Justin Harrison had the reputation as a no-nonsense, abrasive character during his playing days. But the former Wallaby second row, famously nicknamed The Plank by Austin Healey, has been moved to tears by a magical moment which has been captured on film.
After he was part of the Australian team which lost to England on home soil in the 2003 World Cup final, Harrison flung his runners-up medal into Sydney’s Darling Harbour in a fit of rage. He has regretted his actions ever since. But now, almost 20 years on, at last he has a medal to show his kids.
The 34-cap lock returned to the scene of his errant act a few days ago in the belief he was there to preview the deciding Test between Australia and England for TV. But it wasn’t long before the host, his former teammate Morgan Turinui, raised the issue of what happened after the 2003 final in Sydney.
Read next: Ireland star cited for brutal All Blacks incident and former Welsh scrum-half dies
“Mate, you didn’t have to bring it up,” said Harrison. “I didn’t put it around my neck after the presentation and then got down there and had my Muhammed Ali moment and threw it into the water. I just hoiked it in. It’s a regret of mine.”
But then came a twist to the tale as England Rugby president Jeff Blackett wandered onto the set. Thanks to World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, Blackett had been able to contact the makers of the 2003 World Cup medals who still had the original mould to produce a replica.
“You told me once that you threw your medal into Darling Harbour and how sad you were you couldn’t show your children, your boys,” Blackett told Harrison. “I got in touch with World Rugby, I got in touch with ARU and I got in touch with the RFU and we’ve got you your silver medal for the 2003 World Cup.”
A disbelieving chuckle from Harrison turned to tears as he was presented with the replica medal, hugging both Blackett and Turinui.
“I can’t believe you’ve done that,” he said with a quiver in his voice. “There you go, that’s twice I’m crying about the World Cup.”
Overcome by emotion, Harrison - who was part of the Wallaby team which beat Graham Henry's 2001 Lions - had to take a break from the filming at that point, as he wiped tears from his eyes. When he composed himself, he said: “That’s definitely for my two boys. I try to tell them the story and they say, ‘where’s the medal?’ and I couldn’t show them. Now I can.”
But then there were more tears again as Harrison was put in touch with his sons via a video link-up, enabling him to show them the medal.
“Someone is going to walk out with the red book and tell me ‘this is my life’. There’s too much emotion coming out in me,” he said, before sending his love to his kids and signing off.
The ex-Bath forward then checked out the medal again, adding: “I’ve even forgotten how good it looks. What was I thinking? That’s a beautiful medal for such a special moment in time.”
The clip ends with Harrison having the medal hung around his neck by Blackett. “Look at that, this is what I should have done, stood tall," Harrison said.
Read next:
South Africa falls in love with Dan Biggar after classy final gesture before leaving
Ryan Jones suing WRU and World Rugby after devastating dementia diagnosis
