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Countdown: The 10 Best Super Rugby Tries Of All Time... Ever
By Jamie Wall
Jamie Wall trawls the vast unsorted Super Rugby archives to count down the best tries the competition has ever seen.
10. Joe Roff takes the piss against Northern Transvaal (1997)
Australia’s top Super Rugby try-scorer of all time shows us he’s probably a handy soccer player too, his first touch landing the ball up against the goal post padding for an easy touchdown.
9. Dillyn Leyds turns and burns the Blues (2015)
Never mind the stunning turn of pace to go 60 metres to score this one, how about how calm Leyds is when Charles Piutau almost kicks his head off contesting that high ball?
8. Matias Moroni gives us all false hope about the Jaguares (2016)
Los Jaguares have been disappointing so far in their maiden Super Rugby season, but seeing this shows their potential and also why we should say ‘Si! Si! Si!’ to getting the Spanish commentary feed.
7. Eroni Clarke showcases everything the Blues used to be about (1998)
Auckland rugby supporters: this is what your team used to be like. If it seems like a long time ago, it’s because it is. You’d need to be in your mid-20s now to remember this happening in real time.
6. Quade Cooper gives everyone another reason to hate him (2011)
When you score a try like this it’s probably fair you can celebrate like this too. Even if it completely catches the commentators off-guard.
5. Sam Whitelock shreds the Reds (2015)
"Please tell me this isn’t happening!" ... words uttered by both commentator Scotty Stevenson as a joke and the entire Reds team in all seriousness.
4. Malakai Fekitoa announces himself to the world (2014)
Fekitoa is now a well-established All Black, but it was this jinking run against the hapless Sharks that got everyone talking about him in the first place
3. Bryan Habana performs a sidestep vivisection on the Sharks (2007)
Easily the most important try on the list, Habana’s change of direction not only fooled (count them) SEVEN defenders, but also won the final for the Bulls.
2. Christian Cullen makes future list-makers jobs slightly easier (1996)
The one try every single Super Rugby fan remembers and regards as one of the best ever. So therefore it’s the first one that comes to mind when you have any sort of conversation about the greatest Super Rugby moments.
1. Carlos Spencer takes the soul of the Crusaders; devours it (2004)
To fully appreciate this try, consider what the score is and how long is left. Then see where the Blues are on the field. Then realise that Spencer starts off this movement by passing the ball dangerously close to his own posts, for no reason other than to show off. 100 metres later and he arrogantly strolls to the corner to infuriate not only the Crusaders players, but their entire fanbase. Sometimes, just sometimes, this is how rugby should be played.
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Latest Comments
Skelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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