ACT rugby steps back in time to commemorate 25 years since Argentina victory

It's Saturday, April 22 1995. Thousands of Canberrans packed Manuka Oval to watch a squad of local boys take on a global rugby powerhouse.

But it's more than just a David and Goliath story. The ACT's 33-16 victory over Argentina formed the foundations of what we know as the Brumbies today.

Gone was the little brother label. A tiny state had taken on the world and was there to stay.

"It was a defining moment for ACT rugby. There had been significant events leading up to it but I think that event made the rest of Australian rugby, and potentially the world, stand up and take note," vice-captain Murray Harley said.

"It was significant because it was the first time we had been allowed to play a Test team at provincial level. We had only played them in mid-week fixtures previously, we had some success but never really got the kudos from other states.

"All of a sudden our experiences in beating NSW and Ireland in 94' gathered a lot of interest in this team of relatively Canberra born-and-bred people coming together to play some good football. There was this real sense of destiny and a belief in our own self.

"Argentina were an emerging threat in world rugby, they had a strong scrum and were a national touring team with a lot of success. A young team from Canberra put it on that day and blew them off the park."

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Rugby turned professional four months later and the Super 12 competition, the precursor of Super Rugby, was formed.

The Brumbies became the third Australian provincial team accepted for the inaugural season in 1996, primarily made of players from the ACT side that played against Argentina.

Brumbies and Wallabies legend Joe Roff was just a fresh-faced 19-year-old at the time and says the victory was a significant step towards their inclusion in Super 12.

Without it, he might have had to leave Canberra to purse professional rugby interstate.

"It's quite possible the Brumbies may not have been established, a team might have been placed in Melbourne or Western Australia if the caliber of that team wasn't in place," Roff said.

"There were some great players in there, like Marco Caputo, George Gregan, Rod Kafer, these are the guys who went on to have big Test careers.

"If we hadn't won that game and performed well against Argentina, all of those guys including myself would have had to leave Canberra.

"One of the phrases we used in the early days of the Brumbies was 'taking on the world'. That game was a stepping stone to the self belief we could do that."

Roff remembers running out onto Manuka Oval and feeling like he was about to play against giants.

He had grown up watching the legends of Argentinian rugby, like Hugo Porta, and knew they had a daunting task ahead of them.

But the match was brought to a halt just moments after kick-off because one of the ACT players copped a punch. There was an all-in brawl that spilled out of the ground, which Caputo says lit the fuse for victory.

"It was a very tough game, there was an all-in brawl at kick off because one of our boys got hit. It was an old-school brawl that went on for some time," Caputo said.

"It kind of spurred us on and lit the fuse for a pretty good performance that day.

"It was just a squad of local boys getting the job done. It's a match I look back on fondly because it's a bit of a David and Goliath story.

"There were plenty of people who didn't think we had a chance, but the blokes on the field certainly thought we did. It was a good time."

The Brumbies have since become the most successful Australian franchise in Super Rugby, reaching six grand finals and winning two premierships.

Roff says the quality and efforts of the players from the pre-Brumbies era laid the foundations for the success the club has today.

"The Brumbies were formed on a blank sheet of paper. We were held together by the quality of the people who started it, and the quality of the team which played against Argentina formed the backbone of that," Roff said.

"It allowed ACT rugby to establish its own identity and culture that's been carried forward to now. It's not really a surprise to anyone in rugby that the Brumbies has the best program and culture.

"By all rights with our population size, we shouldn't be where we are. The quality of the people have enabled that."

ACT V ARGENTINA, APRIL 22 1995

ACT 33 (Roff 2, Grimmond, Fenukitau tries, Friend penalty, M O'Connor 2 penalties, 2 conversions) bt ARGENTINA 16 (Camardon try, Meson 3 penalties, 1 conversion)

ACT team list: Marco Caputo, Ipolito Fenukitau, Brett Foster, Adam Friend, George Gregan, David Grimmond, Adam Harley (replaced by Geoff Barnes), Murray Harley (vc) (replaced by dirk Gleghorn), Rod Kafer, Polavu Latukefu, Liam O'Connor (replaced by James Swan), Mathew O'Connor (captain), Joe Roff, Craig Sweeney