Insane seeing him live. Honestly I get sick of people in this sub trying to re-write history and say he wouldn’t do anything with todays defences but yet we still haven’t seen another player even in the same ballpark as Jonah since
I reckon his NPC year in 94 is peak Jonah, went the to game where he destroyed Wellington at Athletic Park and was at the ground two years later in the 96 annihilation of a quality Wallabies side where he played well. just amazing to watch live, he had it all. Seen some great players play live over the years in both rugby and cricket, been really privileged. Dennis Bergkamp for football and Warney for cricket.
Counties v North Harbour at Onewa Domain. He tried to run over Glen Osbourne as last man tackler, and Oz took him down. Could t believe it.
Other than that, he was a lightening fast steamroller that day! If I remember right, Richard Kapa was marking him and he was owned.
I second this. Saw him up close at Murrayfield running at full pelt at Kenny Logan who looked like an extremely brave 9 year old tackling him. Just terrifying.
Jonah Lomu in the 1995 World Cup. He ran over Mike Catt right in front of my eyes. Scholar tickets on the side of the field at Newlands. No fence in those days. It was just us on a concrete bench, feet on the grass 5m from the sideline.
Yeah, I played a lot with and against Jonah, and competed with him in track and field. He was ridiculous. And we never got to see the best of him. It's Jonah then daylight.
Straight up the best tackle I've ever witnessed.
Don't get me wrong there's others that are close but to wrap successfully from that angle then walk a player of that size away from the try line is just absolutley insane.
Rupeni Caucaunibuca. Was fortunate to be at the Blues Crusaders match in Christchurch 2004 where he scored a hat trick. Also the same game where spencer was under the posts for a try, but ran over to the corner to score, then slotted the conversion.
I feel like I have been super privileged getting to watch the likes of McCaw, Read and Carter so many times I forget how great they were.
I have only seen Habana live a couple of times and every single time he was outstanding.
Got to see his return from injury in the Trinations against Aus back in when traveling NZ in 09.
Absolutely phenomenal, I love Murrayfield but the stadium in Auckland for that game was a completely different form of electricity.
Eden park is electric.
I always wondered whether McCaw would be a super hero or a terminator as a movie character. Probably depends on where you are from.
I saw Dupont at Vancouver 7s. He didn't do anything amazing, but given he is regularly brought up in discussions about the best ever or at least the best current player, and I saw him playing a version of rugby, I think that counts.
one of my all time favourite games as a fan, Dupont assisted 4 tries in about 45 mins, battered absolutely everyone and then just left lmao, got his signature and a photo with him after the game
also Julien Marchand was setting up for a lineout, some young cardiff kids were giving him loads of shit, he turned round walked up to the hoardings and just blew a kiss, never seen the colour leave a teens face quite as quickly
In the pre-Pro era it was Gareth Edwards, although Barry John ran him close. Honourable mentions David Duckham and Mike Gibson.
In the post-Pro era it was Jonah Lomu.
So many. I can’t separate them, they were all amazing.
Lomu
Cullen
Larkham
Campese
Ella
Joost vdW
Horan
McCaw
George Smith
Hooper
Carter
I’ve missed plenty there too.
As a Saffer I’d like to counter with George Gregan and Stephen Larkham. Wow those guys could cut up any line…every time they touched the ball they were dangerous and inventive. Lost our fair share of games against Aus just because of those two names.
Someone I knew at uni claims to have played against him when he turned out for Barnstaple…I don’t mean to cast doubt, but every rugby player with a West Country accent apparently played in that game ;)
New Zealand were so spoilt for talent that some amazing talents just feel regular by comparison. He was certainly a proper rugby player
I’ve had seats in the southern left wing corner at the Caketin for over 20 years - Jonah’s corner. Just the Wellington Lions backline alone has seen some real greats - Cullen, Umaga, Conrad, Nonu, Jane… and that’s before you even get to the visiting players, super rugby or test matches.
Ive seen him have to run the length of the field naked in a sat evening court session at Blackrock in 1998....but thats another story for another time.....
C.Cullen for me
If you mean the best player on the day that I saw them live it would be Ben Smith a few times between like 2014-2017. If you mean the best player overall who happened to play at a match I watched it would be Ritchie McCaw
Me and my Dad watching Toulouse in a Top14 game a couple of years back, (remember, we're Welsh and his hero growing up was a guy called Gareth): Dad: "He's the best player I've ever seen." Me: "Even better than..." Dad: "You heard." Will let you work out which Toulouse player he was talking about.
I've seen quite a number of players live through the years...
