Best individual performances

Select a 15 based on the best individual performances you have seen from someone playing for your team (club, country, lions)

I'll start.

15. Rob Kearney (Lions 2nd Test, 2009)
14. Leigh Halfpenny (Blues vs Gloucester, EDF final)
13. ?
12. Gavin Henson (Wales vs England, 2005)
11. Shane Williams (many, 2nd tour Test vs South Africa, 2007)
10. Stephen Jones (Lions 2nd Test, 2009)
9. Mike Phillips (Wales vs France, WC 2011)
8. Xavier Rush (Blues vs Wasps, Amlin Semi Final)
7. Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
6. Dan Lydiate (Wales vs France 2012)
5. Luke Charteris (Wales vs Ireland, WC 2011)
4. Simon Shaw (Lions 2nd test, 2009)
3. Adam Jones (Lions 2nd test, 2009)
2. Huw Bennett (Wales vs Ireland, WC 2011)
1. Gethin Jenkins (Wales vs Australia, ???)

Best place kicking performance - Leigh Halfpenny (1st tour test Australia 2012) / Stephen Jones (Second Lions test, 2009) / Ben Blair (Blues vs Leicester HC semifinal)

wales606 wrote:Select a 15 based on the best individual performances you have seen from someone playing for your team (club, country, lions)

I'll start.

15. Rob Kearney (Lions 2nd Test, 2009)
14. Leigh Halfpenny (Blues vs Gloucester, EDF final)
13. ?
12. Gavin Henson (Wales vs England, 2005)
11. Shane Williams (many, 2nd tour Test vs South Africa, 2007)
10. Stephen Jones (Lions 2nd Test, 2009)
9. Mike Phillips (Wales vs France, WC 2011)
8. Xavier Rush (Blues vs Wasps, Amlin Semi Final)
7. Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
6. Dan Lydiate (Wales vs France 2012)
5. Luke Charteris (Wales vs Ireland, WC 2011)
4. ?
3. Adam Jones (Lions 2nd Test)
2. Huw Bennett (Wales vs Ireland, WC 2011)
1. Gethin Jenkins (Wales vs Australia, 2010?)

Best place kicking performance - Leigh Halfpenny (1st tour test Australia 2012) / Stephen Jones (Second Lions test, 2009) / Ben Blair (Blues vs Leicester HC semifinal)

I agree with many of those. Will keep it in recent memory as most on here won't really know anyone playing prior 2000.


15. Leigh Byrne (Wales vs England 2008)
14. Jason Robinson (Lions 1st Test 2001)
13. Brian O'Driscoll (Lions 1st Test 2001)
12. Gavin Henson (Wales vs SA, AI 2004)
11. Shane Williams (Wales 2nd Test vs South Africa, 2008)
10. James Hook (Wales vs England 6N 2007)
9. Dwayne Peel (Wales vs Ireland 6N 2005)
8. Toby Faletau (Wales vs SA RWC 2011)
7. Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 6N 2008)
6. Dan Lydiate (Wales vs France 6N 2012)
5. Luke Charteris (Wales vs Ireland, RWC 2011)
4. AW Jones (Wales vs Ireland, RWC 2011)
3. Adam Jones (Lions 2nd Test)
2. Huw Bennett (Wales vs Ireland, RWC 2011)
1. Gethin Jenkins (Wales vs France 6N 2012)

Lee Byrne '08 and Faletau '11 were second on my list. I just watched the Lions second test again though, and Kearney's performance was the best I have ever seen by any FB ever. Even Dagg and Mils for NZ haven't put in such an influential performance that I can remember - god I hope Kearney gets that form back someday.

wales606 wrote:Select a 15 based on the best individual performances you have seen from someone playing for your team (club, country, lions)

I'll start.

15. Rob Kearney (Lions 2nd Test, 2009)
14. Leigh Halfpenny (Blues vs Gloucester, EDF final)
13. ?
12. Gavin Henson (Wales vs England, 2005)
11. Shane Williams (many, 2nd tour Test vs South Africa, 2007)
10. Stephen Jones (Lions 2nd Test, 2009)
9. Mike Phillips (Wales vs France, WC 2011)
8. Xavier Rush (Blues vs Wasps, Amlin Semi Final)
7. Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
6. Dan Lydiate (Wales vs France 2012)
5. Luke Charteris (Wales vs Ireland, WC 2011)
4. ?
3. Adam Jones (Lions 2nd Test)
2. Huw Bennett (Wales vs Ireland, WC 2011)
1. Gethin Jenkins (Wales vs Australia, 2010?)

