Your favorite era of rugby

Saw this title on another forum and thought it might be interesting to start one here.

What is you favorite era of rugby?

Probably the Early 90's for me.
Most of my favorite players were from here when i was growing up playing rugby at school and local club.

The days when scouts werent looking for mobile athletes...their slection criteria were quite simple for potential props, hookers, number eights or locks – “Is your son a brute who can wrestle a cow? Rugby is for him then.”

Great old school warriors -
Brian Moore, Mike teague, Dean richards, Fitzpatrick, David Sole, John Jeffries, Finlay Caulder, Scrum Half - Gary Armstrong,
Norm Hadley and a strong physical Canadian team

Great backs like - Rory Underwood, Serge Blanco, David Campese, Michael Lynagh, Tim Horan and Jason Little, Frank Bunce, John Kirwin, Inga the Winga, Gavin Hastings, Phillipe Sella....

Also remembering some of the actual teams....

The brutal Western Samoan team that beat Wales...leading to the famous - "Thank heavens Wales weren't playing the whole of Samoa".
Timo Tagaloa, Frank Bunce, Pat Lam, Brian Lima, Peter Fatialofa, Apolo Perelini

Monstrous Norm Hadley and a strong physical Canadian team that made the quarter finals of the 1991 WC.

What an era....

Whats YOUR favorite era ....and why?

I remember watching an old video years back and being disgusted with myself for actually thinking at the time I was watching classic matches. Rolling maul after rolling maul followed by a garry owen.

The characters were great mind. It was a game for all shapes and sizes, fat and short no problem, tall and thin no problem, short and thin no problem, tall and fat (anyone remember deano in his pomp???).

the 97-05 era was probably its peak. Then the RL strategies started coming in, the defences started to shore up and tries dried up.

GeordieFalcon wrote:The brutal Western Samoan team that beat Wales...leading to the famous - "Thank heavens Wales weren't playing the whole of Samoa". Timo Tagaloa, Frank Bunce, Pat Lam, Brian Lima, Peter Fatialofa, Apolo Perelini

My first season of Union was for a club in Brisbane and my team had Sila Vaifale at lock - he who scored one of the tries on that famous day. He was such a good bloke....had to be to put up with me pestering him over that side.

As a Bok supporter I don't have an era, just a year and 17 successive wins.

BB come on... Kamp Staaldraad was a hoot no???

Biltong wrote:As a Bok supporter I don't have an era, just a year and 17 successive wins.

It’s funny – I remember your last loss before that run – 55-30 v NZ at Eden Park. We could’ve scored 70 that day. Amazing how quickly we regressed without Fitzy and Zinny

fa0019 wrote:BB come on... Kamp Staaldraad was a hoot no???

But a mere moment in time FA

Two "eras" for me, or rather years. 1990 and 1999, for obvious reasons!

I loved the 1995 WC and the 1997 Lions. Both events really set alight my love for rugby (although it was 1990 that put rugby on the map for me) so I'd probably go with that period.

90's for me.  Those years before and after the 95 WC had some great characters and the game was still the game I'd grown up with.  The 96/97 All Blacks was probably the greatest team I've ever seen.  Too many stupid rules now has changed the game I love and the referee has become a b****y coach!   What the hell has the "breakdown" become?  A couple of players with their arse in the air fishing around waiting for the ref to tell them it's a ruck! and everyone else lined up like a rugby league team.  Pathetic.

I know I'm an old f**t but I even detest the modern kit - players today look like advertising boards.  The only thing on your jersey should be the name of the club or country you play for - that and some blood and sweat.

I find the creaky eras say 00-03 boks very interesting. The players on the boks side will be forever tainted with being part of a team heralded as the worst in living history, losses to Wales, Scotland, the 53-3 loss to England at Twickenham, Kamp Staaldraad etc etc.

Yet those who beat them, even if they didn't achieve anything else in rugby will probably be able to eat off those wins for the rest of their lives with after dinner speeches, even pundit gigs etc,... when we beat the boks etc etc.

Lots of pressure for the boks and like... lose one to sides such as these and people will never remember you for anything else..... win against them and the victors will never have to do anything else again.

