Top 15 Most Memorable Rugby Games of All Time

South African Victor Matfield claims a line-out ball in a 2006 Tri Nations Series test match. Author Hamedog at English Wikipedia. Wikimedia Commons

Top 15 Most Memorable Rugby Games of All Time

What makes for a memorable match?

 A memorable match means different things to different people. Some would say a dramatic finish and others say a standout individual performance, while some prefer to see the underdog come through and upset the favorite. In the Top 15 Most Memorable Rugby Games of All Time, we look at this from World Cup matches played as this is the biggest event on the Rugby sporting calendar. It is usually held every four years.

The Rugby World Cup has produced matches containing all of these, making for some truly memorable encounters that will go down in history.

 1. New Zealand Narrowly Defeats Australia In Sydney, 2000

Australian Rugby League Team face the NZ Haka. RLWC 2008. Author paddynapper. Wikimedia Commons

This pulsating match was played at the Sydney’s Olympic stadium. Whenever the two teams met, it was always considered a baptism of fire. The Wallabies were still wallowing from their 1999 World Cup triumph in Wales. New Zealand had the superstar Jonah Lomu on the wing. As expected it was the visitors who raced into a 24-0 lead in the first nine minutes with tries from Tana Umaga, Christian Cullen and Pita Alatini plus an Andrew Mehrtens penalty.

In front of a 110,000-strong crowd, the All Blacks thought the game was dead and buried. But the never say die spirit of the wallabies was displayed when they made an unexpected comeback, aided by two Stirling Mortlock tries, to level the game at 24-24 before half time. This made the game to be more exciting as it forced the All Blacks to move out of their comfort zone. After the sides caught their breath, it was the hosts who took a surprise 35-34 advantage as the game advanced through hooker Jeremy Paul. Angered by this, Taine Randell found Lomu on the charge. The big man burst through Stephen Larkham’s attempted tackle and teetered just the right side of the left hand touchline to seal a famous win in front of the biggest Test match audience in history. The Australian fans have never forgotten this narrow loss.

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2. New Zealand Eats Humble Pie Against France

The World Cup has always lived to its reputation of causing upsets and producing new stars in the game and the 1999 World Cup in the famous Twickenham arena was not an exception. As usual New Zealand were considered favorites to win the trophy and as the saying goes losing to them even to a narrow margin was regarded as a win to their opponents.

 With a good start in the group stages the All Blacks had cruised through past the hosts and other teams very easily. They had comfortably seen off Scotland in the last eight and it looked like they would do the same against Five Nations wooden spoon holders for that year France in the semifinal, when they moved out to a 24-10 lead. Surprised by the scores, Jonah Lomu performed his familiar trick of carrying a battalion of Frenchmen over the line for his first try and was all but waved through for a second.

 In the second half, France came in stronger. Lamaison was on target to score two drop goals and propelled his side to score 33 unanswered points. Christophe Dominici added to the All Black’s misery by scoring another try to spark the All Blacks’ worst nightmare before Richard Dourthe pounced on a wonderful chip from Lamaison.  It was the turn of the silver-haired Phillippe Bernat-Salles to continue with the onslaught to turn the rugby world on its head once again and inflicting one of the worst defeats to the All Blacks in history.

3. New Zealand Suffers Defeat Against France

With Jonah Lomu being on top form, the 2007 All Blacks has always been described as the strongest team ever sent to a World Cup. Posting magnificent results and whitewashing teams on their way to the world cup, they were red-hot favorites and were highly expected to lift the trophy with ease. But their day was yet to come at the semi-final stage where they were set to meet France who stood a little chance to win the match.

 What followed has become the biggest talking point of the rugby world over the years. After a solid first half, the All Blacks led 10-3 and looked as though they would safely progress to the semifinal. But a yellow card to Luke McAlister saw the momentum turn and the game became an even contest Frederic Michalak entered the game as an impact player, and what an impact he made. He would make a break that led to France’s second try of the game, which saw the French take the lead and run out winners, 20-18.

The try would prove to be controversial as many claim a forward pass in the lead-up to the try. The loss marked the All Blacks’ worst ever performance at a Rugby World Cup, being the only time they have never made the semifinals.

4. Ireland Silenced By Australia During The 1991 World Cup

This match is regarded as one of the most closely contested games in the history of the World Cup. Ireland had entered this game as huge underdogs against a star-studded Wallaby outfit. However, this did not hinder the so-called underdogs to go all out to give their all and they came close to pulling off the most unlikely of victories. Late in the second half, the Irish were trailing by three points, before their flanker Gordon Hamilton ran to the corner to score a long-range try to give Ireland an 18-15 lead. The try is still regarded as one of Ireland’s finest ever.