Best place kicking performance - Leigh Halfpenny (1st tour test Australia 2012) / Stephen Jones (Second Lions test, 2009) / Ben Blair (Blues vs Leicester HC semifinal)

BOD for the Lions in 01 for the 13 jersey surely? Simon Shaw at 4 Lions second test 09 could be a decent shout...

Aye he was in great form, just googled a few highlights... Byrne in 08 was my preferred choice, those up-and-unders, he almost caught everyone, completely ruling open play, great angles in attack, truly sublime...!!!

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

wales606 wrote:Select a 15 based on the best individual performances you have seen from someone playing for your team (club, country, lions)

I'll start.

15. Rob Kearney (Lions 2nd Test, 2009)
14. Leigh Halfpenny (Blues vs Gloucester, EDF final)
13. ?
12. Gavin Henson (Wales vs England, 2005)
11. Shane Williams (many, 2nd tour Test vs South Africa, 2007)
10. Stephen Jones (Lions 2nd Test, 2009)
9. Mike Phillips (Wales vs France, WC 2011)
8. Xavier Rush (Blues vs Wasps, Amlin Semi Final)
7. Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
6. Dan Lydiate (Wales vs France 2012)
5. Luke Charteris (Wales vs Ireland, WC 2011)
4. ?
3. Adam Jones (Lions 2nd Test)
2. Huw Bennett (Wales vs Ireland, WC 2011)
1. Gethin Jenkins (Wales vs Australia, 2010?)

Best place kicking performance - Leigh Halfpenny (1st tour test Australia 2012) / Stephen Jones (Second Lions test, 2009) / Ben Blair (Blues vs Leicester HC semifinal)

BOD for the Lions in 01 for the 13 jersey surely? Simon Shaw at 4 Lions second test 09 could be a decent shout...

Didn't see the 01 Lions, Shaw is a possibility actually.

Was just thinking, Micheal Owen in 05 against anyone was sublime too... Guess Faletau shaded it vs SA but Owen was superb.

I'll have a go, some of my memory is a bit hazy but I reckon I can make a decent fist of it.

15. Kearney (Lions 09 2nd Test)
14. Robinson (plenty to choose from, but might go with Lions 1rst test 01)
13. BOD (Lions 01 first test)
12. Greenwood (vs SA in 03? the one where he scored a couple of tries and we stuck 50 points on them)
11. Cohen (vs Australia 02? the one we won by a point and he scored a couple of excellent tries, or indeed vs France 03 WC warm-up)
10. Wilkinson (vs Ireland 03, simply the best I've ever seen from a FH)
9. Youngs (vs Aus 2010? in the AIs)
8. Dallaglio (vs Wales, the one where he carried a few Welshmen over the line)
7. Back (WC final 03)
6. Hill (so many choices here, WC semi vs France 03?)
5. struggling here, Kay had a few excellent matches but no stand-outs to my mind
4. Johnson (the win away to NZ in 02/03, can't remember exactly)
3. Jones (Lions 09 2nd Test)
2. ? again not too sure
1. Sheridan (Aus 07 QF)

maestegmafia wrote:Was just thinking, Micheal Owen in 05 against anyone was sublime too... Guess Faletau shaded it vs SA but Owen was superb.

I watched the England and Italy game the other day, I wasn't that impressed with Owen (apart from a beautiful long try scoring pass against Italy), I intent to watch the other 05 games again soon, I will keep an eye out.

Rush is still the clear standout for a Blues supporter, he single handily won that semi final against Wasps in terrible conditions and that was him when he was getting past it - im sure there were better performances I have forgotten.

North vs Ireland '12 would have been close to my team if it wasn't for the mighty Shane.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:I'll have a go, some of my memory is a bit hazy but I reckon I can make a decent fist of it.

