Sean Fitzpatrick played 92 Tests and captained the All Blacks for five years, and only one man ever beat him when it mattered most. This is the story of the five rivals — Phil Kearns, Jason Leonard, Martin Johnson, Brian Moore, and Francois Pienaar — who tested rugby's hardest man, and the World Cup final that still haunts him.
Across a career that ran from 1986 to 1997, All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick built a reputation as one of rugby's toughest competitors. But five men left the deepest mark on that reputation — from Phil Kearns's iconic two-fingered salute, to Brian Moore's dominant 1993 Lions performance, to Martin Johnson's unlikely rise from injury replacement to World Cup-winning captain, to Jason Leonard's quiet consistency, and finally to Francois Pienaar, who beat Fitzpatrick in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final — a match Fitzpatrick still calls the greatest he ever played.
Featuring: Sean Fitzpatrick, Phil Kearns, Jason Leonard, Martin Johnson, Brian Moore, Francois Pienaar, the All Blacks, the British & Irish Lions, the Springboks, and the Wallabies — spanning the 1993 Lions tour of New Zealand and the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.
This is a story about rivalry, respect, legacy, World Cup heartbreak, and the kind of front-row toughness that only reveals itself years later, when old opponents finally speak honestly about each other.
If you're a fan of 1990s rugby, All Blacks history, Rugby World Cup documentaries, or the great front-row and hooker rivalries of that era, this one's for you.
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