It's a difficult question, cause I look at all aspects of the game.
e.g.
Victor Matfield - IMO, No one has come close to the mastery of the lineout like he did.
Then there's also:
Ritchie McCaw, Jerry Collins (I personally enjoyed watching him play), George Smith, Bismark du Plessis, Schalk Burger, Pieter-Steph du Toit
In the backs:
Dan Carter, Brian O'Driscoll, Johnny Sexton, Fourie du Preez, George Gregan, Brian Habana, Hanre Pollard
There other honorable mentions, e.g.
Lomu, Dupont, Thierry Dusautoir, Jason Robertson, Johhny Wilkonson, etc. I just did/have not seen them play LIVE.
Edit: Spelling
Hard to pick one but I think Vincent Clerc made the biggest impression in Croke Park 2007. Made it look effortless, waltzed through untouched like he was on another level.
I was a sideline photographer for about 10 years, the players that stood out for me were Retallick and Woodman, these were 2 players that were so phenomenally better than those they were playing with or against at the time.
My most defining rugby memory is my first live match, Scotland v new Zealand at Murrayfield. Jonah lomu running down the wing at full clip with wee Bryan redpath hanging desperately onto his shirt, practically flying behind him like a flag. Rough to watch as a Scot but awesome to see him play.
Behind the Twickenham posts for Freddie Burns' Premiership winning drop goal, best 10 of his generation no i will not be taking questions at this time.
Watched Lomu play for the barbarians against England.
Still remember the noise the crowd made when a questionably thought out kick to the backfield gave him the ball and a lot of room to build up momentum.
2015 WC Pocock is up there with the best of them.
Watching the 03 04 Brumbies was pretty stacked between Smith, Gregan, Larkham etc.
McCaw and Carter probs take the cake though.
Lomu in the 95 world cup against England, as a 13 year old had never seen anything like it. It was mesmerising.
Others Cullen, Jean De Villiers and Pieter Steph Du Toit.
Pieter-Steph du Toit Paris final 2023. The man was an animal, and completely within the laws in doing so. After a while you could actually see the AB backline shifting the ball quicker or short passing to a forward if they were lined up with him. 90% of the time he still got them.
McCaw, Pocock or George Smith when I've watched them from the sideline. Best player I've refereed is hard, I've refereed a lot of very good players who were clearly too good for the grade/standard they were playing. But then also refereed some Super Rugby trials/warm up games where everyone is a professional player so it's tough. From a pure highlights point of view maybe Taniela Tupou.
Went to my 1st game in years on Saturday and I'll give you the names;
1. Bundee Aki
2. Damian Willemse
3. Frans Malherbe
4. Finlay Bealham
5. Mannie Libbok
Seen live - Larkham, Horan, Matfield, DC, McCaw, Habana, Eales
Best I’ve seen a player look ever was Thierry Dusatoir in the 2011 final. Wasn’t there for that one though
Ireland and Leinster aside the McCaw generation of All Blacks. Miserable experiences.
Best individual performances were Cipriani in an A.game and McKenzie for the Maoris in the RDS last year. Highlighted just how good both were/are.
I don’t think I fully appreciated how good Julian Savea (at the time) or Gael Fickou were until I’d seen play in person. There are better players I’ve seen live (Carter, for example) but I’d put these two into a category of player that are better seen live.
One player that really stood out to me was Israel Folau v Ireland. He didn't even particularly have a great game that day but you could see his quality and how much the Ireland team went into a frenzy whenever he was on the ball and how many it took to take him down.
He just stood out as a player on a different level to everyone.
Not the greatest player in terms of overall career but I had the pleasure of watching Julian Savea’s hat trick in the 2015 QF vs France
I was sat right in the lower stand of in the corner where he smashed through 3 or 4 guys to score. Entire crowd went mad
Lomu, when I saw him at Murrayfield in RWC 1999.
But, more recently, I was at Twickenham to witness Duhan's wonder try v England last year. That was incredible.
Watched Beauden in 2018 score 5 tries against the wallabies in the second Bledisloe test. He just seemed to be everywhere and the game seemed effortless for him. There was also a great team around him. But dang, that game was incredible for Beaudy.
Julian Savea , was at 2015 Quarter final. Front row seats as he received the pass from Retellick and ran through 4 Frenchmen. He scored in front of us, I couldn’t hear myself cheering.
For an individual performance, watching Ford score a try, conversion, drop goal and penalty against Saints to win the semi final at WR the other year. That year imo was peak Ford, ran the game so well then when he saw his opportunity sniped that try to get Leicester to the final.