15. Kearney (Lions 09 2nd Test)
14. Robinson (plenty to choose from, but might go with Lions 1rst test 01)
13. BOD (Lions 01 first test)
12. Greenwood (vs SA in 03? the one where he scored a couple of tries and we stuck 50 points on them)
11. Cohen (vs Australia 02? the one we won by a point and he scored a couple of excellent tries, or indeed vs France 03 WC warm-up)
10. Wilkinson (vs Ireland 03, simply the best I've ever seen from a FH)
9. Youngs (vs Aus 2010? in the AIs)
8. Dallaglio (vs Wales, the one where he carried a few Welshmen over the line)
7. Back (WC final 03)
6. Hill (so many choices here, WC semi vs France 03?)
5. struggling here, Kay had a few excellent matches but no stand-outs to my mind
4. Johnson (the win away to NZ in 02/03, can't remember exactly)
3. Jones (Lions 09 2nd Test)
2. ? again not too sure
1. Sheridan (Aus 07 QF)

Your memories obviously stretch back further than mine, but its interesting that the big performances tend to line-up with victorious teams (in the game and the competition - GSs and WCs) - I guess you remember those performances more.

The only exceptions so far are the players from the Lions tours and Wales vs SA 2011.

13.Manu Tuliagi (Vs Nz 2012 AI's)

EngInAuck wrote:13.Manu Tuliagi (Vs Nz 2012 AI's)

Not giving a full team then

All time

1 Fran Cotton (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
2 Bobby Windsor (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
3 Paul Wallace (Lions 1st Test vs SA 1999)
4 Delme Thomas (Llanelli vs All Blacks 1972)
5 Willie John McBride (Lions 3rd test vs the ABs 1971)
6 Dai Morris (Neath vs Aberavon 1967 - a 3 all thriller, nothing Red and Black moved that wasn't tackled by Dai)
7 Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
8 Mervyn Davies (Wales vs Ireland 1975)
9 Gareth Edwards (Wales vs Scotland 1972)
10 Jonathan Davies (Wales vs Scotland 1988)
11 JJ Williams (Wales vs Australia 1975)
12 Scott Gibbs (Lions ve SA 2nd Test 1997)
13 Bleddyn Williams (Wales vs Ireland 1955)
14 John Bentley (Lions vs Gauteng 1997)
15 Keith Jarrett (Wales vs England 1967)

I know that you may know i am not a llanelli fan, but I was once, for one day in 1972 so was everyone in Wales.

wales606 wrote:

Mad for Chelsea wrote:I'll have a go, some of my memory is a bit hazy but I reckon I can make a decent fist of it.

15. Kearney (Lions 09 2nd Test)
14. Robinson (plenty to choose from, but might go with Lions 1rst test 01)
13. BOD (Lions 01 first test)
12. Greenwood (vs SA in 03? the one where he scored a couple of tries and we stuck 50 points on them)
11. Cohen (vs Australia 02? the one we won by a point and he scored a couple of excellent tries, or indeed vs France 03 WC warm-up)
10. Wilkinson (vs Ireland 03, simply the best I've ever seen from a FH)
9. Youngs (vs Aus 2010? in the AIs)
8. Dallaglio (vs Wales, the one where he carried a few Welshmen over the line)
7. Back (WC final 03)
6. Hill (so many choices here, WC semi vs France 03?)
5. struggling here, Kay had a few excellent matches but no stand-outs to my mind
4. Johnson (the win away to NZ in 02/03, can't remember exactly)
3. Jones (Lions 09 2nd Test)
2. ? again not too sure
1. Sheridan (Aus 07 QF)

Your memories obviously stretch back further than mine, but its interesting that the big performances tend to line-up with victorious teams (in the game and the competition - GSs and WCs) - I guess you remember those performances more.

The only exceptions so far are the players from the Lions tours and Wales vs SA 2011.

a valid point, though I tried not to only pick performances from the 03 WC semi and final. Hill of course only returned for that semi and an England team who had somewhat stuttered (compared to their pre-tournament favourite tage) to that stage simply blew France off the park. Hill for me made a huge difference that day, which is why I've gone with that. As a general rule we certainly remember the important occasions more, and outstanding individual performances in defeat tend to be quite a bit rarer than in victory. As you say the Lions 09 second Test is a notable exception here, but then again I thought the Lions were quite superb that day for the most part.

