Wallabies great John Eales has revealed that leading a team that turned their back on the All Blacks performing the haka was the greatest regret of his career.
In the first Test of the 1996 Bledisloe Cup at Wellington's Athletic Park, Eales and the rest of the Wallabies squad controversially ran warm-up drills during the All Blacks' pre-match ritual.
The Wallabies were walloped 43-6 in what was, at the time, their biggest defeat ever.
Ahead of the release of his documentary entitled 'John Eales reveals: The Haka', the 47-year-old says the incident turned out to be a low point of his career.
"When I played against the All Blacks, I had little idea of the historical or its cultural significance," said the towering former lock.
"I had many great moments with the Wallabies and was part of teams that won the World Cup, but not facing the haka was my greatest regret."
The 86-Test international is remembered as the most successful captain in Australian rugby history, playing a major part in both of their World Cup-winning campaigns. He also had a 55 per cent winning record as captain against the All Blacks.
Eales said the response did nothing for the Wallabies and if anything, spurred on the home side even more.
"Twice as captain of the Wallabies, I led our team in turning the backs on the haka.
"We were beaten both times."
In the documentary, the former Wallabies captain heads to New Zealand, investigating what the haka means to the country and the All Blacks.
"Two decades on, I'm keen to confront my past and actually find out what the haka means to Maori, All Blacks and New Zealand.
"You could say, I'm on my road to redemption."
Newshub.