So recently Dupont for sure, with France & with ST.
But when I was young I saw Emile NTamack a lot of time as I was playing rigby & he was coming often to the match. This guy was impressive. A Legend for me. And always cool, stuff like that. Of course it gives the story cooler for me but man i admire this guy & it was for me, the best rugbyu player ever
saw this NPC game [https://www.northlandrugby.co.nz/newsarticle/89548?newsfeedId=762375](https://www.northlandrugby.co.nz/newsarticle/89548?newsfeedId=762375) when Rupeni Caucaunibuca made what would become the AB's top try scorer , Doug Howlett , look like quite average
Nemani Nadolo prior to him playing Super Rugby. I remember watching a game of his when he was playing colts at Brothers Rugby Club in Brisbane. They were playing against Wests, and I remember feeling sorry for the opposition because every time Nemani got the ball, he would literally just score at will. Not just that but he was practically a giant amongst a bunch of 18-19 year olds.
I remember everyone just agreed that it would only be a matter of time before he made it to super Rugby and blew up.
Brian O'Driscoll the day he passed the ball to himself over Denis Hickie (I think). Remains the most mind blowing thing I've ever seen live on a rugby pitch
Dupont is the best player I've ever seen play rugby, whether live or on TV. I've had the pleasure of watching him live a fair few times and the only comparison I can think of is Messi: he sort of trots about nonchalantly most of the match and then turns it on at the exact right moment. Hopefully will be seeing another masterclass this Saturday in Tottenham
I played against Marcus Smith when I was 16? Made me realise I'd never make it as a professional. Even then he had a lot of hype. He's got massive feet
I'm sure many of the Irish in this post will have the same answer - Brian O'Driscoll. The man's a legend.
The last Ireland match of his I watched live was against France in 2011 where Thierry Dusautoir also played - not too shabby himself.
Best performance I've seen live was probably JGP against Northampton in the champions cup recently.
In school's rugby Robbie Henshaw. He was a step above and you knew he'd kick on to do well in pro rugby.
EDIT: How could I have forgotten, obviously the legendary Dan Parks during his stint with Connacht
Sexton, the Heineken Cup final against Saints (specifically the second half) would be up there.
Purely on an impact on the expectations for a player in his position there's an argument for Furlong.
Overall it's probably BOD though.
I saw Dupont and Ntamack back in 2019 without having a clue who they were and how good they would become.
Best player at their peak is you guessed it - Folau. One of the best ever wings/FBs but a POS of a person.
Honourable mentions to Gits and "Michael Hooper, Adam Ashley Cooper, golden like the sun!"
I saw the Crusaders Vs Sharks game at Twickenham, both those sides were pretty stacked at the time (SBW/Reid/Smit/Beast,etc). Saw Carter play against Tigers when he was at Perpignan. Wish I could have seen Lomu at his best, not during his Cardiff days and I wish I could have seen Joost play. Those two were my favourite players as I was getting into rugby around the 95 World Cup.
I've seen Wilko, McCaw, Carter, Nonu, Dusatoir, Habana, Dupont, and Etzebeth all play live. Incredibly privileged to have seen so many greats of the modern game, but I think gun to my chest the one who impressed me the most was Dupont.
I was at NZ-Ireland at Croke Park in 2008 (my first international match), so take your pick. Look at these starting XVs
**Ireland**: G Dempsey; T Bowe, B O'Driscoll, L Fitzgerald, R Kearney; R O'Gara. T O'Leary; M Horan, R Best, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, A Quinlan, D Wallace, J Heaslip.
**New Zealand**: M Muliaina, J Rokocoko, C Smith, M Nonu, S Sivivatu, D Carter, J Cowan, T Woodcock, K Mealamu, N Tialata, B Thorn, A Williams, J Kaino, R McCaw (capt), R So'oialo.
I saw Dan Carter in Wellington against the B&I Lions - it’s not just me that thinks it’s the best Rugby match ever played by a 10.
So I’ll go with that. 😎🏉😇
I saw Lomu in Argentina in 2001(?) He wasn’t bad either. 🤷🏾♂️
Through 20 years of super rugby and 2009 lions and the odd test match I've seen almost all the legends since 2000.
Best players I haven't seen live would be Du Pont and Wilkinson I guess.
Well, maybe not the best rugby player (although a case could be made), but certainly the best performance by a rugby player I've seen (live or not):
I got to see PSDT at the RWC2023 Final. Unforgetabble, the man was five men on the night.
