Grant FOX

Grant Fox was a goal-kicking phenomenon who needed only six games to reach one hundred points for his country. In his twelfth test he would overtake Don Clarke's New Zealand points record of 207 - it had taken Clarke thirty-two tests to accumulate his points. Having played for New Zealand Schools, Colts, Universities and Juniors he made his test debut in 1985, scoring a drop goal against Argentina in Buenos Aires. In 1986 he toured South Africa with the New Zealand Cavaliers and only regained his place in the All Black team in 1987. This was World Cup year and Fox finished the tournament as the highest points scorer - he amassed 126 points in six games, with 26 against Fiji and 17 in the 29-9 final victory over France.

The following year in the Second test against Wales he kicked ten conversions in a 54-9 victory. More remarkable than the fact that he did not miss a kick at goal was that the conversions were from all kinds of angles. For Fox, practise made perfect and he was often in the stadium on the day before a test, kicking at goal over fifty times. His goal-kicking routine was much derided but also copied. Fans and critics often focussed only on his goal-kicking and would suggest that Frano Botica was a better running number ten. He probably was but many forget Fox's powers of ball distribution, vision and subtlety. That said he scored few tries but was cruelly denied in the Ireland test in 1989. Fox danced over gleefully for what seemed to be a good try. However, the Lansdowne Road crowd alerted the referee to a touch judge's flag which had been waving. After consultation the try was disallowed after the touch judge informed the referee that the All Black hooker had his foot over the line when throwing the ball in. Cruel luck! (John Lovell)

It only took Grant Fox one test to erase the disappointment of missing out on a first New Zealand try against Ireland in 1989. Indeed, in the following season he successfully touched down in the first match of a two test series against Scotland for what would prove his only international touchdown. Then in 1991 Grant set his sights on a second World Cup winners medal, but first up was the Bledisloe in which Australia looked ominously powerful, winning the first test in Sydney 21-12. New Zealand won the second 6-3 thanks to Grant's kicking, but Australia had signalled their intentions. At the World Cup itself, Grant resumed where he had left off in 1987 by scoring 14 points against England, and finished up with 44 for the tournament, but was powerless to prevent New Zealand's loss to Australia in the semi-finals.

The 1992 season saw sweeping changes made by the new management team and many of the old guard were jettisoned. Grant survived the axe, but was dropped after the first test against a World XV and only made the second as a replacement. He was then left on the bench for a series against Ireland, and the message being sent out was clear: "Fight for your place". That he did and Grant was back for the Bledisloe Cup, although Australia won the series 2-1. However, the 1993 victory against the British Lions was perhaps Grant's finest hour as he proved the critics wrong in remarkable style. With a haul of 32 he scored half of New Zealand's points in the rubber, including a gutsy last minute kick in the first test which earned the All Blacks a 20-18 victory. After that 2-1 series triumph he played two more tests, against Australia and Western Samoa respectively, before retiring from international football. (John Lovell)