During a Twenty20 match in New Zealand last week, Small tracked a ball hit by Northern Knights batsman Brad Wilson all the way to the boundary rope, before leaping into the air, palming the ball with his right hand and tossing it back towards his teammate, Michael Mason, to prevent a six.  Unfortunately for Small, his brilliant play wasn’t enough to earn his team the victory, but it has won him plenty of recognition around the world.

Here is another look at the catch that many are calling, “the greatest catch ever in the game of cricket.”

Hat Tip – [The Telegraph]

Despite entering almost every Rugby World Cup tournament as the favorite, the All Blacks have failed on several occasions to join South Africa and Australia as the only countries to win two World titles, but they finally got that monkey off their back with a thrilling 8-7 victory that left their entire nation on the edges of their seats throughout the full 80 minutes of play.

And while it wasn’t as entertaining a the game itself, the reaction of the fans from both teams at the Auckland Fanzone before, during and after the game was a sight to behold.  Luckily, it was captured on camera by Jared Brandon Productions.

Here it is.

Hat Tip – [Vimeo]

Originally, I thought I’d bring you a list of the greatest upsets in Rugby World Cup history for today. But as the group stage of the 2011 tournament draws to a close, the fact that the opening round matches have yielded precisely zero upsets thus far really took the wind out of those sails. Maybe the knockout stage will produce some surprises, but for now the topic of RWC upsets is dead to me. So I’ve decided to tack off in a different direction and do a list of something every world cup has in spades: badass dudes.

Now, they call these guys “hardmen” in Rugby circles. Basically, they’re the enforcer types you absolutely, positively, do not want to piss off. (Do not, for example, write an article for Total Pro Sports about how hot their wives and girlfriends are.)

Anyway, here’s the list: the 11 biggest badasses in Rugby World Cup History. Bust out the ibuprofen, because just watching these videos is going to give you a headache and a stiff back.

11. Jonny Wilkinson (England)

Jonny Wilkinson is a bit of a reach for “all-time great hardman” since his RWC career isn’t even over. (He’s on England’s roster right now.) But he’s generally recognized as one of the best fly-half/insider centers in the world. And man, can he pulverize an opponent. Check out this other clip, where he picks a guy up, flips him around, then smashes him to the ground:

10. Andre Venter (South Africa)

South Africa Springbok Andre Venter was one of the hardest (and, often, nastiest) players in the World Cup from 1996 to 2001. Don’t believe me? Watch this video in which he subtly…uh…stomps on another guy’s face. Ouch.

Sadly, old Andre Venter has contracted a rare disease of the muscular system that has left him in a wheel chair.

9. Mick Skinner (England)

They call this guy “The Munch” because he was such a wicked tackler, and in this clip we see the most famous hit of his career. It’s from the 1991 RWC quarterfinals against France. If you fast-forward to about 1:35, you’ll see Skinner crash into #8 Marc Cécillon of France, pick him up, and carried back about 10 yards. That one epic hit completely deflated the French attack and helped England hold out for a 19-10 victory.

8. Richard Loe (New Zealand)

Prop forward Richard Loe was called “The Enforcer” by his teammates. To opponents, who often found themselves at the losing end of elbows, cleats, and close lines, he was more commonly referred to as a thug. Either way, this dude (who played for New Zealand from 1987-1995) was one scary mother, and very deserving of this loving tribute video.

7. Brian Lima (Samoa)

In 2003, Samoan hardman Brian Lima issued one of the most bone-crushing hits in the history of the RWC (and probably in the history of rugby in general) against South Africa’s Derick Hougaard. The initial hit comes at the 0:09 mark (not that you could miss it, what with the reaction of the commentators), and then is revisited around the 2:00 mark. Careful, just watching this clip may give you whiplash.

6. Martin Johnson (England)

How badass was former England rugby captain (and current England rugby coach) Martin Johnson? The dude was willing to initiate a diplomatic crisis just to “set the tone” for a match against rivals, Ireland.

“What’s that? Move 10 feet to my right so the President of Ireland doesn’t have to walk on the wet grass? Bugger off!”

But if this kind of bull-headedness isn’t enough to satisfy you that Johnson was one tough bastard, how about some plain, old-fashioned on-field violence? Okay, here you go:

5. Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand)

I couldn’t find a video that really did New Zealand’s Sean Fitzpatrick (active 1986-1997) justice, so I just went with this badass photo. However, that was him getting kicked in the face by Andre Venter in #10. And you exactly don’t see him rolling around on the ground for 10 minutes holding his face like a soccer player. So yeah, he was tough. Fitzpatrick is an icon in New Zealand, and considered one of the greatest All Blacks players of all time. Considering the amount of talent that comes out of that country, that’s saying something.

4. Wayne Shelford (New Zealand)

His name was Wayne, but he goes by Buck. He only played 22 international matches, but that was enough to cement his status as one of the hardest guys to ever play for New Zealand.

In a match against France in 1986, Buck incurred one of the most awful injuries any man could ever imagine: his scrotum was ripped open by a guy’s cleat. What did he do? Kept playing, obviously. Eventually he had the trainer stitch him up so he could return to the game.

L-E-G-E-N-D.

He’d be #1 on this list for sure if that terrifying incident had actually occurred during a Rugby World Cup match.

3. Scott Gibbs (Wales)

Scott Gibbs just tackle a guy? No way. Tackle a guy, then give him a punch on the side of the head as he’s going down? Yeah, that’s what you could expect when you faced “Car Crash” Gibbs. (Skip to the 1:50 mark in the video to see what I’m talking about.)