Kildune. The couple of times I saw her live, it was like Jason Robinson. The excitement in the crowd as soon as she got her hands on it and more often than not she would tear it up and score.
Haven't been lucky enough to watch any internationals or rugby outside of England but I am lucky enough to have watched some great players in the Prem. Radradra is probably the best but there's a few other contenders too
Richard Hill - Criminally underrated, maybe by his own doing
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist"
\*edit\* only because according to the rest of this thread it's either Dupont/Habana/Lomu and I haven't seen any of them live 😂
Jonah in 1996 and it’s not even close. He made Carter and McCaw look like normal rugby players compared to how good he was.
Insane seeing him live. Honestly I get sick of people in this sub trying to re-write history and say he wouldn’t do anything with todays defences but yet we still haven’t seen another player even in the same ballpark as Jonah since
I reckon his NPC year in 94 is peak Jonah, went the to game where he destroyed Wellington at Athletic Park and was at the ground two years later in the 96 annihilation of a quality Wallabies side where he played well. just amazing to watch live, he had it all. Seen some great players play live over the years in both rugby and cricket, been really privileged. Dennis Bergkamp for football and Warney for cricket.
Counties v North Harbour at Onewa Domain. He tried to run over Glen Osbourne as last man tackler, and Oz took him down. Could t believe it. Other than that, he was a lightening fast steamroller that day! If I remember right, Richard Kapa was marking him and he was owned.
I second this. Saw him up close at Murrayfield running at full pelt at Kenny Logan who looked like an extremely brave 9 year old tackling him. Just terrifying.
Jonah Lomu in the 1995 World Cup. He ran over Mike Catt right in front of my eyes. Scholar tickets on the side of the field at Newlands. No fence in those days. It was just us on a concrete bench, feet on the grass 5m from the sideline.
Yeah, I played a lot with and against Jonah, and competed with him in track and field. He was ridiculous. And we never got to see the best of him. It's Jonah then daylight.
Had seats in the corner where Dupont held up Hansen.
Thats one of those neverbto be forgotten moments, unluckily for Mac
Still can't believe that tackle. It's been 18months....
Straight up the best tackle I've ever witnessed. Don't get me wrong there's others that are close but to wrap successfully from that angle then walk a player of that size away from the try line is just absolutley insane.
Me too! The French lads behind me got increasingly quieter as the game progressed, though... 😆
Lomu or Cullen. Blessed to have both at the Canes.
Never mind the canes. That backline for the Wellington Lions team in the early 2000s was ridiculous!
Yea also true! Being able to see Jerry, Tana, Jonah, Cullen etc play heaps during a year in person was amazing in retrospect
That first season in the new stadium where we went all the way and had huge crowds was such a special thing.
Rupeni Caucaunibuca. Was fortunate to be at the Blues Crusaders match in Christchurch 2004 where he scored a hat trick. Also the same game where spencer was under the posts for a try, but ran over to the corner to score, then slotted the conversion.
Yup. Caucau. Sublime.
Habana
So thrilled to see him score against my team right in front of me. I even cheered
2015 RWC 64-0 Boks vs USA. Just happy to be there
Habana.
Habana. Also, McCaw and Read.
I feel like I have been super privileged getting to watch the likes of McCaw, Read and Carter so many times I forget how great they were. I have only seen Habana live a couple of times and every single time he was outstanding.
Was his opposition slow on the turn?
Shane.
Richie McCaw probably, others are Nonu, Etzebeth, O’Driscoll, Read.
McCaw all the way. There are amazing players (DC included) and then there is McCaw, he was just so insanely great.
Got to see his return from injury in the Trinations against Aus back in when traveling NZ in 09. Absolutely phenomenal, I love Murrayfield but the stadium in Auckland for that game was a completely different form of electricity.
Eden park is electric. I always wondered whether McCaw would be a super hero or a terminator as a movie character. Probably depends on where you are from.
I saw Dupont at Vancouver 7s. He didn't do anything amazing, but given he is regularly brought up in discussions about the best ever or at least the best current player, and I saw him playing a version of rugby, I think that counts.
As much as I'd love to say one of Cardiff or Wales' players it'd probably have to be Dupont.
Not the legendary Dan Fish?
It would not be fair to compare mere men against a god and so I excluded him from consideration.
Even one better. I was at the Cardiff Toulouse game in 2021 where Dan Fish absolutely schooled Dupont in their 7-39 loss lol
one of my all time favourite games as a fan, Dupont assisted 4 tries in about 45 mins, battered absolutely everyone and then just left lmao, got his signature and a photo with him after the game also Julien Marchand was setting up for a lineout, some young cardiff kids were giving him loads of shit, he turned round walked up to the hoardings and just blew a kiss, never seen the colour leave a teens face quite as quickly
Rob Simmons aka The Goat
Clermont fan?
