Although in rugby there is no such thing as an open goal, the game still produces moments where a team simply has to score; and when they don’t, it often makes headlines.
Certain ‘open goal misses’ stand out. Perhaps the most infamous of all is when Freddie Burns had the ball dislodged when he was about to score the winning try for Bath against Toulouse.
Inicio de #ChampionsCup. Bath 22-20 abajo a 5 minutos del final. Freddie Burns se va derecho al try de la victoria pero… pic.twitter.com/SGqFMYcXFm
— Periodismo Rugby (@Perrugby) October 13, 2018
It even happens to one of the greatest players in the world, Beauden Barrett knocked on under very little pressure after he had ran clear of the Canadian defence in the 2019 world cup.
The newest member of the list of players to butcher a try is Lyon’s fullback Toby Arnold.
Playing against newly crowned European champions La Rochelle on Saturday 5th June, the clock was in the red with Lyon trailing by only 3 points.
Through some great hands, Lyon shipped the ball wide where Arnold had an unopposed stroll to the line, a certain match winning try – or so it seemed.
The fullback began to stumble as soon as he received the ball before, unfortunately for Lyon, he knocked on which dramatically ended the game.
La Rochelle coach, Ronan O’Gara appeared to be doing his best not to break out into a fit of laughter.
The win for La Rochelle meant that they will now face Toulouse away in the playoffs as they bid to back up European success with a domestic title.
The two first round fixtures of the Top 14 playoffs will be carried out this weekend. With Toulouse V La Rochelle on Saturday and Bordeaux V Racing 92 on Sunday.
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