Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

An air of pessimism set over Aotearoa in the weekend, after 'our' beloved All Blacks limped off the Cake-Tin with their fourth loss in their last five test matches.

Rugby fans will be struggling to remember when the All Blacks started an international season with such a dismal record of two losses (to Ireland) in three weekends.

However, I can remember a time long ago when the New Zealand Rugby authorities took the axe to an All Black side with such force, that nearly half the team was discarded.

The 1956 Springbok tour of New Zealand brought huge expectations to beat 'The Boks' in a test match series for the first time - after drawing the 1921 series in New Zealand and losing home and away in 1937 and 1949 respectively.

Rugby fever gripped the nation when South Africa embarked on a near three month long tour of the country.

Thousands turned out to welcome the tourists to their cities and towns, from Whangarei to Invercargill.

New Zealand went one-up, after they beat the South African visitors 10-6 in the first test at Carisbrooke Park in Dunedin.

I was a just primary schoolboy when I joined family members to queue outside Athletic Park in Wellington for hours, for entrance to watch the second test unfold.

An All Black horror story unfolded in front of a crowd of 50,000 that day.

There were plenty of happy faces at half time, with the home side leading three nil, courtesy of a try to Taranaki's Ross Brown.

With a strong wind at their backs, the Springboks took control in the second half to dot the ball down twice and convert one of the touchdowns.

With tries worth just three points, the Boks prevailed 8-3, to square the series to the disbelief of the nation's rugby fans.

Retribution from the All Black selectors was swift.

Seven players, including the captain, were dropped from the team for the third test - and this was in the days of just 15 players, with no replacements.

The most notable introduction for the third test was the player who would come to be known simply as 'The Boot'.

Don Clarke, who played at fullback, was a colossal striker of the ball, and would go on to score an amazing 781 points in some 89 games in the All Black strip.

Front-rower Kevin Skinner, who was a former New Zealand amateur heavyweight boxing champion, was lured out of retirement to tame the troublesome Springboks front row.

He dealt to the Bok tight-head prop, before switching sides to handle to his open-side opponent, handing the scrum power back to the All Blacks.

Another master stroke from the selectors was the appointment of tough-as-nails Northland fisherman Peter Jones.

The multiple changes for the third test at Lancaster Park in Christchurch worked.

The All Blacks scored three tries, with Don Clarke adding two penalty goals and a conversion, in the All Blacks 17-10 win.

New Zealand waited with anticipation and nervousness, as the two sides walked out for the series decider at Eden Park.

Clarke and Jones were central to the All Blacks extremely hard fought 11-5 victory, to create New Zealand rugby history.

Don Clarke booted home two penalties and converted Peter Jones' match winning try.

The final was remembered for many years, as much for Jones ungentlemanly 'I'm buggered' when asked how he felt after the match on radio, as for the historic first series win against South Africa.