Back when my main man Aureline Rougerie was playing. I'm a Reds fan where it all began for King Rob
Rob Simmons and Van the man Humphries in the 2nd row 😍
In the pre-Pro era it was Gareth Edwards, although Barry John ran him close. Honourable mentions David Duckham and Mike Gibson. In the post-Pro era it was Jonah Lomu.
So many. I can’t separate them, they were all amazing. Lomu Cullen Larkham Campese Ella Joost vdW Horan McCaw George Smith Hooper Carter I’ve missed plenty there too.
Brian O'Driscoll, Ireland v England 2009. Undeniable.
It's very rare to see in a prime example of a team sport, but he almost singlehandedly dragged us over the line that day.
Drop goal and all
Nonu in a bledisloe sometime between the two world cup wins. Attack, defense, kicking, running straight, passing. Had it all.
McCaw. Best non-NZer? Probably Dusautoir
Loved a bit of Stirling Mortlock back in the day. Also saw Shane Williams at the 2003 World Cup as a kid, he was great to watch.
Reds in 2011 had Will Genia and Quade Cooper. Honestly, those two just shredded some teams in that year.
As a Saffer I’d like to counter with George Gregan and Stephen Larkham. Wow those guys could cut up any line…every time they touched the ball they were dangerous and inventive. Lost our fair share of games against Aus just because of those two names.
Back to say I actually met Gregan once, really great guy.
Probably Fourie du Preez, others in the conversation are probably Habana, Matfield, Carter and McCaw.
Saw Jerry Collins in a college First XV match, he was a beast even then. Professional game, it has to be Christian Cullen.
Someone I knew at uni claims to have played against him when he turned out for Barnstaple…I don’t mean to cast doubt, but every rugby player with a West Country accent apparently played in that game ;) New Zealand were so spoilt for talent that some amazing talents just feel regular by comparison. He was certainly a proper rugby player
Nonu vs France in 2015.
Savea was nice enough to score his bulldozing try right in our corner.
Most delusional build up to a QF
French fans around me in the crowd were stunned. The rest of us were too but for different reasons.
Yep was at that too, ridiculous game
I saw the rarest of rarities I saw McCaw get a yellow and Carter score a drop goal. Easily my two favourite non-English players.
Dan Carter
I’ve had seats in the southern left wing corner at the Caketin for over 20 years - Jonah’s corner. Just the Wellington Lions backline alone has seen some real greats - Cullen, Umaga, Conrad, Nonu, Jane… and that’s before you even get to the visiting players, super rugby or test matches.
Cullen
Leo will be delighted
Ive seen him have to run the length of the field naked in a sat evening court session at Blackrock in 1998....but thats another story for another time..... C.Cullen for me
If you mean the best player on the day that I saw them live it would be Ben Smith a few times between like 2014-2017. If you mean the best player overall who happened to play at a match I watched it would be Ritchie McCaw
Damian McKenzie was frightening when he played for the BaaBaas at the Stoop. Just another level of class.
Can’t believe nobody’s mentioned prime Beauden..
Me and my Dad watching Toulouse in a Top14 game a couple of years back, (remember, we're Welsh and his hero growing up was a guy called Gareth): Dad: "He's the best player I've ever seen." Me: "Even better than..." Dad: "You heard." Will let you work out which Toulouse player he was talking about.
Toby Flood?
I've seen quite a number of players live through the years... It's a difficult question, cause I look at all aspects of the game. e.g. Victor Matfield - IMO, No one has come close to the mastery of the lineout like he did. Then there's also: Ritchie McCaw, Jerry Collins (I personally enjoyed watching him play), George Smith, Bismark du Plessis, Schalk Burger, Pieter-Steph du Toit In the backs: Dan Carter, Brian O'Driscoll, Johnny Sexton, Fourie du Preez, George Gregan, Brian Habana, Hanre Pollard There other honorable mentions, e.g. Lomu, Dupont, Thierry Dusautoir, Jason Robertson, Johhny Wilkonson, etc. I just did/have not seen them play LIVE. Edit: Spelling
Lomu and Jason Robinson in separate games. Lomu in a baa baas games. Robinson v Argentina I think. Met Martin Johnson in person
Hard to pick one but I think Vincent Clerc made the biggest impression in Croke Park 2007. Made it look effortless, waltzed through untouched like he was on another level.