On that list, the ones I'm most convinced of as correct are the two centre displays, Wilkinson's vs Ireland (watched that game again recently and as with you and Kearney have never seen a better performance), Hill vs France (for impact as much as anything, Hill had a host of brilliant performances), Johnson and Sheridan. Less sure on the rest of the backrow, SH and the back three.

maestegmafia wrote:All time

1 Fran Cotton (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
2 Bobby Windsor (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
3 Paul Wallace (Lions 1st Test vs SA 1999)
4 Delme Thomas (Llanelli vs All Blacks 1972)
5 Willie John McBride (Lions 3rd test vs the ABs 1971)
6 Dai Morris (Neath vs Aberavon 1967 - a 3 all thriller, nothing Red and Black moved that wasn't tackled by Dai)
7 Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
8 Mervyn Davies (Wales vs Ireland 1975)
9 Gareth Edwards (Wales vs Scotland 1972)
10 Jonathan Davies (Wales vs Scotland 1988)
11 JJ Williams (Wales vs Australia 1975)
12 Scott Gibbs (Lions ve SA 2nd Test 1997)
13 Bleddyn Williams (Wales vs Ireland 1955)
14 John Bentley (Lions vs Gauteng 1997)
15 Keith Jarrett (Wales vs England 1967)

I know that you may know i am not a llanelli fan, but I was once, for one day in 1972 so was everyone in Wales.

that's one heck of a long memory

I can't do a full team, but one that springs to mind is Richard Hill against Munster when he was on his very last legs, completely dominated the breakdown if I remember correctly

Yep, the Lions were excellent, especially in the 1st half - losing 2 props and both centres in the second half probably cost them the game in the end, although both sides had a lot of chances (SA not taking and missing penalties while SJ slotted them all certainly helped)

Sheridan-07 WC v Oz
Regan- 07 WC v SA (Smits quote about hun is pretty funny too)
Vickery- 02 v France...
Shaw- second Lions test
Lawes- 09 AI v SA
Robshaw- '12 2nd SA test or Prem final v Tigers
Skinner- '08 2nd HC pool game v Stade
Easter- '12 2nd HC pool game v Toulouse
Youngs- any in '10 v Oz or maybe '08 for Tiger's v SA
Evans- '12 comeback v Wasps
Monye- '11 v Munster in the Amlin
Twelvetrees- Cameo v Ospreys back in '09 that started it all
Tuilagi- '12 v NZ
Ashton- '11 6Ns v Italy
Brown- '12 2nd HC pool game v Toulouse

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:All time

1 Fran Cotton (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
2 Bobby Windsor (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
3 Paul Wallace (Lions 1st Test vs SA 1999)
4 Delme Thomas (Llanelli vs All Blacks 1972)
5 Willie John McBride (Lions 3rd test vs the ABs 1971)
6 Dai Morris (Neath vs Aberavon 1967 - a 3 all thriller, nothing Red and Black moved that wasn't tackled by Dai)
7 Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
8 Mervyn Davies (Wales vs Ireland 1975)
9 Gareth Edwards (Wales vs Scotland 1972)
10 Jonathan Davies (Wales vs Scotland 1988)
11 JJ Williams (Wales vs Australia 1975)
12 Scott Gibbs (Lions ve SA 2nd Test 1997)
13 Bleddyn Williams (Wales vs Ireland 1955)
14 John Bentley (Lions vs Gauteng 1997)
15 Keith Jarrett (Wales vs England 1967)

I know that you may know i am not a llanelli fan, but I was once, for one day in 1972 so was everyone in Wales.

that's one heck of a long memory

Trust me having a good memory will serve you very very well in life.

Don't have time to do a full list, but Elsom for Leinster against Tigers (in the knockout stages) a few years back was brilliant. Tigers were all over leinster but Elsom would always come up with something to turn the tables.