Im in complete agreeance Offload!

offload wrote:90's for me.  Those years before and after the 95 WC had some great characters and the game was still the game I'd grown up with.  The 96/97 All Blacks was probably the greatest team I've ever seen.  Too many stupid rules now has changed the game I love and the referee has become a b****y coach!   What the hell has the "breakdown" become?  A couple of players with their arse in the air fishing around waiting for the ref to tell them it's a ruck! and everyone else lined up like a rugby league team.  Pathetic.

I know I'm an old f**t but I even detest the modern kit - players today look like advertising boards.  The only thing on your jersey should be the name of the club or country you play for - that and some blood and sweat.

The other problem with that is that modern kits now are the norm throughout the game... but amateur even semi-pro players don't quite look the sculpted Olympian types we often see in tier 1 pro rugby. The old jersey's used to compliment the 35+ gut well... now, it enhances it to all our displeasure.

The new jerseys also have the advantage of not weighing 5 kilos when soaked through and caked in mud like the old ones.

When I was young and fit the new jerseys would have suited me better, now for obvious reasons the old ones seem to disguise the inadequacies a bit better.

Early 2000s for me. Got to see one of the best Aus teams ever fielded. They once 76 nilled England they were that great.

The Saint wrote:Early 2000s for me. Got to see one of the best Aus teams ever fielded. They once 76 nilled England they were that great.

Some thing Wales have never done. eh Saint.

Besides was Australia really that good. Or was England just soooooooooooo Bad? at he time that is.

1953-70 watching the fourth All Blacks in action,the 1958 Wallabies[my first local tour match in Bournemouth,
Listening to matches on the radio,my first Tv match England v France,5Ns Great Lions tours won drawn one
lost.Great British players Jeeps,Morgan,Bledynn Williams,Jackson,Risman,Terry Davies,Ken Scotland,o`Reilly
Kyle,Butterfield.backs,Roy John,Rhys Williams,Bill Mulcahy,ron Jacobs,Bryn Meredith,on and on.Wales and Cardiff
beating the AB`s.

Then the 1960`s the great Bok side 1960-1,All Blacks 1963-4 [THE BEST SIDE EVER},4 AB tests lost in10years
one series.A 17 match 4 year unbeaten run by AB`s first side to do it.Then the wheels came off in the 70`s.

Tremain,Young,Meads brothers ,Nathan ,Graham,Stewart,Laidlaw,and a raft of young backs Smith Davis,Macrae,
Kirton.a 100% run under Fred Allen [forwards Coached on advice of Young Vic Cavanagh a man allen rated as God]
not a bad judge pity NZRFU did`nt.

83-89 for me without a shadow of a doubt. Coincides with my playing days in the Auckland age and club scene. NZ domestic rugby literally exploded between 1983 with the great Auckland and Canterbury teams and coaches Henry, Trapp, Harty from Auckland and good old Grizz and mains from the South.

The talent groomed from those mighty battles spilt out onto the International scene in 1987 with the first world cup- the arrival of star players like Michael Jones, Fox, Kirwan, Buck Shelford, the Whettons, Fitzy etc and a new era was born. In Auckland it meant a 63 straight run of consecutive Ranfurly Shield defences over the next 8 years, one I can confidently say will never be beaten, and the only side the crowd 'literally' switched sides of the field at half time on a regular basis to watch the tries.

Just being in amongst what I believe was the greatest period of both Auckland and NZ rugby has left a huge impression on me and I know thousands of fans and players at the time.

In Rugby in the 80's, Auckland was THE place to be....

1999_2003. England became the best team in world rugby and were the innovatets rather than follows. 14 consecutive wins against Australia, south Africa and new Zealand including away wins in all three. Can't see a northern hemisphere coming close to that dominance again

Its interesting that some people remember eras so fondly due to results...yet others for the actual players around at that time...

Ie Whilst the England team of 2003 was the most successful, Im am drawn so much more to the England team 1990 - 1994/5 with Brian Moore, Will Carling, Jerry Guscott, Rory Underwood, Mike Teague, Dean Richards...Tim Rodber - one of my all time favorite England players.

