'Absolute chaos': The hailstorm that rocked ANZAC Day 2015

The Storm

Rain started falling early in the first half and it didn't let up. The hailstones arrived soon after and lightning strikes edged closer to the ground. 

"It was absolute chaos once it came," McNamara said. 

De Belin grew up playing in some cold and wet conditions in the Riverina town of Cootamundra but had never experienced anything like ANZAC Day 2015. 

"It was one of the craziest storms I've ever been part of," de Belin said. "To actually play footy in it was wild. I've played in some wet weather but that was outrageous."

Nightingale was taken back to memories of playing in the rain as a child, though hail did not feature in any of those. 

"When the rain comes it's like you're a little kid swimming in a pool in the rain," he said. "It's like a treat, especially when you're hot and bothered and running around. 

"I can't say I loved getting hailed on but when the adrenaline's pumping it doesn't feel like it does when you're not playing."

McGregor was pleased to be in the comfort of the coach's box, but even that had its challenges. 

"The rain was coming down that hard that I couldn't see," he said. "Then it turned into a hailstorm and the vision was even worse."

Creagh started the game on the bench and recalls chaotic scenes as players and officials attempted to avoid the hail.  

"When it started hailing guys started looking for towels to take cover," Creagh said. 

"We knew when the hail started and the lightning started that they weren't normal conditions for a game to be played in."

As play continued on the field, officials on the sidelines started discussing potential scenarios for how the storm could play out. 

Richards quickly alerted his superiors at the NRL when he was first contacted by stadium staff and they sprung into action.

Todd Greenberg, who was the Head of Football at the time, promptly left a gameday function and moved down to the sideline. Archer wasn't far behind, with discussions quickly ramping up.

"We had to consider the safety of both the spectators and the players," Richards said. "The large hail wasn't great but the lightning was the main thing. 

"That's dangerous for players and spectators at the ground, especially on ANZAC Day with a lot of people walking around with their medals on."

The officials were required to weigh up a delicate balance. More than 35,000 fans had crammed into the old SFS to watch one of the biggest games of the regular season and they didn't want to overreact. 

But as the hail started to fall, it was clear there was only one decision to be made.

"As it unfolded and unfolded quickly we knew we had to do something," Archer said.  

"There was no alternative at that stage but to remove the players from the field, not only for their own safety but for the safety of the crowd."

As the conversations were taking place, the two teams continued to slug it out on the field. The Dragons held a 4-0 lead when Roosters winger Nene Macdonald spilled the ball deep inside his own half. 

Rein scooted over from dummy-half moments later, handing his side a 10-0 lead after 26 minutes. 

The play proved to be a pivotal moment in the game, not that he knew it at the time.

"Everyone was in shock," he said. "We didn't know what was happening. 

"I thought it was just another moment in the game but I knew those games were always close. As it turned out, it was a pretty crucial one."

While a decision had been made on the sideline, only the referee has the power to suspend a match once play has begun. 

Rein's try provided an opportunity for Richards to reach out to referee Gerard Sutton and inform him of the situation. The whistleblower agreed with the guidance he had been provided and ordered the players off the field. 

"I went to the touch judge first and then to Gerard and said 'we've just got information of large hail and more lightning incoming, it could be dangerous. It's up to you but we recommend we go off the field'," Richards said. 

"He let the goal take place then called for the players to leave the field of play."

The Suspension 

As the players scrambled for the sheds, fans in the stands made their way to the concourses of the stadium in an attempt to get out of the rain. 

"Once the lightning came with that many people in the crowd, we had to come off," McNamara said from Perpignan. "We'd all played in games where the weather had been really poor but this had got to a point where it was dangerous."

The Catalans coach grew up in the northern-English town of Hull and had seen his fair share of wet-weather football but even he had never experienced anything like this. 

"I was brought up in the winter in England but I have not experienced anything like that," he said. "I've played in horrible conditions but when conditions become potentially life-threatening, it's a completely different level. 

"We all understood the situation but we weren't sure what would happen, whether the game would be abandoned or we would get back on."

It was only the fourth time in 40 years a match had been suspended due to bad weather and the first since 2009 according to stats compiled by rugby league historian David Middleton. 

Remarkably, it wasn't the first time weather had interrupted a match between the Roosters and Dragons. Heavy rain and gale-force winds forced players from the field during a match at Kogarah Oval in 1975, with half-time extended to 25 minutes before play eventually resumed. 

The gap on this occasion stretched out to half an hour, with players starting to ponder if they'd get back on the field. 

"I remember going off and thinking 'surely we're not going back out there'," former Rooster Mitchell Pearce said. 

As halfback, however, Pearce had to remain focused on the job at hand as the Roosters looked to reset after a tough start to the match.

"As a player when you're in those situations you don't want any negative thoughts to enter your head," Pearce told NRL.com from his home in the south of France. 

"If you tap out of the zone, it's hard to get going again. Even if you hear someone saying it may be cancelled, you ignore it. I was organising our units, talking footy and staying focused. Everything else was white noise to ignore, knowing there was every chance we were going back out again."

With no sign of how long the break would last, performance staff did their best to keep players warm while also allowing them to switch off. 

The temperature had plummeted when the storm hit, raising the risk of injury if the match did resume. 

"The weather had turned cold when the storm came through," Creagh said. "We were trying to keep active and get dry. We still had 55 minutes of a match to play so we were focused on preparing for that."