But it was short-lived, as Australia worked their way down field and after a hard run from David Campese, Michael Lynagh was on hand to touch down and score the winning try.  It was very unfortunate and heartbreaking for Ireland who had held on very strong. However, according to many fans of the game it will forever go down as the biggest “almost” upset in Rugby World Cup history.

5. Australia Slaughtered By England in Cape Town, 1995

The 1995 World Cup has been regarded as one of the most organized events and also produced some of the best results in the history of rugby and the only one to be staged on the African soil. Amongst the teams who were considered favorites was England who managed to go past the pool stages comfortably despite stiff competition. They were ready to face Australia who had robbed them of World Cup glory four years earlier at Twickenham and they were out for revenge.

 The wallabies had other ideas. After a closely contested opening to the game, they struck first, with Captain Will Carling finding Tony Underwood, combining well to score a magnificent try. Australia was 10 points down and this did not dampen their spirit as shortly after the interval the Wallabies drew level. Looking strong and dangerous at the front, they terrorized their opponent’s defense and managed to score more penalties as time ticked down and we looked set for a nerve-shredding 20 minutes of extra time.

However, England’s pack worked a good position from a lineout some 45 meters out for Andrew to score another try which was very decisive as it asserted England’s prowess and sweet revenge over the Wallabies.

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6. The legendary Jonah Lomu Destroys England in South Africa

Jonah Lomu. Author Russell J Watkins – Multiple fragments of tissue. Wikimedia Commons

New Zealand entered their semifinal against England expecting a tough game. Brian Lochore can be quoted as saying, “They didn’t have a weakness anywhere on the park.” This was the game that brought the dreaded Jonah Lomu to the shores and he suddenly became the most talked after personality for a long time thereafter, catapulting him to world superstar status. His destructiveness was critical in the All Blacks’ 45-29 win, scoring a mind-boggling four tries in what ended up being the most legendary individual World Cup performance of all time.  He was simply unstoppable that day. England mounted a comeback, but the game was already well and truly won for New Zealand.

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7. England Denies Australia

England vs Australia 2015 RWC. Author Richard Allport. Wikimedia Commons

This was a game between two teams who are neighbors and very familiar with each other as they both come from the northern hemispheres and each of them had the best chance at winning the Webb Ellis Trophy.  The experienced England teams were boasting a strong forward pack and wonder boy Johnny Wilkinson had a slight edge over Australia in the final who were also hosting the 2003 World Cup with a home advantage.

 Australia was also coming into the game against an upset over the fancied All Blacks in the semifinal. It was therefore billed to be a game of high stakes. The game was a tight one, with nothing separating the teams at full time, the score being locked at 17-all.

 With the deadlock and the game heading to extra time, the mercurial Wilkinson kicked one of the most memorable dropped goals in rugby history to give England their first and only World Cup win. The win remains the only time a northern hemisphere team has won the tournament.

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8. 1995 South Africa vs New Zealand

New Zealand Rugby Team At The 2020 Olympics. Author Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee. Wikimedia Commons

The heavily favored All Blacks entered the 1995 final on the back of their dominant performance over England and were boosted by rugby’s latest sensation Jonah Lomu’s fine form. The Springboks on the other hand had scraped through after a tight encounter with France and also as hosts it would be crazy and insane to just wish them away despite not being as experienced as their opponents.

In the tournament all the talk was of rugby’s newest superstar, Jonah Lomu. How many tries would he score? How did you stop him? To answer this question, the springboks came up with a strategy of simply tackling him as a team. They successfully shut down Lomu better than he’s ever been shut down before, while also remaining rock solid all over the park. It was a tremendous effort to hold this All Black team to no tries.

 However the All Blacks being the rugby greats also matched this defensive intensity, holding the Springboks tryless also.  After 80 minutes the score was locked at 9-all, meaning the World Cup would go into extra time for the first time.

Both teams traded penalties, before Joel Stransky kicked that fateful dropped goal minutes from the end, giving South Africa a 15-12 win. It was such a momentous occasion when Nelson Mandela presented the trophy to Francois Pienaar at the postgame presentations and South Africa became united.