The Saint wrote:Early 2000s for me. Got to see one of the best Aus teams ever fielded. They once 76 nilled England they were that great.

That was in 1998.

96-97 for me. Great rugby to watch, my ABs were going well (hell even the Canes were ok then), the laws let the game flow and there wasn't too much rugby. 10 tests a year, which is ok for me, and all the ABs played all of Super 12 and some of the NPC.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Its interesting that some people remember eras so fondly due to results...yet others for the actual players around at that time...

Ie Whilst the England team of 2003 was the most successful, Im am drawn so much more to the England team 1990 - 1994/5 with Brian Moore, Will Carling, Jerry Guscott, Rory Underwood, Mike Teague, Dean Richards...Tim Rodber - one of my all time favorite England players.

The early 90s ENG team were so talented. People laud Hill, Back and Dallaglio but I think Clarke, Winterbottom & Richards were just as good, perhaps even superior.

The 93 Lions tour were hugely talented, almost came away with a series win (which has only ever been done once).

We laud European rugby now but lets see how good they are in 2017 when they tour NZ... if they get the results that the 93 lions achieved they will almost certainly see that as a success (secretly)... and the 93 tour is even as an absolute failure by the players involved.

Had they won that one they would have had 3 series victories on the trot.. surpassing the 71-74 era. It was a huge era for European rugby. Even France went to NZ in 94 and won a series.

majesticimperialman wrote:

The Saint wrote:Early 2000s for me. Got to see one of the best Aus teams ever fielded. They once 76 nilled England they were that great.

Some thing Wales have never done. eh Saint.

Besides was Australia really that good. Or was England just soooooooooooo Bad? at he time that is.

Obvs.

The thing is Maj, you never do beat England. It was usually the ref that did so. So I for one will not be listening to your infinite list of excuses. I'm just going to appreciate the Aus team of 97-03 era.

That tour from hell had literally no first team players in it. I think only Cockerill, Archer, Healy and Perry were seen as first choice players. The rest.... anyone remember Pool-Jones, Spencer Brown, Benton, Sturnham????

Blooded youngsters such as Vickery, Lewsey, Wilkinson mind... but that's really clutching at straws.
Its bad that Europe thinks it can send weak tour sides to the SH.. and they still do like the games don't matter.

Its disrespectful to go to AUS and NZ, face a team with the likes of Gregan, Larkham, Tune, Horan, Roff, Burke, Herbert (that's just the backline!!!)... let alone Kearns, Eales, Wilson, Cockbain & Kefu in the pack... and hand debuts to 6 chaps.

What did they expect to happen?

fa0019 wrote:That tour from hell had literally no first team players in it. I think only Cockerill, Archer, Healy and Perry were seen as first choice players. The rest.... anyone remember Pool-Jones, Spencer Brown, Benton, Sturnham????

Blooded youngsters such as Vickery, Lewsey, Wilkinson mind... but that's really clutching at straws.
Its bad that Europe thinks it can send weak tour sides to the SH.. and they still do like the games don't matter.

Its disrespectful to go to AUS and NZ, face a team with the likes of Gregan, Larkham, Tune, Horan, Roff, Burke, Herbert (that's just the backline!!!)... let alone Kearns, Eales, Wilson, Cockbain & Kefu in the pack... and hand debuts to 6 chaps.

What did they expect to happen?

I can't recall a NH team doing that for a number of years. Though I do remember SA resting all their players in the final rounds of the RC pre-RWC.

The Saint wrote:

fa0019 wrote:That tour from hell had literally no first team players in it. I think only Cockerill, Archer, Healy and Perry were seen as first choice players. The rest.... anyone remember Pool-Jones, Spencer Brown, Benton, Sturnham????

Blooded youngsters such as Vickery, Lewsey, Wilkinson mind... but that's really clutching at straws.
Its bad that Europe thinks it can send weak tour sides to the SH.. and they still do like the games don't matter.

