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Carlaw Park was the stage for many dramatic scenes, but few topped the later stages of Auckland’s 15–14 defeat of Australia in 1969. Kangaroos forward John Wittenberg (who fractured a cheekbone when tackling John Sparnon) and Wellington referee Earle Pilcher (knocked unconscious in a collision with an Australian player) were both carried off by stretcher between the seventieth and seventy-third minutes. As Pilcher lay prone, Auckland scored what would have been a match-clinching try, but there was no-one to award it!

Only the previous weekend the Kiwis had achieved a sensational 18–14 second test victory to tie the two-match series. Bay of Plenty wing Phillip Orchard’s tryscoring run down the grandstand touchline provided an indelible memory for the ecstatic fans who cheered his every powerful stride. The tour-ending Auckland encounter, which was Australia’s sixth game in fourteen days, did not reach the same heights but the closeness of the scores and the mishaps to Wittenberg and referee Pilcher when Auckland led 13–9 made it memorable.

Pilcher had crashed to the ground after colliding with Australian forward Col Weiss, who was in pursuit of Auckland prop Doug Gailey. Weiss told reporters he accidentally struck Pilcher with his right shoulder, but other players thought the referee was also knocked into the path of Auckland forward Eddie Moore. As Pilcher lay prone just inside Australian territory on the grandstand side several of the Auckland players, unaware of what had happened, were celebrating fullback John Young’s ‘try’ at the Stanley Street end. The other players stood in a stunned group around the fallen referee.

The hectic last seven minutes were controlled by touch judge Ron Caddy. Within seconds of accepting the whistle Caddy awarded Auckland the penalty from which Ernie Wiggs kicked a forty-yard goal for a 15–9 advantage. Australia replied immediately with a converted try to advance within one point. That was as close as it got, though a desperate field goal attempt by Bob McCarthy seemed on target until the ball cannoned into the face of an Auckland forward.

Earlier in the game Pilcher had allowed Wiggs a second chance at a penalty goal when he spotted one of the Australians moving as the first kick was taken. Both attempts missed, but Wiggs’ kicking prowess still had much to do with the outcome. His five penalty goals and conversion of Eric Carson’s try were just enough to head off Australian tries to John Cootes and Dennis Manteit, Cootes’ penalty and conversion, and Dennis Ward’s two field goals.

‘The high spot for Auckland was the try scored by scrum-half Carson, after he had moved inside Moore, the second-row forward, who had made a dashing break,’ reported the New Zealand Herald. Forwards Moore, Wiggs and Ray Sinel earned praise in the Auckland Star – ‘‘All three hurt the Australians when they ran, often pulling in two men for the tackle.’ The Herald writer expressed some sympathy for the Australians, who had players ‘not really in shape for such hard opposition’ and ‘seemed unlucky not to be awarded a try’ by Pilcher, who ruled McCarthy’s pass to Ron Costello was forward. 

Auckland team: fullback, John Young; three-quarters, John Sparnon, Roy Christian, Paul Schultz, Mike McClennan; halves, Gary Woollard, Eric Carson; forwards, Doug Gailey, Bill Burgoyne, Victor Yates (replaced by Tony Kriletich), Eddie Moore, Ernie Wiggs, Ray Sinel.

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