With Super Rugby about to enter its fourth decade, RUGBY.com.au has taken a look back at the last one and picked out ten memorable moments.
There were amazing tries, emotional comebacks and farewells, thrills and spills and some record-breaking wins.
Here is our top ten.
10. "Pure Quade" - Ben Tapuai's try, Queensland vs Blues semi-final, 2011
“It was pure Quade. I am still trying to figure out how he set up the Tapuai try. The bigger the stage, the better he performs.”
That was Ewen McKenzie after the Reds’ semi-final win in 2011 over the Blues, and one of the greatest tries seen this decade. To many people, 2011 means Quade Cooper at his peak: imperious, dangerous, electric. In setting up a try for Ben Tapuai, Cooper did everything: step, fend, dummy and out-sprint defenders. Pure magic.
9. "Honey badge-trick" - Nick Cummins, Force vs Waratahs, 2014
The fame of Nick Cummins grew via his thoroughly unique post-match interviews but it can’t be forgotten the ‘Honey Badger’ was a Test winger who had a habit of making big plays. On a memorable night in Perth in 2014, Cummins scored a hat-trick of tries to help the Force down the Waratahs, who lost only four games and went on to become champions that season.
8. "What a try" - Bernard Foley try, Waratahs vs Brumbies semi-final, 2014
One of the great tries scored by an Aussie team during the decade, let alone in a high-pressure final. The try, finished off by Bernard Foley, captured the adventure, skill and physical strength that summed up the 2014 Waratahs, and featured one of the great sights, Will Skelton in full flight.
7. "Hodgo's farewell" - Matt Hodgson conversion, Force vs Waratahs, 2017
On an emotional night that served as both the Western Force’s last game in Super Rugby, and the final match for retiring club legend Matt Hodgson as well, the stars aligned for a fitting farewell. To the delight of a packed Sea of Blue, the Force thumped the Waratahs to send a parting message to the powers who’d cut them, and Hodgson not only scored a try in the win, he scored the club’s last ever points by kicking a penalty at the end.
6. "Thief in the night" - Dom Shipperley try, Reds vs Waratahs, 2012
In a period where the Waratahs and Reds’ battles always went down to the wire, NSW looked to have won the 2012 clash at ANZ Stadium, with a lead in the last minute. They kicked the ball away, however, and the Reds spun it wide to the right. Speedy winger Dom Shipperley stepped and surged through a gap and ran 60 metres to score a match-winner.
5. "Christian's comeback" - Christian Lealiifano's return, Brumbies vs Hurricanes QF 2017
The Brumbies lost their quarter-final to the Canes but for many of the club’s fans and players, the night will remain one of their most memorable ever. Midway through the second-half, Christian Lealiifano came off the bench for his first game in almost a year, since the team leader was diagnosed with cancer mid-2016. During a bone marrow transplant and some very tough times, Lealiifano kept his eyes focussed on a return for the Brumbies and when he made it back, dry eyes were few and far between. Lealiifano went on to captain the Brumbies to finals for the next two years, and become the first-choice no.10 for the Wallabies at the 2019 World Cup as well. A true inspiration.
4. "Stirling effort" - Rebels win vs Crusaders, 2012
The Rebels entered the comp in 2011 and had taken down some decent teams in their first five wins – the Brumbies, the Hurricanes and the Force – but their sixth win was a huge night in Melbourne. In their first clash with the mighty Crusaders, the Rebels trailed 19-10 at halftime and looked toast. But with players like Nick Phipps, Mark Gerrard, Kurtley Beale and Cooper Vuna influential, the Rebels kept the Crusaders scoreless in the second half and veteran Stirling Mortlock took an intercept to score the match-sealing try.
3. "History makers" - Brumbies vs Bulls, semi-final 2013
Winning games on the road in Super Rugby is tough enough, but throw in the added pressure and intensity of a final, and then throw in a 15-hour flight to Africa, well, you get the picture. Not many teams have done the job. The Brumbies had never won a semi further away than Sydney prior to 2013, when they went to the intimidating Loftus Verseld in Pretoria to play the Bulls. In a tight encounter, they hung tough and a break by Matt Toomua late in the game secured the winning try and a memorable win. In a steeply uphill task, they lost to the Chiefs in the final a week later in Hamilton.
2. "Iceman delivers" - Waratahs victory, Super Rugby final 2014
Michael Cheika returned to Australia to take over the Waratahs at a low ebb post-2012, and his plan was to re-build for two seasons and win the title in 2015. He got there a year early. Armed with a talented but underperforming squad, Cheika brought in Jacques Potgieter to bring a new toughness to the pack, and gave the team a new freedom and game-plan to hold the ball and attack from all quarters. With a competition-best defence thrown in, the Waratahs went on a nine-game winning streak at the back end of the year to win the final against the Crusaders in Sydney. Bernard Foley kicked a penalty goal in the dying minutes to re-take the lead seal a memorable win.
1. "Paupers to Princes" - Reds victory, Super Rugby final 2011
The Reds’ win pips the Tahs’ one because of it’s context – the dreadful decade before. Unlike NSW, who’d made semi-finals and even finals regularly prior to 2014, prior to the 2011 win Queensland had not made the finals in a full ten seasons. And from 2004 to 2009, the Reds finished in the bottom three teams every single year.
In 2010, however, the youngsters blooded by Eddie Jones and Phil Mooney in the second half of that period – the Horwills, the Genias, the Coopers etc – emerged under Ewen McKenzie as a genuine contender again. They finished fifth in 2010 and then in 2011 played out the season all those long-suffering Reds fans had only dreamed of: entertaining, free-wheeling, engaging and in the end, successful. Up against a Crusaders team who’d played on the road all season due to the Christchurch earthquake, the Reds won the final 18-13 on an unforgettable night at Suncorp Stadium.