Its disrespectful to go to AUS and NZ, face a team with the likes of Gregan, Larkham, Tune, Horan, Roff, Burke, Herbert (that's just the backline!!!)... let alone Kearns, Eales, Wilson, Cockbain & Kefu in the pack... and hand debuts to 6 chaps.

What did they expect to happen?

I can't recall a NH team doing that for a number of years. Though I do remember SA resting all their players in the final rounds of the RC pre-RWC.

Happens every year to England and France for their first summer tour test.

The difference is... SA can handle it. NZ can handle it if they send weakened sides.

fa0019 wrote:

The Saint wrote:

fa0019 wrote:That tour from hell had literally no first team players in it. I think only Cockerill, Archer, Healy and Perry were seen as first choice players. The rest.... anyone remember Pool-Jones, Spencer Brown, Benton, Sturnham????

Blooded youngsters such as Vickery, Lewsey, Wilkinson mind... but that's really clutching at straws.
Its bad that Europe thinks it can send weak tour sides to the SH.. and they still do like the games don't matter.

Its disrespectful to go to AUS and NZ, face a team with the likes of Gregan, Larkham, Tune, Horan, Roff, Burke, Herbert (that's just the backline!!!)... let alone Kearns, Eales, Wilson, Cockbain & Kefu in the pack... and hand debuts to 6 chaps.

What did they expect to happen?

I can't recall a NH team doing that for a number of years. Though I do remember SA resting all their players in the final rounds of the RC pre-RWC.

Happens every year to England and France for their first summer tour test.

The difference is... SA can handle it. NZ can handle it if they send weakened sides.

We didnt do it this summer?

fa0019 wrote:

The Saint wrote:

fa0019 wrote:That tour from hell had literally no first team players in it. I think only Cockerill, Archer, Healy and Perry were seen as first choice players. The rest.... anyone remember Pool-Jones, Spencer Brown, Benton, Sturnham????

Blooded youngsters such as Vickery, Lewsey, Wilkinson mind... but that's really clutching at straws.
Its bad that Europe thinks it can send weak tour sides to the SH.. and they still do like the games don't matter.

Its disrespectful to go to AUS and NZ, face a team with the likes of Gregan, Larkham, Tune, Horan, Roff, Burke, Herbert (that's just the backline!!!)... let alone Kearns, Eales, Wilson, Cockbain & Kefu in the pack... and hand debuts to 6 chaps.

What did they expect to happen?

I can't recall a NH team doing that for a number of years. Though I do remember SA resting all their players in the final rounds of the RC pre-RWC.

Happens every year to England and France for their first summer tour test.

The difference is... SA can handle it. NZ can handle it if they send weakened sides.

The times SA have fielded a weakened team in the RC, they've been thrashed. So I'm not so sure that they can handle it.

1870s - 1920s. That was when rugby was really great and real men played. No replacements, shirts made out of Welsh Coal and Steel, badges as big as London and proper moustaches. It was best when it was 20 a side before the 15 a side era. rugby went soft when the northern union left. I'm getting a bit nostalgic.

Best time is now. Live in the present.

That said, I didn't mind 2002-2003 too much.

mckay1402 wrote:1870s - 1920s.  That was when rugby was really great and real men played.  No replacements, shirts made out of Welsh Coal and Steel, badges as big as London and proper moustaches.  It was best when it was 20 a side before the 15 a side era.  rugby went soft when the northern union left.   I'm getting a bit nostalgic.  

Can't agree. That 4 month British Lions tour in 1910 was way overrated!

McKay do you still owe Jesus twenty quid from the good old days?

Yeah but you can't beat a 3-0 whitewash of SA in 1891. In all honesty I would love to have seen what rugby looked like then. it must have looked so alien to our modern game. I do kind of miss the amateur days but maybe I'm getting old...

SA went on a 60 year run without losing a series after that I think which is absolutely mind blowing and more than enough reason to put them top of the tree with NZ over time. I'd have loved to see the whole before and after from the perspective of wing forward play.

My favorite - next year. It's always next year.
Next year we're finally going to win the 6N / World Cup / Whatever's going.
Our players are going to live up to the hype next year.

