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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Billy Ngawini brilliant stepping and pass sets up Michele Sepe try

You may remember that just under a year ago we shared a video of sidestep wizard Billy Ngawini making an outrageous step that resulted in two oponents crashing into each other. Well he's done it again, this time against Stade Francais.

Playing for Cavalieri Prato in the Amlin Challenge Cup a few weeks back, the New Zealand born flyer went on a sensational solo run that included some trademark stepping and a cooly done flick pass for fullback Michele Sepe.

Stade Francais won the Round 3 Challenge Cup game 37-23, but Ngawini's run that set up the try was all the locals were talking about.

Ngawini used to play in the NRL but also spent a season at Leinster in Ireland. He was tipped for big things at one stage but his size, and perhaps a few other factors, worked against him.

If you can, it's well worth spending some time browsing through his other highlights on youtube.

We've also posted a nice sequence of close up photos from the try here.

Excuse the quality of this one, but the game wasn't widely televised so this is the best we could do. Credit and thanks to those that helped with the original footage.

Posted at 8:21 pm | 18 comments

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Posted in Great Tries

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Viewing 18 comments

Citing Commissioner February 01, 2013 1:59 am

This story is sums up the modern game. What we have here is undoubtedly one of the main reasons we love to come onto this website, a piece of play that is just a joy to watch, performed by an individual with the talent we all crave. BUT it is said he didn't progress in the game due to his size - he is 5' 8'' and 13st 12lb (wikipedia). Yes he is not tall but he is hardly small by normal standards. Who is the better rugby player this genius or Chris Ashton, a player so thick he can barely string a sentence together, the vision of a bat and the skill of a donkey - the only difference is Ashton has been pumped full of every barely legal supplement under the sun in order to make him succeed in the modern game. Ashton is just the unfortunate person I picked as an example out of the hundreds of players of the same ilk. It's times like these I wonder whether we will ever see a stepper like Jason Robinson ever again or witness a try like the famous one of the Barbarians...

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Jon February 01, 2013 3:14 am

There are players no bigger than him who've made great careers.
Matt Giteau, Shane Williams and Quade Cooper spring to mind.

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Grinch March 17, 2013 5:39 am

Um, Quade Cooper is a big guy.

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BOPSteamers March 04, 2013 11:49 pm

I think its ill informed to say he hasnt made it because of size or lack there of...He grew up playing mainly Rugby League in Australia and whilst he made a fair fist of it he could never really establish himself as a firm starter in the NRL and so turned to Rugby in Europe because they offered far better money for his credentials as a union player rather than league. Whilst there is no doubt he is an exciting ball carrier with both a left and right foot step it is his long kicking game, high ball reception, positional play and tackling technique that holds him back. Not his size! Although his size may contribute to his lack of confidence on defence. Wonderful wonderful attacking player it is a shame we cannot see more of it at a higher level.

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Guest1 February 01, 2013 3:11 am

In response to your ill informed comment............Christian Wade........same height and lighter

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stroudos February 01, 2013 1:00 pm

@Guest1 I'd get off that high horse of yours if I were you. You've actually reinforced Citing Commissioner's point! Look at the England team for Scotland this Saturday - Ashton starts, Wade's not even on the bench. Is that just because of his size? No, but it's probably a factor.

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DanKnapp February 01, 2013 8:44 am

I would love to have Italian commentary as an option on the Red Button...

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cheyanqui February 01, 2013 4:16 pm

I know that RD is a generally Anglophone viewer base, but I too love when they can pull out some video clips using other languages. Reminds us that it's still a global game.

We've heard quite a few languages on here - French (mostly), Afrikaans, Welsh, Spanish, and now some Italian.

My challenge to the RD fanbase would be to get these guys some cool videos from their local languages.

Heck, I've seen that Supersport (in ZA) sometimes makes a Xhosa feed available. RD -- can someone call a game making clicks?




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stroudos February 01, 2013 1:05 pm

Never heard of Ngawini before. Will be keeping an eye out from now on, for sure! Love the video where he makes the defender tackle his team-mate - genius! Both of these runs are fantastic - what makes them really great for me is the deft little pass at the end of both runs. Great composure and awareness. Imagine playing with this bloke - just keep near his shoulder and have the ball served up on a plate for a little canter into the tryline...

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s_conner February 01, 2013 1:09 pm

Great rugby. Skill is what we want to see.

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The Green Mafia February 01, 2013 1:26 pm

Size means nothing! Shane Williams, anyone? Just ask the 2005 All Blacks nad the 2009 Springboks if they feared anyone in their Lions squads and the answer is allways the same, Shane "somebody please tackle that fast midget" Williams! Craig Gilroy has the potential, too.
Plenty of stories of people who overcame size. Ngwenya was once rejected by pro american football for being too small. Their loss.

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Wazzawaz February 01, 2013 2:11 pm

That guy's got a brilliant sidestep - they should be teaching that to kids.

'Vision of a bat and skill of a donkey' - brilliant stuff, although I initially thought you meant cricket bat, which is still fairly apt.

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Guest24 February 01, 2013 2:37 pm

Shane Williams went into depression after dropped from Welsh squad back in days. You have it in his documentary. After drinking and being lost in life his mum and brother steered him back in business where he started heavy training and getting some weight. In process he use only creatine. YEAH RIGHT!!! Look at his before and after pictures. Look at all pro players. Except Islanders like A. Tuilagi 95% of players are using (and no one knows for sure if hes clean also). It is a fact. Fact confirmed to me by fitness coach of national team that won Olympics. He assures me all pro athletes use some kind of doping. Industry behind making "supplements" is 5 years in front of agencies trying to stop it. It's in human genes, it's called evolution. Strongest haven't survived, ones that adopted the changes most quickly did. Same here, if guy you are competing against uses it and he can be stopped in 5 years will you use it? Will you be moral victor or have some bling-bling around your neck?

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cheyanqui February 01, 2013 4:11 pm

The only thing missing from your post is a link to your website where you sell "undetectable and legal" supplements.

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Jimothy February 01, 2013 6:59 pm

And the award for most bollocks spoken in 2013 goes to...

'My mate says, does not constitute evidence. A link to a reputable website would be good...

Which national side do you mean? I'm sure we could Wiki the fitness coach!

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Jeroo February 01, 2013 4:03 pm

wow! this thread got heavy!
Love this try - absolute brilliance!
pure rugby

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stroudos February 01, 2013 6:53 pm

Blimey. Don't think I've ever had a post removed by RD before!?! I hope it was taken down because it was a bit sweary, (and I would argue it was more pub vernacular than building site), rather than because of the content!? Just a bit of light-hearted banter after all.......

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