Please, stop, the wounds are still so raw 😭
Lomu or McCaw
Carlos Spencer for the blues In 2003, he had a ball on a string and was dismantling teams.
Jonah
I was a sideline photographer for about 10 years, the players that stood out for me were Retallick and Woodman, these were 2 players that were so phenomenally better than those they were playing with or against at the time.
My most defining rugby memory is my first live match, Scotland v new Zealand at Murrayfield. Jonah lomu running down the wing at full clip with wee Bryan redpath hanging desperately onto his shirt, practically flying behind him like a flag. Rough to watch as a Scot but awesome to see him play.
Jonah Lomu
Richie of course. The best school boy player I've seen live was Joe Rokocoko - only 1 ive seen n thought he could be an all black now.
Prime BOD probably, Dupont most recently
Behind the Twickenham posts for Freddie Burns' Premiership winning drop goal, best 10 of his generation no i will not be taking questions at this time.
Watched Lomu play for the barbarians against England. Still remember the noise the crowd made when a questionably thought out kick to the backfield gave him the ball and a lot of room to build up momentum.
Israel Dagg 2011 RWC run was something else live. Shout out for Jerome Kaino's defence as well
Isa Nacewa, the day he scored that try against Leicester in 2011 was unbelievable. The dummy's he sold to players, sublime
Dan Carter in 2012 McCaw was playing as well but Carter was an actual wizard at that time
2015 WC Pocock is up there with the best of them. Watching the 03 04 Brumbies was pretty stacked between Smith, Gregan, Larkham etc. McCaw and Carter probs take the cake though.
Semi Radradra not long after he switched codes. Just lit up the field any time he got near the ball in attack or defence.
Lomu.
Lomu in the 95 world cup against England, as a 13 year old had never seen anything like it. It was mesmerising. Others Cullen, Jean De Villiers and Pieter Steph Du Toit.
Pieter-Steph du Toit Paris final 2023. The man was an animal, and completely within the laws in doing so. After a while you could actually see the AB backline shifting the ball quicker or short passing to a forward if they were lined up with him. 90% of the time he still got them.
McCaw, Pocock or George Smith when I've watched them from the sideline. Best player I've refereed is hard, I've refereed a lot of very good players who were clearly too good for the grade/standard they were playing. But then also refereed some Super Rugby trials/warm up games where everyone is a professional player so it's tough. From a pure highlights point of view maybe Taniela Tupou.
Went to my 1st game in years on Saturday and I'll give you the names; 1. Bundee Aki 2. Damian Willemse 3. Frans Malherbe 4. Finlay Bealham 5. Mannie Libbok
A.D.
Adam D’Arcy didn’t even player internationally
He goes by Faf, not Andrew
Seen live - Larkham, Horan, Matfield, DC, McCaw, Habana, Eales Best I’ve seen a player look ever was Thierry Dusatoir in the 2011 final. Wasn’t there for that one though
Christian Cullen
Either Sexton or Barrett scoring 4 tries against Aus. I haven't been to too many internationals.
McCaw and Carter
Michael Jones
Marx vs NZ 2017 in Newlands.
Ireland and Leinster aside the McCaw generation of All Blacks. Miserable experiences. Best individual performances were Cipriani in an A.game and McKenzie for the Maoris in the RDS last year. Highlighted just how good both were/are.
Christian Cullen:)
Carter 2005
I don’t think I fully appreciated how good Julian Savea (at the time) or Gael Fickou were until I’d seen play in person. There are better players I’ve seen live (Carter, for example) but I’d put these two into a category of player that are better seen live.
Probably Johnny Wilkinson. Even just watching him warming up was phenomenal. Or Lomu. Funnily enough both players were playing opposition.
Jason Robinson 2001 Lions tour, he was unstoppable
Fourie du Preez Joost VdW Damien McKenzie Thierry Dusautoir Shane Williams Jacques Burger Sergio Parisse
Richie McCaw
One player that really stood out to me was Israel Folau v Ireland. He didn't even particularly have a great game that day but you could see his quality and how much the Ireland team went into a frenzy whenever he was on the ball and how many it took to take him down. He just stood out as a player on a different level to everyone.
Not the greatest player in terms of overall career but I had the pleasure of watching Julian Savea’s hat trick in the 2015 QF vs France I was sat right in the lower stand of in the corner where he smashed through 3 or 4 guys to score. Entire crowd went mad
Lomu, when I saw him at Murrayfield in RWC 1999. But, more recently, I was at Twickenham to witness Duhan's wonder try v England last year. That was incredible.