Can almost hear Annie singing about tomorrow....

fa0019 wrote:I find the creaky eras say 00-03 boks very interesting. The players on the boks side will be forever tainted with being part of a team heralded as the worst in living history, losses to Wales, Scotland, the 53-3 loss to England at Twickenham, Kamp Staaldraad etc etc.

Yet those who beat them, even if they didn't achieve anything else in rugby will probably be able to eat off those wins for the rest of their lives with after dinner speeches, even pundit gigs etc,... when we beat the boks etc etc.

Lots of pressure for the boks and like... lose one to sides such as these and people will never remember you for anything else..... win against them and the victors will never have to do anything else again.

Just what the heck did happen to make that side so bad? If I recall there were some pretty decent players in it still weren't there?

I remember that 53-3 game, it was one of the first I ever watched live (on a school trip), and you boys looked massive, like insanely massive, but were just terrible around the park.

I'd say NZ from 1998 to 2003 was pretty average. Sure, they were a big threat to everyone, but winning is what the team was about. The pack had a soft underbelly and the lineout was a shambles. Plus we picked three of the most dangerous back four of all time out of position. Add a mercurial 10 who infected the side when he played badly and a reactive approach to the game and they got found out. Good enough offensively to put 50 on SA and Oz away in consecutive weeks, but not good enough to claw their way out of holes.

offload wrote:90's for me.  Those years before and after the 95 WC had some great characters and the game was still the game I'd grown up with.  The 96/97 All Blacks was probably the greatest team I've ever seen.  Too many stupid rules now has changed the game I love and the referee has become a b****y coach!   What the hell has the "breakdown" become?  A couple of players with their arse in the air fishing around waiting for the ref to tell them it's a ruck! and everyone else lined up like a rugby league team.  Pathetic.

I know I'm an old f**t but I even detest the modern kit - players today look like advertising boards.  The only thing on your jersey should be the name of the club or country you play for - that and some blood and sweat.

+1 to absolutely all of that.

mckay1402 wrote:1870s - 1920s.  That was when rugby was really great and real men played.  No replacements, shirts made out of Welsh Coal and Steel, badges as big as London and proper moustaches.  It was best when it was 20 a side before the 15 a side era.  rugby went soft when the northern union left.   I'm getting a bit nostalgic.  

McKay - is there a '1' missing from the start of your age?

yappysnap wrote:

fa0019 wrote:I find the creaky eras say 00-03 boks very interesting. The players on the boks side will be forever tainted with being part of a team heralded as the worst in living history, losses to Wales, Scotland, the 53-3 loss to England at Twickenham, Kamp Staaldraad etc etc.

Yet those who beat them, even if they didn't achieve anything else in rugby will probably be able to eat off those wins for the rest of their lives with after dinner speeches, even pundit gigs etc,... when we beat the boks etc etc.

Lots of pressure for the boks and like... lose one to sides such as these and people will never remember you for anything else..... win against them and the victors will never have to do anything else again.

Just what the heck did happen to make that side so bad? If I recall there were some pretty decent players in it still weren't there?

I remember that 53-3 game, it was one of the first I ever watched live (on a school trip), and you boys looked massive, like insanely massive, but were just terrible around the park.

SA had one of their 'thugs' sent off after a (very) late tackle on Jonny about mid-way through the 1st half. SA had just come for a fight but England could handle themselves and were absolutely merciless.

I remember watching that game in O'Neills in York. SA have had some revenge since, but even the 36-0 thrashing they gave us in the WC group in 2007 was nothing on that beating.

fa0019 wrote:I remember watching an old video years back and being disgusted with myself for actually thinking at the time I was watching classic matches. Rolling maul after rolling maul followed by a garry owen.

I agree. 2003-2007 was a real low point for the game. No wonder us excitement oriented Americans are only just getting into it now - aside from when we wiped the entire Olympic world and set the benchmark a century ago.

TobyBryant wrote:

fa0019 wrote:I remember watching an old video years back and being disgusted with myself for actually thinking at the time I was watching classic matches. Rolling maul after rolling maul followed by a garry owen.

I agree. 2003-2007 was a real low point for the game. No wonder us excitement oriented Americans are only just getting into it now - aside from when we wiped the entire Olympic world and set the benchmark a century ago.

