the park not being able to hold onto the ball. But what amazed me was the captivating Sharks running game which for some strange reason has gone astray in recent years.

I forget to add that the Ref was none other than Stuart Dickinson who had an excellent game which makes his decline over the years hard to understand.

If I remember correctly the Sharks lost that one which was quite a surprise because ACT were a relatively new team at the time. I recall a whole bunch of us leaving the office and going to a nearby furniture store to watch on one of their display TV's.

You're not wrong. Poor ball handling more than anything else brought about the defeat, Id say.

That's a fearsome line-up the Brumbies fielded; test quality. You have to say the Sharks were simply up against a far better outfit. What the wallabies wouldn't give to have those men back again.

I may be wrong but many of those ACT stars were relatively unknown and went on to become big Aussie stars whereas the Sharks were loaded with Bok players at the time. Thats why it was considered to be a surprise loss.

Most of those Sharks stars retired at the end of that year and the next and they hit rock bottom for two Super seasons.

Much like when the Boks entered the 1995 tournament; our players were not very well known to the rest of the world. Some went on to become legendary figures. Joost, Joubert, Andrews, Os, Wiese... big, big names in the end beating a star studded Aussie side.

Though, I believe Larkham was with the Southern NSW from as far back as the early 90s. Perhaps not so well known outside of Australia. I was too young to take in all those details back then. But do recall that he was at fullback. It was only much later that Rod MacQueen made him a flyhalf.