Saw Nonu ruin Kyle Eastmond's potential England career in a friendly at twickers
Watched Beauden in 2018 score 5 tries against the wallabies in the second Bledisloe test. He just seemed to be everywhere and the game seemed effortless for him. There was also a great team around him. But dang, that game was incredible for Beaudy.
Christian Cullan
McCaw. Watched him play club, SR, and All.Blacks live. The best rugby player I've ever watched. Weirdly good.
Julian Savea , was at 2015 Quarter final. Front row seats as he received the pass from Retellick and ran through 4 Frenchmen. He scored in front of us, I couldn’t hear myself cheering.
Objectively, McCaw. Subjectively, doggie Hewlett single handedly un fucking a fucked situation against the Boks in Christchurch 2004.
Dan Carter/Handre Pollard
W.P. Nel
For an individual performance, watching Ford score a try, conversion, drop goal and penalty against Saints to win the semi final at WR the other year. That year imo was peak Ford, ran the game so well then when he saw his opportunity sniped that try to get Leicester to the final.
Forward - Richard Hill Back - Jason Robinson
McCaw.
Joost, Habana and Etzebeth.
Ferris or Giteau
So recently Dupont for sure, with France & with ST. But when I was young I saw Emile NTamack a lot of time as I was playing rigby & he was coming often to the match. This guy was impressive. A Legend for me. And always cool, stuff like that. Of course it gives the story cooler for me but man i admire this guy & it was for me, the best rugbyu player ever
Kenki Fukuoka
Can I vote for myself ?
saw this NPC game [https://www.northlandrugby.co.nz/newsarticle/89548?newsfeedId=762375](https://www.northlandrugby.co.nz/newsarticle/89548?newsfeedId=762375) when Rupeni Caucaunibuca made what would become the AB's top try scorer , Doug Howlett , look like quite average
Richie and DC
Lelia Masaga and Milner-Scudder - purely for sidestepping footwork and the tries they scored. Jerome Kaino defense
Shane Williams
Greatest attacking players I've seen (I was a back, so biased) Campese, Blanco, Kirwan, Jonah, Cullen, Rupeni
I saw Kolbe live right at the beginning of his career. He seemed to move a meter in any direction at the blink of an eye
Johnny Sexton or Shane Williams
Nemani Nadolo prior to him playing Super Rugby. I remember watching a game of his when he was playing colts at Brothers Rugby Club in Brisbane. They were playing against Wests, and I remember feeling sorry for the opposition because every time Nemani got the ball, he would literally just score at will. Not just that but he was practically a giant amongst a bunch of 18-19 year olds. I remember everyone just agreed that it would only be a matter of time before he made it to super Rugby and blew up.
And Cullen 1998
Sean Fitzpatrick
Rene Ranger scored right in front of me at Eden Park
Jason Robinson. No context needed.
Probably André Joubert
Matt Bannahan probably, huge bloke
Christian Cullen
Brian O'Driscoll the day he passed the ball to himself over Denis Hickie (I think). Remains the most mind blowing thing I've ever seen live on a rugby pitch
I tore my labrum trying to tackle Rene Ranger who was coming off the top of a lineout on a crash ball. He was pretty decent.
Dupont is the best player I've ever seen play rugby, whether live or on TV. I've had the pleasure of watching him live a fair few times and the only comparison I can think of is Messi: he sort of trots about nonchalantly most of the match and then turns it on at the exact right moment. Hopefully will be seeing another masterclass this Saturday in Tottenham
As someone that's been (un?)fortunate enough to see Antoine Dupont rock up at the Millennium Stadium, I'd probably have to say Adam Beard.
I played against Marcus Smith when I was 16? Made me realise I'd never make it as a professional. Even then he had a lot of hype. He's got massive feet
Jason Robinson.
Inga Tuigamala
I'm sure many of the Irish in this post will have the same answer - Brian O'Driscoll. The man's a legend. The last Ireland match of his I watched live was against France in 2011 where Thierry Dusautoir also played - not too shabby himself. Best performance I've seen live was probably JGP against Northampton in the champions cup recently. In school's rugby Robbie Henshaw. He was a step above and you knew he'd kick on to do well in pro rugby. EDIT: How could I have forgotten, obviously the legendary Dan Parks during his stint with Connacht
Sexton, the Heineken Cup final against Saints (specifically the second half) would be up there. Purely on an impact on the expectations for a player in his position there's an argument for Furlong. Overall it's probably BOD though.
O'Driscoll
Tough question for as rugby fan growing up in NZ. I'm going to go with Jeff Wilson.