Still, Gibbs (who played from 1986-1997) had more to give than just brute force. Check out this amazing try:

2. Bakkies Botha (South Africa)

Bakkies Botha is regarded as one of the toughest and nastiest men to ever play the game. Like #11 Johnny Wilkinson, he is still active (playing right now for the Springboks). Unlike Johnny Wilkinson, Botha’s resume is so full of brutal incidents that he’s a no brainer for this list of the RWC’s ultimate badasses.

In his first ever international match, he got a yellow card for “stamping” (like, with your feet). Also, he’s served suspensions for eye-gouging Australian Brendan Cannon and head-butting New Zealander Jimmy Cowan—the latter of which occurred in July 2010 and is the highlight of the video presented here. So the point is: just stay clear of this guy if you can.

1. Sebastien Chabal (France)

Coming in at #1 is yet another active player. Like the other two, he’s without question one of the biggest hardasses to ever step on the field.

To be sure, part of Sebastien Chabal’s mystique is his burly caveman appearance. But he’s also gargantuan, and has the brute force to back up his looks. I mean, it’s not like just anyone can get a montage of their top plays set to the score from Terminator. Plus, admit it: when you think of Frenchmen, you think of little Napoleon in his silly hat, or Albert Camus sitting at a sidewalk cafe, smoking and drinking coffee while writing in his journal. You don’t think of nightmarish guys like this. I mean come on, this dude is like some mythical beast, not a regular human being.

Anyway, here’s another clip, just to show you what he looks like at full-speed:

Source

Coincidentally, these two teams were chosen to open up the 2011 Rugby World Cup on Friday, as they kicked things off with this thrilling confrontation at midfield inside Eden Park on Friday.

I sure as hell would hate to get caught in the middle of that.

One fan was able to provide us with the latter during a Rugby World Cup match between Argentina and England, and he also appeared to be willing to show of his breasts (not incredible breasts) and the rest of his body, as he ran across the field naked following a converted kick by Argentina.

Thankfully, either the camera didn’t zoom in enough, or his package was simply to small to make the following video ‘not safe for work.’  So here is a look at the SFW video of the Rugby World Cup streaker.

Although I may not follow the game of rugby too closely, I understand the rules of the game enough to recognize the fact that South African winger Bryan Habana has game-breaking speed.  On second thought, you probably don’t need to know a single thing about the game of rugby to realize that fact after watching the following clip.

Here is a look at some highlight reel plays from the man who may very well be the fastest player at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.  Prepare to be amazed.

Now with that being said, upon first glance the decision here appears to be an easy one.  After all, strongmen in football gear are supposed to be rock hard, while panes of glass can be quite fragile.  And you know what they say about throwing rocks at a glass house.  I would expect the same to apply when a rock-hard man runs into a sheet of glass.

But wouldn’t you know it, they appear to be manufacturing unbreakable glass in China, unlike in New Zealand, where the glass is believed to be quite weak.  At least that seems to be the explanation Reuben was about to give during his post FAIL interview, before he decided to stop himself mid-sentence.

By the way, since when did breaking panes of glass while wearing football equipment make its way into the record books?  Is there anything that the people at the Guinness World Records wont accept these days?

Hat Tip – [Shutdown Corner]

“The team was asked to change its name after organisers thought the risque reference to whitebaiting was too much.”

They will still play in the games, but the name has changed. They will now be known as the “New World Master Netters”.  At least they get to keep enjoying their hobby. Which is netball. Wait — you didn’t think their hobby was…never mind.

They picked the name as a joke but organizers thought it “might have a bit of a double meaning if it was pronounced wrong”. Ya think? In a world that loves stuff like painted body jerseys and the Lingerie Football League, what else did they think people would think it meant?

Maybe if the “Master Netters” win the championship they will celebrate by…going out for a nice dinner. What did you think I was going to say?

Cheeky Name Rejected – [ThePress]

The nude rugby international, which takes place each year in Dunedin, New Zealand as a celebration of the county’s national nude day, was played yesterday as a stage-setter for the upcoming match between the All Blacks and France.  Thankfully, that match will be played in full uniforms.

Inflatable fans were not needed here as many people turned out to watch the tradition continue, and rather than the usual fists you may see thrown at a Romanian rugby match, the only thing flying in New Zealand was the balls.

When it was all said and done, the match went off without a hitch, except for the one streaker who interupted play for a moment.  The ironic part is he was fully clothed.

Hat Tip -[Guardian]

Soccer is not known for its goal scoring, so when a player gets three it is worthy of our praise.  What is even more incredible is when a player scores those three goals consecutively within the first 17 minutes of the game.  Yes, it was that easy for the Liverpool striker and his teammates.  Torres would start the party off early with a goal in the sixth minute.  Another would follow in the 14th minute, and he would conclude his show three minutes later with the natural hat-trick.  El Nino would not get to score his fourth goal, and would eventually be taken out of the game at the 70th minute to the roar of the crowd.  All the buzz in South Africa was around him and he did not disappoint, making him the “The Stat Line Of The Night” for Sunday June 14th, 2009.

This tournament invites the winners of several different continental tournaments around the world to battle it out.  Spain has two remaining games against Iraq and New Zealand, so expect mush of the same from Torres and the gang.  Will they ever play a “real” team?  Yes, but they will have to wait until the knockout rounds when they may meet the likes of Italy, Brazil, or the USA.