The greatest try ever scored
The Barbarians in a match against the New Zealand All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in January 1973
“The greatest try ever scored” – sometimes called “That try” – was a try that was scored by the Barbarians in a match against the New Zealand All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in January 1973. Unlike in other sports where there is usually great debate over the greatest plays of all time, in rugby union there is general consensus that this is the best of all time within the sport.[1][2]
The move starts with a deep kick from the New Zealand winger. The ball dropped towards Phil Bennett near to his goal line. Bennett sidestepped and evaded three tackles, in turn passing the ball to JPR Williams. It next passed through four pairs of hands (Pullin, Dawes, David and Quinnell) before Edwards, slipping between two teammates and seemingly intercepting the last pass, finished with a diving try in the left-hand corner.
The commentary itself is sometimes described as the greatest ever, although it very nearly didn’t happen because until just 2 hours before the match Bill McLaren was due to commentate; but he was recovering from ‘flu so Cliff Morgan was called in at the last minute.[3] Morgan commentated the try as follows:
“ Kirkpatrick to Williams. This is great stuff. Phil Bennett covering. Chased by Alistair Scown. Brilliant! Oh, that’s brilliant! John Williams, Bryan Williams. Pullin. John Dawes, great dummy. To David, Tom David, the half-way line! Brilliant by Quinnell! This is Gareth Edwards! A dramatic start! What a score! Oh, that miraculous fellow Edwards! ”
A moment later, at the restart, he added,
“ If the greatest writer of the written word would have written that story, no one would have believed it. That really was something. ”
The Barbarians won the game 23-11.[4]
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