THE GREATEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE I'VE EVER SEEN...

Gareth Edwards

For Wales v Scotland February 1972

Watching in that dominant Wales side of the Seventies really fired me to play rugby. In particular that try - you know the one, against Scotland [Cardiff Arms Park, February 1972] - he started at the half-way line, made several hand-offs, chipped and chased, dived in the mud for the ball in the corner, touched down, then slid on to the athletics track face-first. What I particularly liked about Edwards (below) was his aggression and arrogance; he stood up in the face of fearsome opposition, which was the key to beating the All Blacks at that time. He had an incredibly long pass and he possessed great speed and strength; the ideal rugby player of the generation; the best scrum-half ever. [Wales won 35-12, Edwards scoring two tries. The championship could not be completed that year as both Wales and Scotland refused to travel to Dublin, but Wales won the three matches they did play.]

John Beattie, now 47, played at No 8 25 times for Scotland from 1980- 1987.