Purely in the interests of research, I watched one of them: the 1999 Auckland v Wellington decider at Eden Park. It is here where I might normally write 'a wave of nostalgia washed over me', until I remembered this was the only NPC final I had missed since 1992. But one had to smile... there were around 20,000 at Eden Park. At fulltime, on his haunches in prayer, he was mobbed as Eden Park rose for its champion. A year later, 'Rens' would guide Wellington to its first victory in an NPC final.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 27, 2016 20:14 UTC