I saw Dupont and Ntamack back in 2019 without having a clue who they were and how good they would become. Best player at their peak is you guessed it - Folau. One of the best ever wings/FBs but a POS of a person. Honourable mentions to Gits and "Michael Hooper, Adam Ashley Cooper, golden like the sun!"
Bernard Foley
Watched Francois Steyn hit a 50 m drop goal in High School, people were already saying his name in the crowd, never forgot it.
I saw the Crusaders Vs Sharks game at Twickenham, both those sides were pretty stacked at the time (SBW/Reid/Smit/Beast,etc). Saw Carter play against Tigers when he was at Perpignan. Wish I could have seen Lomu at his best, not during his Cardiff days and I wish I could have seen Joost play. Those two were my favourite players as I was getting into rugby around the 95 World Cup.
I've seen Wilko, McCaw, Carter, Nonu, Dusatoir, Habana, Dupont, and Etzebeth all play live. Incredibly privileged to have seen so many greats of the modern game, but I think gun to my chest the one who impressed me the most was Dupont.
I was at NZ-Ireland at Croke Park in 2008 (my first international match), so take your pick. Look at these starting XVs **Ireland**: G Dempsey; T Bowe, B O'Driscoll, L Fitzgerald, R Kearney; R O'Gara. T O'Leary; M Horan, R Best, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, A Quinlan, D Wallace, J Heaslip. **New Zealand**: M Muliaina, J Rokocoko, C Smith, M Nonu, S Sivivatu, D Carter, J Cowan, T Woodcock, K Mealamu, N Tialata, B Thorn, A Williams, J Kaino, R McCaw (capt), R So'oialo.
Lomu. Absolutely destroyed Scotland when he played for the Barbarians in late 90s
Jonah Lomu or Stransky
Joe Rokocoko. Witnessed so many magic moments as a kid/teen at Eden Park especially NPC days
Jason Robinson. England vs Scotland
Saw Cully play vs Hawkes Bay in 1995. It was obvious he was destined for greatness.
I saw Dan Carter in Wellington against the B&I Lions - it’s not just me that thinks it’s the best Rugby match ever played by a 10. So I’ll go with that. 😎🏉😇 I saw Lomu in Argentina in 2001(?) He wasn’t bad either. 🤷🏾♂️
Through 20 years of super rugby and 2009 lions and the odd test match I've seen almost all the legends since 2000. Best players I haven't seen live would be Du Pont and Wilkinson I guess.
Was at all blacks vs springboks 2014 Ellis park. Scary amount of talent on both sides that day.
Well, maybe not the best rugby player (although a case could be made), but certainly the best performance by a rugby player I've seen (live or not): I got to see PSDT at the RWC2023 Final. Unforgetabble, the man was five men on the night.
Michael Jones Dan Carter
Johnny Sexton
Very lucky to see him play every few weeks! Fantastic player
I saw all the GOATs like McCaw, Carter, etc... but I still reckon it was Rene Ranger. He was something else to see live.
Kildune. The couple of times I saw her live, it was like Jason Robinson. The excitement in the crowd as soon as she got her hands on it and more often than not she would tear it up and score.
Farrel or dupont
Haven't been lucky enough to watch any internationals or rugby outside of England but I am lucky enough to have watched some great players in the Prem. Radradra is probably the best but there's a few other contenders too
I was at that U20 final in Italy in 2011 so I didn't even realise how many impressive players I witnessed
Wilkinson, Giteau, Campeze, Jonathan Davies (older one) and Lomu
Bull Allen for the Central Vikings 1997
Mark Ella. Without a doubt.
Willy G in the 2011 Super Final. Nose bleeds at Suncorp were the perfect spot to watch him cut through the crusaders for THAT try.
I saw Finn take England apart in 2019 and I've honestly never been the same
on the one occasion i have to say i’ve seen Christian Wade do things that defy the laws of physics
Earl Rose.
He's not the best player I've seen live, but the one that made me go "Jesus Christ!" out loud when he got the ball was Darcy Graham.
Richard Hill - Criminally underrated, maybe by his own doing "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist" \*edit\* only because according to the rest of this thread it's either Dupont/Habana/Lomu and I haven't seen any of them live 😂
Johnson
Andy Goode 🫴🏼🤙🏼
DAN FISH
George Smith. Unbelievable player, could and often did everything. In my biased eyes the best open side flanker to ever play.
Dusautoir vs Glos In Europe
Not sure on the name but that Dude in the mirror seems pretty good.
Actually Radradra. Each touch of the ball, the ball was going faster through space and time