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England will have a home advantage this time aroundTomorrow, the 8th edition of the Rugby World Cup is going to get underway in the United Kingdom. In the seven editions previously, there have been some memorable games that fans and enthusiasts of rugby will have a hard time forgetting. Such is the effect of those matches, that to this day, they continue to linger, every time rugby’s premier tournament is talked about.
#5 New Zealand 53-37 Wales (2003 Pool Stage)
New Zealand and Wales had both already qualified from their Pool D before the game, but current All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, who was then coaching the Welsh, decided to rest his key players for the clash.
The second-place finisher faced the prospect of facing favourites England in the quarters and most Wales fans were expecting a hammering in store for their team.
When the electric Joe Rokocoko ran in two early tries, the alarm bells were ringing for Wales and fans feared the worst. Mark Taylor replied for Wales, but further misery was heaped on them when Leon MacDonald and Ali Williams scored a couple more tries.
Wales though, with many regulars not playing, and nothing to lose, played with a renewed freedom and scored twice in the space of six minutes. The gap dwindled down to one when Stephen Jones scored a penalty at the beginning of the second half and Shane Williams then scored another try to give them the lead. New Zealand replied with a try, but Jones added another penalty to maintain their slender 37-34 win.
The effort seemed to take a toll on the Welsh though and they couldnt quite sustain their efforts and All Blacks captain Carlos Spencer scored to put them back in frontbefore two more tries sealed the win for New Zealand as they suffered an almighty scare.
#4 Australia 19-18 Ireland (1991 Quarter-Final, Dublin)
The Irish have never been past the quarter-finals, but they got very, very close in 1991.
Despite playing with home advantage, no one fancied the Irish to get the better of Australia in their quarter-final meeting. And the Wallabies took early control of the game with two tries from star man David Campese and the kicking of Michael Lynagh.
Ireland stayed in touch though, thanks to the kicking of Ralph Keyes, and with five minutes to go in the match, they trailed 12-15. Flanker Gordon Hamilton then stepped up to produce a fantastic try that looked to have won the game for the Irish as the faithful went rapturous. Keyes added the conversion and Ireland led by three.
However, Australia won a scrum in Irish territory. They managed to free up Campese who in his attempt to score was stopped inches short of the line by the Irish defence, but much to the chagrin of the home side, Lynagh was running in in support and the ball popped up to him and he duly touched down to send a dagger through Irish hearts.
Australia went on to beat England in the final and claim their first world cup.
#3 France 30 - 24 Australia (1987 semi-final, Sydney)
Ooh la la! The French again!
France have a rich history when it comes to causing World Cup upsets and they cultivated this trend right from the first edition where they made the final at the Wallabies’ expense in Sydney.
Everyone had predicted a showdown between Australia and New Zealand in the fight for the first title. France once again, were thought to have no chance against the Aussies.
The French though, tore the script book, and brought one of their own. In a contest that went back and forth, France came back from a deficit three times. With the scores level, it finally came down to a moment of brilliance in the dying minutes from French fullback Serge Blanco, who despite a leg injury, managed to find his way past the Wallabies defence and outrun them to touch down and earn France a historic win.
#2 England 20 - 17 Australia (2003 final, Sydney, Australia)
There had been a lot of great games before this game, but none of the finals have lived up to their billing, perhaps barring the 1995 final. The matches had either been boring or one-sided. In 2003, the world was in for a real treat.
In a thrilling encounter at the Telstra Dome in Sydney, England edged out Australia to claim their first win thanks to a Jonny Wilkinson drop goal just 26 seconds from time in the dying moments of extra time. In a see-saw battle between the sides, Wilkinson’s effort right at the death proved to be the decisive play as England celebrated with Australia left gutted in front of their home supporters.
England came into the final as favourites with much pressure as the world waited to see if they could deliver on their potential. However, it was defending champions and hosts Australia who took the lead through a Lote Tuqiri try. England responded positively, like champions with Jason Robinson finishing a flowing move in the corner.
The two sides then kept trading penalties with Wilkinson and his counterpart, Elton Flatley, going at it with their kicking. Flatley, in fact, kept his cool, to convert a penaly at the end of normal time that tied the score and sent the game into extra time.
That was that, until Wilkinson’s historic right-footed kick.
It was the first time a northern hemisphere team had won the trophy, to date the only one.
#1 France 43 - 31 New Zealand (1991 semi-final, London, England)
The greatest World Cup game and amongst the best rugby matches of all time, this game at Twickenham was one for the ages. The All Blacks came into the game having battered England and Scotland, while France had scratched and clawed their way up against Fiji and Argentina.
To start with, the fact that France upset the almighty All Blacks was hard to believe. On top of that, the fact that they did it after being down 10-24 initially, defied belief. This was an All Blacks side that had the marauding Jonah Lomu in its ranks, in his second world cup now, after lighting up the ‘95 edition in South Africa. They also had Zinzan Brooke and Andrew Mehrtens in fine form.
It had very much according to script early, as Lomu powered his way over the line twice before half-time nonchalantly to put the All Blacks well in command despite France scoring the opening try through Christophe Lamaison. 24-10 it was.
Inspired by Lamaison though, who turned out to be the hero for the French, Les Bleus went on to play perhaps the greatest rugby in entire French history as they suddenly awakened and brought with them an intensity and verve that New Zealand simply could not match, overwhelming their storied opponents in the process. Two drop goals and two penalties from Lamaison cut the deficit down, after which France took over to run in three superb attacking tries, much to the bewilderment of the All Blacks' fans as they saw their team being overrun by a relentless French side.
It was a result that sent shockwaves aroudn the world. And one that reiterated the unpredictability of the French when it came to world cups, for a few days later, they ended up losing the final to Australia rather tamely.