Howlett against Saints last season as well was brilliant, he kept them in the game which led them to that bloody 50phase drop goal.

wales606 wrote:

EngInAuck wrote:13.Manu Tuliagi (Vs Nz 2012 AI's)

Not giving a full team then

I pretty much agreed with the OP , should have made that clear

1. Sheridan vs Aus WC 07 or Marler vs Saints Premiership Semi 12
2. Youngs vs NZ 12
3. Cole vs Aus summer 10 or Johnston vs Saracens 12
4. Johnson vs Aus WC 03
5. Shaw vs SA 09 (technically at 4 but meh)

6. Robshaw vs Leinster 09
7. Robshaw vs Leicester Premiership Final 12
8. Robshaw vs Wasps Dec 11 (may be stretching it a bit with that one)

9. Dawson at some point
10. Wilkinson vs Ireland 03
11. Robinson vs Aus Lions 01
12. Greenwood vs SA 02
13. Tuilagi vs NZ 12
14. David Rees vs NZ 97
15. Kearney vs SA 09

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:All time

1 Fran Cotton (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
2 Bobby Windsor (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
3 Paul Wallace (Lions 1st Test vs SA 1999)
4 Delme Thomas (Llanelli vs All Blacks 1972)
5 Willie John McBride (Lions 3rd test vs the ABs 1971)
6 Dai Morris (Neath vs Aberavon 1967 - a 3 all thriller, nothing Red and Black moved that wasn't tackled by Dai)
7 Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
8 Mervyn Davies (Wales vs Ireland 1975)
9 Gareth Edwards (Wales vs Scotland 1972)
10 Jonathan Davies (Wales vs Scotland 1988)
11 JJ Williams (Wales vs Australia 1975)
12 Scott Gibbs (Lions ve SA 2nd Test 1997)
13 Bleddyn Williams (Wales vs Ireland 1955)
14 John Bentley (Lions vs Gauteng 1997)
15 Keith Jarrett (Wales vs England 1967)

I know that you may know i am not a llanelli fan, but I was once, for one day in 1972 so was everyone in Wales.

that's one heck of a long memory

Hahahaha wait until emack gets on some players are just known from cave paintings

Ha you're right there Rainbow

I'll have a wee stab from a NZ point of view-but I'm probably not even half Emack's age so these would be from my own memory. This is bloody hard though!

15 Christian Cullen, Scotland 1996
14 John Kirwan, Wales 1987
13 Frank Bunce, South Africa 1997
12 Ma'a Nonu, France 2009
11 Jonah Lomu, England 1995
10 Daniel Carter, Lions 2005 (sorry MadForChelsea)
9 Piri Weepu, Argentina 2011 (surprising yes but was so important)
8 Zinzan Brooke, South Africa 1996
7 Richie McCaw, take your pick. 2011 semi, Australia 2006...etc etc
6 Jerome Kaino, France 2009
5 Ali Williams, Lions 2005
4 Ian Jones, Australia 1996
3 Carl Hayman, France 2006
2 Sean Fitzpatrick, South Africa 1996
1 Tony Woodcock, England 2005

Of course others will come up with ones I'll go "Oh, yeah" about and sub those in. But I'm at work too as are most of you I'm sure, wink wink, nudge nudge.

Best individual performance ever? Has to be Carter. I did see Wilko's masterclass against Ireland but I feel Carter was on another level. Even from the great Lions 10s of the past-they were just brilliant to watch but none reigned as supreme as Carter that night. I was playing a gig in Palmerston North that night-tuning a guitar is quite hard to do when your jaw keeps hitting the fretboard.

rainbow-warrior wrote:

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:All time

1 Fran Cotton (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
2 Bobby Windsor (Lions 2nd Test vs SA 1974)
3 Paul Wallace (Lions 1st Test vs SA 1999)
4 Delme Thomas (Llanelli vs All Blacks 1972)
5 Willie John McBride (Lions 3rd test vs the ABs 1971)
6 Dai Morris (Neath vs Aberavon 1967 - a 3 all thriller, nothing Red and Black moved that wasn't tackled by Dai)
7 Martyn Williams (Wales vs France 2008)
8 Mervyn Davies (Wales vs Ireland 1975)
9 Gareth Edwards (Wales vs Scotland 1972)
10 Jonathan Davies (Wales vs Scotland 1988)
11 JJ Williams (Wales vs Australia 1975)
12 Scott Gibbs (Lions ve SA 2nd Test 1997)
13 Bleddyn Williams (Wales vs Ireland 1955)
14 John Bentley (Lions vs Gauteng 1997)
15 Keith Jarrett (Wales vs England 1967)

I know that you may know i am not a llanelli fan, but I was once, for one day in 1972 so was everyone in Wales.

that's one heck of a long memory

Hahahaha wait until emack gets on some players are just known from cave paintings

I had not realised that 70s Lions matches were shown on TV.