Tomorrow night Simon Mannering leads the Kiwis in the Anzac Test against Australia (his 36th Test), a match in which five of his team-mates will make their debuts.
From the time tunnel today we have a 20-year-old Mannering in his own debut, becoming Kiwi No 731 in the Tri Nations clash against the Kangaroos at Mount Smart Stadium on October 14, 2006.
The Kiwis lost the match but the contest was memorable for various moments, not least David Kidwell’s ferocious hit on Willie Mason, a side-line melee involving Manu Vatuvei, Matt King and a few others and Mannering’s fantastic chase to try to stop Mark Gasnier scoring.
