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Story: Rugby union

World Cup grief

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World Cup grief

On two occasions, in 1999 and 2007, the All Blacks were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup by a French team playing inspired rugby. This cartoon reflects the New Zealand sports fans’ trauma as a result of the second of these defeats.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: DCDL-0004-103

by Mike Moreu

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Ron Palenski, Rugby union – Rugby World Cup, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/40039/world-cup-grief (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Ron Palenski, published 30 November 2012, updated 1 September 2016.