Odd comment.  Most Americans that I know enjoy straight-ahead, hard nosed, physical (American) football.  I would think a properly executed Driving Maul would be considered a thing of beauty, as it is at my club. The pass-happy fancy dan stuff is just for tv.

No real favourite era ,lots of amazing points over many decades but if i was to refer to a pinnacle that will always be a bench mark that near perfection was reached,it would have to be the All Blacks 2005-2006, magic just pure magic,they had around 30 players who could just play unreal skill full rugby.

doctor_grey wrote:

TobyBryant wrote:

fa0019 wrote:I remember watching an old video years back and being disgusted with myself for actually thinking at the time I was watching classic matches. Rolling maul after rolling maul followed by a garry owen.

I agree. 2003-2007 was a real low point for the game. No wonder us excitement oriented Americans are only just getting into it now - aside from when we wiped the entire Olympic world and set the benchmark a century ago.

Odd comment.  Most Americans that I know enjoy straight-ahead, hard nosed, physical (American) football.  I would think a properly executed Driving Maul would be considered a thing of beauty, as it is at my club.  The pass-happy fancy dan stuff is just for tv.

Well there is American and there is 'American'

Cardiff RFC in the 80's - terry holmes, gareth davies, alun donovan, mark ring, adrian hadley, gerald cordle, mike rayer, paul rees, gareth roberts, John Scott, bob lakin, kevin edwards, alan phillips, bob norster, ian eidman, jeff whitefoot. The old amateur days when you would see them smoking and drinking and chatting up girls in cardiff after a match. when fighting was an expected and regular part of the match ( and sometimes the best part of the game ) and it was accepted that some of your players were terrible - or fat - or both in fact - and you kind of liked them for their comedy value ( see gerald cordle above )

Internationally - the all blacks of 87-91. Probably the greatest most complete team of the modern era. Still remember being amazed at Zinzan Brooke dropping a goal from no 8, and david kirk's spin pass. Never got to see them play live. The 84 wallabies who toured the Uk also had a big impact - saw them v wales - the flat backline and spin passing by centres was an innovation. and Mark ella......

Surprised that the wales team of the 70's hasn't been mentioned. maybe no one is old enough ?

Late 60's and all the 70's for obvious reasons as a Welshman. It's speculation but had the World Cup been going then Wales would have been up there with a huge claim. Proper rugby jerseys and refs playing in their country's colours. Making them legendary trips to Ireland, Scotland and France .... did try England once but champers and cucumber butties in the car park was ugh!

Then the 2005 - to the now era which has seen us come back in leaps and bounds.

Sorry Bluedragon I honestly just seen your post !!

Surely you're rejoicing in the resurgence of Tasman rainbow?

Now, or at least most of the last 12 years. AS with RW for obviously reasons as an AB's fan. The run will come to an end and I could be of of the grey headed brigade who sips a pint and reminisces about McCaw's AB's. Just have to hold onto that when the walls come crashing in sometime in the not to distant future.

Aside from that from an AB supporters view, probably late 80's and mid 90's were also good. From a rugby purists perspective. The mid 80's with the French and Aussie sides playing some great running rugby (also the boks in the few games they played). But 1992 was pretty special as it bough SA back into the fold. It was the first time I'd seen a full strength AB's side play the boks so it was pretty special.

TobyBryant wrote:Surely you're rejoicing in the resurgence of Tasman rainbow?

Seriously why would I be rejoicing in the resurgence of Tasman? I lived in Northland for 12 years and now in Hawkes Bay for about 2 months!

Didn't watch the 53-3 game, but I didn't have to, 2000-2003 was filled with enough embarrassing faux pas to make up for it. God we were awful. On the Bright side, my Lions did look at various points like they were in fact professional rugby players.

2007-10 was as good as it got for me. World Cup, Away victories over new Zealand, and a Blue Bulls side that played the most expensive brand of rugby (had me questioning allegiances). The emerging Frans Steyn, the enigmatic Earl Rose, that game were the Lions nearly came back from a 40 point deficit.