When teams click

Well two weeks ago I was very harsh on the ABs but last week after a sluggish first quarter they put in a sublime attack. Suddenly the passes stuck, the gaps opened and the seven tries scored were popular views for me this weekend. Some might say it was only Argentina and their naive tactics that moved away from their defensive game but NZ teams have flattered to deceive in Argentina and name me a side in living memory that put on that many points against Argentina at home.

It wasn't by any means a complete performance but within the context of this tournament, it was an outstanding performance. We are often told or reminded on their day the Welsh can beat anyone. Well for NZ it's the reverse: when they click no side in world rugby can live with them. Over the years though I have seen many games where sides have clicked. South Africa with their ferocious power, Australia with their razzle and dazzle, England of 2002-3 with their forward power and clinical finishing. I'm not so old as to have seen Wales in their heyday in the 70s but I imagine a few are. There have been some notable performances though in more recent times but the game against South Africa in 2011 and NZ in 2003 stand out for me where suddenly they clicked and looked very much capable of beating anyone.

So here are some of my favourite moments where I felt the team clicked and you came away from the game thinking you were privileged to have seen something so breathtaking. Feel free to add your own later.

SA Eden Park 2010. 2009 and a 3-0 whitewash. Pride was at stake and senior players had to stand up. Nonu wasn't long back from injury nor was Mealamu. Butterflies were more like dragons in the stomach the week leading up to the match. The display that day put on by the ABs was frighteningly effective. To tame such fearsome opponents so comprehensively was a joy to behold.

In the year 2009, after the disappointment of the 3N, was the test match in Marseille. I was in Paris attending a Fat Freddy's concert and the day after went to see this match in some dive of a place that served up the tastiest duck I have ever eaten and not a badly priced few bottles of plonk. My Kiwi mate and I feasted upon the rugby whilst the Spanish missus and my mate's Italian missus chatted away about... something. The French punters were up for the game in the beginning but they were quickly silenced. The ABs put on a beautiful display of rugby.

It hasn't all gone our way and notably against France. Their second half display in the 99 World Cup and the try from the end of the world - l'essai de l'autre bout du monde but it felt like the end of the world for me in NZ I can tell you! - were difficult to stomach from an AB perspective but standing back from the game, you have to salute the French when they play like that. Alas, their flair has been replaced with smothering defence and though I can salute the brick wall they put up against us in 2007, I wish we could see more of this French team in full flight rather than using only a part of their skill to full effect because Lord knows they have the players to play like they were famed for in the past.

Ireland vs England in 2011 I think in Dublin. It turned into a shambles in the second half and if you sped up the game and put on the Benny Hill tune, it wouldn't have been amiss. But I remember watching that first half effort when Ireland just tore into England and though they got their revenge in this year's 6N, it didn't have the same authority about it. Still I imagine it felt pretty good as an England supporter to see it!

Scotland vs France 1998. Again I'm not too sure about the date like the match above but this was the last 5 Nations match and Wales would upset England the following day and hand the championship to Scotland. I remember going to this game because I had seen a group of drunken and disoriented Scotsmen in kilts who had been in Paris since Thursday and hadn't slept. They smuggled me into a marquis tent next to the Stade de France and to my delight it was an open bar. I remember France scored first and two lone Frenchmen gave a bit of lip and I was made to translate what they said. Scotland then scored three unanswered tries and I was inundated with abuse to translate back to the two aforementioned Frenchmen. My last memory of that day was in the Champs-Elysées with a Moroccan guy with a broom running after a cleaning van, which had been commandeered by a Scot.

Western Samoa vs Wales 91 RWC There have been a few upsets. Tonga against France in the last World Cup, Ireland vs Australia surprised many but I can remember watching the ferocity of Brian Lima's team early in the morning in NZ and doing what precious few ever though possible. In rugby I can appreciate the underdog coming through - though not at the time when NZ is the victim! - and this was a classic example. Fiji against Wales deserves an honorary mention in 2007 and when these Pacific Island teams click, it's a joy to watch.

They don't have to be 76-0 scorelines or absolute thumpings. But what games can you remember when your team clicked and did you proud? These are by no means an extensive collection but they stand out in the memory for various reasons.

Recently for England (last 3 years)

Home to Australia in 2010. One of the few times we ever got to see what our backs can do. Ashton's try in particular was a beaut.

Home to Italy 6N's 2011. As a reasonably young England fan (2005+) I remember this fondly as the only time i've seen England wupp a tier one side.

Home to Ireland 6N's 2012. Not a try fest but the Eng pack worked like a well oiled machine that day, the backs tackled well too.

Straight away, I think of the British and Irish Lions v Australia in the first test in 2001. I can't really think of a Welsh performance that everything clicked off the top of my head, bar possibly the game against Scotland at Murrayfield in 2005. Everything went right then (especially for the first forty minutes), in attack and defence.

I remember Australia coming to Cardiff and clicking in 2009, I think it was a week after they lost to Scotland. We certainly couldn't live with the rubgy they were playing that afternoon. Giteau picked up MOTM after a well-rounded display of tactical play, successful goal-kicks and setting up 3 of their 4 tries.

Morgannwg wrote:I remember Australia coming to Cardiff and clicking in 2009, I think it was a week after they lost to Scotland. We certainly couldn't live with the rubgy they were playing that afternoon. Giteau picked up MOTM after a well-rounded display of tactical play, successful goal-kicks and setting up 3 of their 4 tries.

Yes that is a great example for a game against us. I was at the stadium then and it was painful to see how much space the Australians had.

Yep. But it was space their forwards and fly-half created. Wasn't the best time for us with players pulling out before and during the match, but saying that Deans was introducing Cooper, Iaone and a couple others during that tour.

The Australia match is a good shout in particular yappysnap. Australia never saw that coming.

Australia against France in the AI series in 2010 was another game they clicked. It reminds me the NZ France game was in 2009.

Oh aye, it was definitely their doing rather than mistakes by Wales. Was a masterful performance.

Kia I was at the first ever Tri Nations game. Name a better wet weather performance. I had a bright orange coat on and my seat was on the sidelines-I remember pausing the tape during a try to see myself freezing my nipples off.

I was at Athletic Park against Australia. The score was something 46-6. Was that the match because if no there is none better?

43-6. Yup. That's the one.

NZ's ruthlessness when it comes to finishing tries off is usually miles ahead of the rest, who often match them in play but are nowhere near as clinical. An example was last week-when the ABs are in form the score can get away from teams who often think how the f**k did that happen?!

I was also at the last test ever at Athletic Part against France in 1999 when we clocked them 54-7.
A guy had a heart attack right in front of me early in the game so I wasn't cheering as much as I should have been.
Its the only rugby jersey I have ever paid for.

England home to Australia 2010.?Great try by Ashton true but what lousy decision making.A minute to half time,man in the bin,behind on the board a sensible captain.Would have taken 3 and rebuilt a new with 15 players second half.BUT no tap,lost in contact two passes and Ashton had a 90 metre dash for a try game over,