McGregor heard chatter of the match being abandoned but couldn't let that talk enter the dressing room. 

"There was discussion around that but my immediate worry was on making sure the boys were ready to go back out there," he said. "It was a brief moment to relax before we go again so I wanted to get them dry and comfortable."

De Belin compared the situation to a stint in the sin bin. 

"You're fine and ready to go but you're just sitting there," he said. "Then when you come back on you've got to find your feet again and get back in the game."

While the players were bunkered down in the sheds, match officials monitored the situation closely. 

The prospect of an abandonment came to mind, a scenario that would have required the players to resume the match within 24 hours. 

If Allianz Stadium was unplayable the following day, the game would have had to be relocated.

While it was a possibility, Archer was confident it wouldn't come to that. 

"The paramount priority was the safety and welfare of the players and the conditions they were returning to," he said. "If the ground was deemed unsafe to play, we wouldn't have returned.

"We wanted to complete the game if we could with the safety of the field and the safety of our spectators. They were part of a unique and historic game traditionally but an even more unique game because of the circumstances of how this one played out."

Pleasingly, the storm passed relatively quickly but there was plenty of clean-up required before play could be ruled safe to resume. 

The tunnel and corners of the field had flooded and needed to drain. Eventually the field passed a pitch inspection and word filtered through to the players to start getting ready. 

"There was a big lake when you walked out of the tunnel," Richards said. "We had to get the stadium to remove that excess water and flush that back into the drains. 

"Once that was cleared, we looked at the ground and it was safe."

With officials giving the all-clear, the teams returned to the field for a brief warm-up. They also agreed to a condensed half-time once the final 13 minutes of the first half had been played. 

The Resumption

Eventually, after a 30-minute delay, the match resumed.

While the storm had passed, there was plenty of drama left in the contest. 

The Roosters had lost three in a row heading into the match and were desperate to kickstart their season. 

"Our attack was stagnant," Pearce said. "We had a loaded side but we were in a hole and down on confidence. On the back of three losses we were desperate and fighting hard to bounce back."

ANZAC Day provided the perfect launch pad and they returned from the break determined to finish over the top of their rivals. 

Shaun Kenny-Dowall scored the 100th try of his career shortly after the resumption and suddenly they were full of confidence. 

"We were just focused on trying to get ourselves back in front," Pearce said. "We knew the importance of getting a win for where we were in our season."

Dragons halves Benji Marshall and Gareth Widdop were flawless in the wet conditions, the pair using their kicking games to dominate the territorial battle. 

Widdop helped his team kick clear off the tee as well, a pair of penalty goals extending the margin to eight. 

The decisions drew the ire of Roosters coach Trent Robinson in the post-game press conference, while McGregor passionately defended his players. 

The Roosters trailed by eight but they were still up for the fight and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck cut the deficit to two with nine minutes to play.

"We were always confident we could come back," McNamara said. "We had some outstanding players in that team. There was quality all the way through it so we felt like we would finish well."

The Roosters' momentum had Dragons fans nervous and led to some tense moments in the St George Illawarra coach's box. 

"The Roosters weren't going anywhere," McGregor said. "We had to be at our best to beat them.

"We knew those games aren't won by a big score, they're won by an error, a penalty or a field goal. They're won when a player brings something special to the game."

The Roosters had one last chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, however Michael Jennings spilled the ball during a 78th-minute attacking raid. 

The error allowed the Dragons to hold on to a tense 14-12 victory, emotions pouring out on both sides of the ball. 

"I was relieved," McGregor said. "Supporters are very passionate about that game and we had to make sure everyone was proud of our performance."

The win was double cause for celebration for Creagh, who was playing his 250th NRL match.

"The ANZAC Day match is put on a pedestal more than a normal club game," he said. "There's a feeling of excitement to win any game but to win that game with the disruptions we had was a great feeling."

Pearce rode his emotions more than most players and struggled to contain his disappointment. 

"I remember the dark feeling of losing," Pearce said. "I was in a bad place after that loss."

McNamara was more circumspect, given everything that had happened in the preceding two hours. 

"We were happy everyone got through it safely," McNamara said. "But those days are about winning and getting the two competition points. We failed to do that. 

"I was disappointed by the fact we couldn't get it done."

The Legacy

The ANZAC Day match has continued to grow in the decade since, with the teams playing out a number of instant classics in front of bumper crowds. 

The 2015 clash remains the last NRL game to have been suspended due to the weather.

The game has risen to another level since the opening of the new Allianz Stadium and a full house is expected on Friday afternoon. 

The Roosters have had the wood over their rivals in recent years, winning four of the past five ANZAC Day games. It's a stat the Dragons are determined to turn around this week. 

"There's something special about winning the ANZAC Day game," de Belin said. "I've been lucky to be part of a few wins and would [like another one]. 

"As I get to the back end of my career, I know they're not going to be there forever and I want to enjoy them while I'm here."

The Roosters have other ideas, with Tupou appreciating the importance of the ANZAC Day match as his career nears its end. 

"It's very special to get to play for all the troops past, present and future," Tupou told NRL.com. "It's a small part we can play to return the favour for all they've done for Australia and New Zealand. 

"I cherish every game I play and it's going to be a special occasion so I'm looking forward to it."