Best tries of the Top 14 - Round 7

gotta love Les Franais

Re: Michalak
As they say, class is permanent.

The Mirco Bergamasco try was beautiful.... my amateur club coach would love that.

Currie cup is probably better than this.

dutch hero..
probably but these were awesome

its good to stade francais play great rugby, that try was an absolute classic again.
i dont think it is right to compare 2 different competitions. 2 different styles of play? yeah?

numbers 7 2 and 1 were awesome

that was some beautiful hands for that stade francais try. pretty much the basics done to perfection.

Gotta feel for Wilkinson; as fly-half, he shouldn't be expected to stop that try, but he was the closest one to getting Michalak.

...did the commentator say "wunderbar" during the try for no. 2?

Feel for him? Cuz he had to try to make a tackle? hmm... ok.
Good stuff, particularly Stade Francais and Bayonne's tries.

On my opinion, some of those tries deserve to be classified as "best" others should be found under the name of "poor missed tackles"...

Do 'double-movements' no longer exist in Union. When I stopped playing five years ago I was under the impression that once the ball-carrying arm touched the floor, no forward progression was allowed and the ball must be released. Number 2 on that list is surely a penalty to the defence?

I love French rugby but I have to say at least 5 of those tries were pretty ordinary. One or two good ones but 10,9 and 8 were nothing special.

'Dutch hero said...
Currie cup is probably better than this.'

Nah, smaller crowds, and crappy defence in the Currie, just look at Juries try, defence is still stood still there today.

Top 14 is the best domestic competition, Heineken is the best overall.

When was the last time 80,000 people showed up for a Currie Cup or Super 14 game? (even with ticket prices costing 3-4x as much in France/England/Ireland/Wales).

Quote:

"When was the last time 80,000 people showed up for a Currie Cup or Super 14 game? (even with ticket prices costing 3-4x as much in France/England/Ireland/Wales)"

Ask yourself what the population of the Six Nations countries (plus Europe) is compared to the Tri nations (we'll add the Pacific islands) and then you can rethink how stupid your question is.

Dumbass.

Since when does the number of people who buy a ticket determine the quality of rugby? Seriously?
Besides, in 2008 (because I don't have newer figures), the average attendance of the S14 was 22,142.
The average attendance of the T14 in the same year was 12,107.
The Currie Cup was marginally smaller than that in the same year at 11,433.
A few others:
Guiness premiership - 11,786
Magners league - 8,126
Air NZ Cup - 7,203
Heineken Cup - 14,900 (this is actually 08/09's figures)

So basically, you're just wrong. The S14 has the highest average attendances of any professional rugby union league or competition that is not international.
The reason you might be getting confused, is that most European rugby stadiums are quite small, capacity around 10-15,000, sometimes even less.
In the S14 there isn't a stadium smaller than 20,000 capacity and many clubs play in 40 or 50 thousand seaters.
Anyway, that really has nothing to do with quality of rugby.
These are ok tries. The T14 is a very good standard.
People who watch try highlights and then criticize the defense are being very dumb. It's not soccer, there are always missed tackles in rugby, the game would be very very boring without them.

Zavala, you are allowed one motion with the ball after you have been tackled. This can either be to place the ball backwards, towards your supporting players, or forwards to touch down on the line. Had Britz missed the line, then brought the ball back, that would have been double movement.

Souther Hem fools getting upset again, asking about population? Rugby is small news in Europe, its the only thing you play down south. How many club sides average 75,000 in your national sports?

Bill, You really shouldn't rely on Wikipedia for 'facts', there's no reference for the Super 14 attendances, not to mention the fact there are half as many games as the Top 14 to attend.

Empty stadiums for national sports? 82,000 full for a game that most people in the UK don't even care about. Case closed.

What was that thing that Bergamasco did when he scored? He gave one thumb up and one thumb down. I don't understand. An excellent try anyway.

beautifull hands by stade for that last try!

@ BILL

well put!!

in my town we have the nicest stadium but they play soccer in it :(

thats gotta change

You're forgetting the Currie Cup often plays without the full Springbok team, it still produces better rugby than anything else, and draws decent/large crowds.

When the Big Bokke get back the crowd attendance shoots up, look at the Currie Cup final 2008, sold out.

And don't call the Currie Cup defense bad compared to the top 14. Victor Matfield came to this a couple years ago, and he came back half the player he was, thankfully he is at his peak again.

comeagain..

stupid comment.population of south africa:oh about 50 million..

dumbass

How are you judging the quality of the sport by how many people watch it? Is it just me or does that seem like a stupid way of judging? Football clubs draw huge numbers to watch the players worry about their hair and dive all over the place, but going by your system it makes it a better sport... I don't think so... as rugby fans we should want to see trys like this in all leagues round the world.