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9. New Zealand white Wash France

 As the undisputed kings of rugby, The All Blacks breezed into the 1987 final on the back of some dominant performances and were expected to easily cruise past the underdogs France in the final. And it went exactly according to the prediction. After an average first half which saw them lead 9-3 at the break, the All Blacks came out and completely blew the French out of the park in the second half, scoring 20 points in a commanding display. The French scored a try in the dying minutes, but New Zealand was never in danger of losing this game, running out winners 29-9.

10. France Outsmart Australia in1987 World Cup

During this match Australia were considered the pre-tournament favorites and were facing a resilient France team. The game itself lived to its expectation and it was a close game throughout. But with time almost up and the score at 24-all, it was going to take a special effort to clinch the game.

With tension building, France changed tact and dominated territory in the dying minutes, but couldn’t break the Wallaby defense and it seemed the game was heading for extra time. With their last roll of the dice, the French gave the ball to their star fullback, Serge Blanco, who made a run for the corner and was able to touch down to give France a 30-24 win, booking a place in the final against the All Blacks.

11. A Narrow Defeat For south Africa But Still Counts

Japan made history by causing one of the greatest upsets in all sports when they beat the fancied the 2007 world champions South Africa in the Rugby World Cup 34-32. During this game The Brave Blossoms of Japan took on the mighty Springboks from South Africa in the opening game of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. In a cracker of a match, Japan ended it with a fairytale finish, and paved the way for the next generation of Blossoms who won their pool at the 2019 World Cup and reached the quarter-finals.

The underdogs secured the most unlikely of victories in dramatic fashion, scoring with the last action of the game, getting themselves into the history books. It was a strong statement particularly coming from one of their most humiliating defeats against New Zealand a few years ago.

12. USA Makes History In 2018 World Cup

This was probably the best show for the Americans in the past 50 years, and it was a back and forth game fitting for an historic upset. It stands as the one and only win over a Tier-1 nation to date for the Eagles. Though it was a narrow30-29 victory against the champions, it still goes down the memory books. Scotland had led through Kinghorn’s early try, but after that they found the United States tough to deal with. Samu Manoa’s sin-binning was followed by a penalty try and one from George Turner, but two from Joe Taufete’e and one from Hanco Germishuys gave the USA a deserved lead. Dougie Fife scored in time added on, but Kinghorn could not convert.

Scotland had never lost to the USA before. Heading into this one there had been five official Tests and an unofficial international match and Scotland had won the lot.

13. England Thrive Over Their Perennial Rivals In The 2018 World Cup

It was a match pitting two traditional rivals playing at the 2019 World Cup Semi-Final. The venue was the rain-soaked Twickenham. It was a tight match and both teams gave it everything until the final whistle, with the slimmest of margins separating the two sides. England are into their first Rugby World Cup final in 12 years after a brilliant demolition of three-time world champions New Zealand. England had stormed into a 10-0 lead, Manu Tuilagi’s second-minute try and a long-range penalty from George Ford fitting reward for a blistering first half.

The All Blacks had not lost a World Cup game in 12 years and had won 15 of the past 16 games between the two nations. But four years after crashing out at the group stage England tore the crown from their head with a performance of unremitting energy.

14. Joe Taufete’s Last Minute Try Sends US Eagles Past Canada In A 2019 World Cup Qualifier

Canada national rugby union team during the 2007 rugby world cup in France. Author Manuel. Wikimedia Commons

Known as the “Thrilla In Tukwila”, the Eagles traveled up to have a date with their neighbors cross-border rivals. Canada was trying to overturn the dominance of their bitter rivals in this thrilling ARC contest. The game ended in a 52-16 score line in favor of the Eagles. Prior to the game, Canada had won 15 out of 20 qualifiers between the neighbors, but hadn’t beaten the Eagles in four years. The first leg in

The deciding Eagles scores came after a no-arms tackle ruling against Canada meant a scrum put-in near halfway became a five-meter USA lineout instead. The Eagles drove it and replacement hooker Joe Taufete scored from the rolling maul.

15. Eagles Write History With Samoa Victory

Samoa 2021 Rugby League World Cup. Author Fleets. Wikimedia Commons

The United States looked for their first ever win over Samoa in the autumn of 2018, and they battled all the way down to the wire. The ending provided one of rugby’s moments of 2018. Will Hooley nailed a penalty goal in extra time to lead the US Eagles to their first ever win against Samoa. The final score read USA 30, Samoa 29, with the win taking the USA’s winning test streak up to nine.