Nine OUTSTANDING moments that took our breath away in 2023

Dylan Coetzee
Split with Duhan van der Merwe, Springboks and Johnny Sexton.

Split with Duhan van der Merwe, Springboks and Johnny Sexton.

2023 was a brilliant year of rugby loaded with history, drama and everything in between as it always is in a Rugby World Cup season.

Before the year shuts up shop, Planet Rugby takes a closer look at the moments that took our breath away.

Springboks run into their fourth Rugby World Cup title

History was made by South Africa who went on to become the first team in history to win the global showpiece four times – a remarkable feat considering the Springboks did not take part in the first two World Cups.

The already impressive achievement is made even more incredible by their run into the title. During the course of the tournament, the Springboks faced all the other five teams in the top six of the world rankings. When it came time for the play-offs the never-say-die attitude and vast experience showed as the side won all three of their knockouts against France, England and New Zealand in the final by a single point each.

Their title in 2023 was one of the most tactically astute performances the game has ever seen in a World Cup.

Springboks deploy 7-1 bench to hand All Blacks record defeat

In the build-up to the World Cup, there was a highly-anticipated clash between the Springboks and All Blacks at Twickenham which served as their final preparation before the tournament began.

In typical fashion, from the South Africans’ innovative brains trust, the side deployed a 7-1 split on the bench after Willie le Roux pulled up injured in the warm-up. The decision sent shockwaves through the rugby world but none more so than the sight of all the Springboks forward replacements taking to the field at one time.

On the day South Africa was outstanding playing brutal rugby up front with a free-flowing backline taking the game to New Zealand. The final score was 35-7 which is the biggest defeat in the All Blacks’ history.

Rugby World Cup quarter-final drama

The lopsided nature of the drama had its pros and cons with one of the positives being some mouth-watering quarter-final match-ups kicking off with a gruelling battle between Wales and Argentina which was ultimately secured by the smarts of veteran Nicolas Sanchez.

However, the second quarter-final was one of the best games the whole year with Ireland and New Zealand clashing in a resumption of one of the great modern rivalries in rugby. The entire clash was blow- for-blow, with each team matching the other pound-for-pound. A breathless first half left the All Blacks with an 18-17 lead. In the second period, neither team could break away with Jordie Barrett’s boot giving the New Zealanders something to hold onto. Then came the Irish assault with the clock in red. Wave after wave of attack came the way of the All Blacks until after a whopping 37 phases veteran Sam Whitelock picked his moment and forced a penalty at the breakdown showing his class to claim the win for his team.

The following day kicked off with an intriguing clash between Fiji and England made more interesting by the fact that the Red Rose fell to the same opposition in the build-up to the tournament. Owen Farrell stood up magnificently in this game as he was pinpoint with the boot kicking five penalties, a conversion and a drop goal. The captain also managed the game well for the most part as England looked to be cruising into the semi-final before a late onslaught from the passionate Fijians almost snatched the game.

Then came perhaps the most dramatic game of all as hosts France clashed with the Springboks in a game that had it all including a whopping six tries in the first half with four of those in the first half an hour. There was chaos during that period as Cheslin Kolbe charged down Thomas Ramos’ conversion attempt which ended up being one of the moments which won the game for the Boks. Another was Handre ‘Iceman’ Pollard stepping up to nail a long-range penalty to go ahead in the game’s dying moments. In fact, chaos does not even come close to describing this encounter.

Fiji World Cup run

One of the most refreshing aspects of the tournament was seeing the run into the quarter-finals by the Flying Fijians who stole so many fans’ hearts through their flamboyant style of rugby.

What was impressive about Fiji during this tournament is that under head coach Simon Raiwalui they added more composed, disciplined and tactically sound components to their game, all of which they employed in their first win over Australia in 69 years. It wasn’t through some free-flowing tries but instead breakdown and scrum dominance converted into points through penalties in an astute performance.

The tournament would end in the quarter-finals but the Fijians could return home with their head held high in an impressive effort.

Portugal claim first World Cup win

Fiji was not the only team to steal hearts as Portugal became a real fan favourite through their exciting style and relentless commitment to keep going no matter what. This ultimately paid off with their first win at a World Cup against, you guessed it, Fiji.

The win came soon after they came perilously close to beating Georgia which ultimately ended in a draw. After the game skipper Tomas Appleton reminded everyone that the team was not there to just participate but to win and they showed that against Fiji who they caught cold on the day.

It was a brilliant performance worthy of a win so much so that Fiji boss Raiwalui showed his class by offering some kit to the Portuguese stars after the game to commemorate their historic win.

Duhan van der Merwe wonder try

A try that will go down in history as one of the greatest the game has seen. Scotland wing Van der Merwe received the ball from a team-mate in his own half before deciding to pin his ears back. He beat one tackler and found himself in space, skinned another, and wrong-footed the next before bringing out the big fend and more pace to follow after beating five defenders to score a try for the ages. The Scot won the World Rugby Men’s Try of the Year award for his efforts.

Ireland v France

Ireland were looking extremely good and seemingly on their way to a Grand Slam but faced their biggest test yet as France took the trip to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for a memorable Test.

The hosts were out of the blocks brilliantly with three first-half tries to Hugo Keenan, James and Lowe and Andrew Porter whilst Les Bleus managed to just stay in touch through a Damian Penaud score and Thomas Ramos’ boot.

Despite the early losses of Johnny Sexton and Tadhg Beirne through injury the side held on during a much more cagey second period as both teams looked to avoid mistakes. Patience and accuracy was finally rewarded as Garry Ringrose scored in the last 10 minutes to put the game to bed.

Ireland would go on to claim the Grand Slam in what was an epic Six Nations season.

Munster away run into the URC title

It was a slow start to life under Graham Rowntree for the Irish province who took time to get going. The first half of the season was underwhelming and it was an impressive win over South Africa ‘A’ in November last year that kicked the team into gear.

Munster began collecting some impressive results late on including a brilliant away win against the Stormers at the back-end of the season to become the first team to beat the side in Cape Town for over 20 games.

Still, their log position meant they would be travelling for all the play-off games but that did not bother Munster who began with a lovely 5-14 quarter-final win against an impressive Glasgow Warriors side setting up a trip to Leinster in the semi-finals. This was an outstanding performance which culminated in a Jack Crowley drop-goal that has shades of Ronan O’Gara to it.

It was back to Cape Town for the final and the momentum was simply too strong for the hosts to handle as Munster snatched the result to miraculously win the United Rugby Championship in great fashion.

Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell create history

To cap off a memorable year for rugby, two legends were rewarded for their consistent performances over a long period of time by breaking two lofty records.

Sexton surpassed the great O’Gara as Ireland’s top points scorer of all-time during a clash against Tonga in the World Cup pool stage. The record is a testament to the fly-half’s outstanding ability and commitment to Irish rugby.


Meanwhile, Farrell took over the all-time points scorer mantle for his country leapfrogging Jonny Wilkinson in the standings. It is an impressive feat from the Englishman who has given everything for the jersey since his debut. Only the legendary Dan Carter has more points in Test history than Farrell.

READ MORE: The 50 best rugby players of the year, part three: 30-21

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