Yes! I love my Brian O'driscoll! MORE! GIVE ME MORE! MORRREEE!!!!

@ Dutchman :

Matfield came in France, played (very badly)6 month for Toulon, took the check and went back to SA.Do you really think he became a shitty player because of playin in T14???????? IMO, he just had a bad period, as everyplayer has in its carrier, and surely he will have another, even playin in S14...

Anonymous referring to crowd figures, I don't really want to argue about this, but I can't sit and watch you just make things up.
For you to disregard those figures is fine, I guess your making the mental jump that they must be off by tens of thousands. Which would be some deception considering similar figures are available elsewhere.
Put S14 attendances in google, see what you get. I'm pretty sure you'll find the average is consistently over 20,000, year in, year out.
In regards to your beleif that in the SH we only play rugby, I don't know where to start.
Ever been here? Heard of rugby league, AFL, soccer, netball, basketball, motor racing, boxing? That's just some of the pro sports we play. There's obviously hundreds more.
You know that union isn't the majority sport in either Australia or South Africa? That's true only in little old NZ?
In Aus it's miles behind league and AFL, in South Africa it's really only popular with one section of the population, 80% of people only really care about football there.
But anyway, I guess ignorance is free.

T14 in my opinion has the most entertaining rugby.

Just wish i spoke french.

Not happy about Wilkinson getting gassed by Michalak.

I am a confused American....go figure....some of you saffers tell me, please....

What is a sham?

What is a chum (I think I know that one)?

what is a bugger?

what is a bushcat?

and what is a mahuri?

Thanks and congrats on the Tri-N championship!

comeagain???

yes, in your face!!

Zavala, It's not a double movement because all the player did was get tackled and place the ball, which you are allowed to do when you're gone to ground. If he wasn't anywhere near the line then he would have placed it back towards his support for the ruck but as he was close to the line he placed the ball over it.

And the bickering on here is a bit boring especially about who's league is better. I mean it's obvious the GP is the best.

@ Bill : "So basically, you're just wrong. The S14 has the highest average attendances of any professional rugby union league or competition that is not international."

So, Super 14 is NOT international ? LOL !

@ don't know who : Matfield didn't played in Top 14 but in Second division with Toulon. He found the game level low and he was right. But he helped Toulon to go up to Top 14. with some great games.

Yeah, there's some correlation between how many people are interested in your sport and how good of a team your side/country produces; but for someone from a country that only has semi-professional rugby where domestic match crowds probably total in the hundreds, maybe low thousands, France, South Africa, England, New Zealand...it's all the same.

Professional is professional and 1,000 more spectators at your games on average isn't the deciding factor at that point, but training and the quality of your competition itself is.

Has anyone else noticed how most threads on Youtube and other public forums like this one so often just degenerate into nationalism/racism? Can't we just accept that we live on the hemisphere that we do, the people in the other one are largely the same and we don't have to hate them for it?

Nelson you are both a gentleman and a scholar.

You only say that Nelson because the standard of rugby is rubbish in your country.

I'm going to get those wise words tattood on my arse

Based on the math that people here are doing, and considering how people judge a sport by how many people watch/play it, then football/soccer is by far the best sport in the world.

Nice step from Lapeyre, btw, is it "Napoloni" or "Napolioni" Nalaga?

No. 2 was awesome, some great hands before Britz gets the ball and does his bit.

Wow, good to see Michalak back in action. Stade Francais put together a great set for #1.

I think all the leagues are great, but the Top14 is the best simply for the commentating alone. Those guys are the best.

Some smart play by the arentines. Great pass by Ledesma in 7, great delayed pass from Leguizamon an Durand looks like a demented whippet at scrumhalf. Nice to seem them open up play..

You're right Nelson, and I wasn't criticizing anyone, just pointing out facts.
Back to the rugby eh?
The T14 is awesome, it's my favorite Euro comp. The French try to play the way the game is supposed to be played, and I love the passion of the crowds and the ambition of the clubs.
And these tries are pretty good, I've seen better ones from the T14 though.

Napoleoni Nalaga

a.k.a. Top 14 imperator. :-D

Sousa Bardy has a great future...

and guess what, hes portuguese. We will lead the portuguese XV to the world cup. Good work man.

Who's Sousa Bardy? ;)

Portugal captain, clearly. :-D

This is Julien Bardy a FRENCH player!!! not portuguech

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