Picking ‘the best of’ is all the rage. How on earth do we decide the best try of a group?
Here are some possible criteria:
1. A solo effort
2. A team effort
3. A game changer
4. Against all the odds
5. Patriotism (jingoism?)
6. Personal favouritism
Then comes the question: who picks the options we’re given?
The solo effort
Magali Harvey won garlands of praise for her try in the 2014 World Cup which started from deepest defence.
Nolli Waterman’s ‘Try of the Decade’ involved a giddy advance past lines of Canadian defenders deceived by her stepping and acceleration.
Beibhinn Parsons caught the headlines last year with an end-to-end try after Scottish opposition let the ball drop into her hands.
A team effort
But rugby is supposed to be a team game. That is a major reason for people falling in love with it. So shouldn’t a try created by pairs of hands take precedence? ‘After 21 phases…’
Team plus Solo combined
This brings us closer to the gold standard of rugby. A prime example would be Abby Dow’s first try in Lille in April this year. it required an accurate line-out throw from Amy Cokayne, a clean take and delivery by Zoe Aldcroft, a fast pass by Leanne Riley, then consecutive cut-out passes off the left hand by Zoe Harrison then Emily Scarratt. That last pass was the hardest; Dow had the time and space to collect it and accelerate. The move left her facing the full-back, not her opposing wing, so she had the edge in speed guaranteed.
Players were involved from No 2 to No 14, from the left touch-line to the far right.
A game changer
Pulling the fat out of the fire; the last-minute winner. Jessy Trémoulière against England at Grenoble (2018); Lydia Thompson against France at Exeter (2019).
Against all the odds
The only try the team scored all season; the rank outsider try against the red-hot favourite; Ireland’s Alison Miller scoring a crucial try against New Zealand in the 2014 World Cup to earn undying glory.
Personal favouritism
Any try scored by X – she’s my favourite player; if she’s not on the field, I go back to Netflix.
Loyalty (patriotism? jingoism?)
Only tries scored by my club/nation count.
Who picks the options?
Somebody in charge has got to narrow the choices down to a manageable number; but when a team is running in eight or nine per game, that’s not so easy; what is the right number to choose from? Must it be 4?
There’s a further factor: how good is the opposition? A try scored against a great team must have higher value. Opposition frailties sadly play a part in all four.
To my mind a try scored in the face of limp tackles is reduced in value.
An Example
Of the four on offer
Beibhinn Parsons’ try covers option 1 (other options are available)
Harriet Millar-Mills’ try covers option 2 (other options are available)
Eimear Considine’s try covers options 1 and 2 (other options are available)
Abby Dow’s try covers options 1 and 2 (other options are available)
A Second Example – the Allianz Premier 15s Try of the Season
Astonishingly difficult to decide at every stage. The two finalists came close to being ideal examples of exact opposites, team try v individual.
But Ellie Kildunne’s didn’t exactly pass through fourteen pairs of hands to get to her. Simi Pam’s version stood out from all the other virtuoso solos.
Fascinating that Kildunne’s garnered 56% of the vote; Pam’s 44%.
Comments expressed astonishment that the prop’s try didn’t walk off with the trophy. Yes, a perfectly understandable reaction. But Kildunne’s was scored against the 2020-21 champions.
My problem is that I was witness to several of Wasps’ most outrageous tries through the season, but only the ones scored at home. I am helplessly biased.
The magical offering set up by Meg Jones at Loughborough to put Abby Dow away on the right was another memorable creation.
‘Don’t run backwards, boy!’ yelled the coach, forgetting that you should never use a negative in coaching. Yet two English players who are happy to do so are the two who created the winning try, Jones and Kildunne. Watch Jones again as she runs cross-field, and you see her take at least one step back towards her own line. Fear not. she can change direction in a split second.
