Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: Rupeni Caucau's wonder try for Toulouse against Brive

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Rupeni Caucau's wonder try for Toulouse against Brive

Rupeni Caucau scored Toulouse's only try as they narrowly beat Brive 23-22 in the French Top 14 a few days ago. As with most of his career, the try he scored was anything but regulation.

Toulouse extended their lead at the top of the table despite being made to work hard against a Brive side that battled valiantly, with Alexis Palisson scoring their only try, while Mathieu Belie and Julien Caminati kicked the rest of their points.

Frederic Michalak did the kicking for Toulouse, scoring all the points bar Caucau's try, including a late penalty that effectively gave them the win, pushing Brive back into the relegation zone.

It feels like every time something is posted about him, the Fijian's weight, form, and fitness leading up to the World Cup is brought up. It's difficult to avoid though, as he is without a doubt one of the most exciting backs to play the game in the last ten years.

It looks as though he still has the magic touch too, as he somehow managed to get through a few defenders, holding the ball up in the air with one hand (in wet conditions) to score an important try for the French league leaders.

A short interview is included in the video too, with the man himself discussing the try.

:: Related Posts ::
Rupeni Caucau scores his first try for Toulouse

Time: 01:46

Anyone else think there might have been crossing there?

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 3:14 pm
wonder try? not really an accurate description.

By jrsONE, at March 16, 2011 3:19 pm
rougerie is such a girl!

By tnt, at March 16, 2011 3:24 pm
Even a fat Caucau does amazing things.

By ReactorField, at March 16, 2011 3:25 pm
obvious crossing, or even joining a maul from the wrong side?
there's a whole lot wrong with this try. Caucau used to do amazing things when he was at the auckland blues. This sits a distant last on a long list of his great tries.

he's just a fat pot head now.

By Cowcau, at March 16, 2011 3:32 pm
The "wonder" is how obviously how he managed to keep the ball glued to his hand and in the air, considering how wet the weather was and the power to push through (obv helped by his gut).

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 3:37 pm
Not a wonder try. He just got lucky. Tackler looked like he thought he must have passed it!

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 3:46 pm
Thanks for that wonderfully astute analysis, Cowcau. Nothing like leaving a bit of stank around the place.

He's actually playing quite well for them as is improving his fitness with every week he plays. Obviously he's still a long way off the Auckland Blues days though, as is every other winger in world rugby!

Btw tnt, Rougeria doesnt play for Brive.

By ItwasVosloo, at March 16, 2011 3:46 pm
anon - your ability to extract wonder from such an inane video would make you a phenomenal news reporter.

glued to his hand? why is he even waving his hand around like a pillock?

By Anonymous' mum, at March 16, 2011 3:47 pm
@all the haters

Name one other player who could do this.......yeah thought so.

By F@ckDaHaters, at March 16, 2011 3:47 pm
F@ckdahaters

any players with two legs and a team mate running interference could do this

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 3:51 pm
absolutely astonished by the negative comments regarding Caucau - ya hes had his problems involving pot/fitness/club loyalty etc but you have to look at how he comes back every time and defies the odds by scoring wonder tries such as the one above! His speed, power and skill from such an unlikely frame makes him one of the most exciting players to watch in world rugby!one must remember that its not easy for these pacific islanders who travel to europe and try to acclimatise to a totally different culture and way of life and he is without question a better rugby player than any of the jealous haters posting aboove.

By Dara, at March 16, 2011 3:59 pm
Dara, Caucau lived in Auckland, New Zealand prior to moving to Europe. He's not from the jungle.

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 4:10 pm
Even with Mr Dump's warning/reminder of how Caucau seems to attract negativity, I'm gobsmacked by the majority of posts here. What are you people on about? How can you not be impressed by that??

To pick up just a couple of these truly bizarre utterances:
"He just got lucky" - Lucky?? How is it lucky? You make your own luck and here's a perfect example of that.

"why is he even waving his hand around like a pillock?"
a) as he said in the interview he was looking for an offload. b)Because he can!!! Please post a link to a video of you demonstrating that kind of one-handed dexterity with a rugby ball. Doesn't need to be in an elite level rugby match with thousands watching and at least four opponents trying to tackle you, I'd just like to see you do that at all.

"any players with two legs and a team mate running interference could do this"
Video evidence please. Preferably of you doing this, but failing that show us an example of any other player doing this. I can think of one Fijian bloke (name escapes me) who did something vaguely comparable but it was in the middle of the park.

Cowcau said...
"obvious crossing, or even joining a maul from the wrong side?..."
Where's the crossing? Are you talking about the No8? Care to explain where he's supposed to stand? Joining a maul from the wrong side? Caucau was the ball-carrier!!

"He's just a fat pot-head now" - whereas you presumably are playing elite-level rugby and on your way to winning a place in your national team for the upcoming world cup, are you?

I suppose most of these comments are borne out of jealousy - I'm jealous too, but f*** me if you can't appreciate that as a good try, you may as well give up and follow another sport.

By Von, at March 16, 2011 4:16 pm
Anybody spot the sneaky trip by the loose head??? It causes Caucau to fall just short of the line

By John T, at March 16, 2011 4:19 pm
By the way, I notice he's back playing on the wing (as opposed to outside centre). Anyone know if that's a permanent switch or does he move around / alternate?

By Von, at March 16, 2011 4:19 pm
You guys are tripping. Cauau is the man. So he likes KFC and blowing fat ones? Big deal! He is one of the greatest try scorers in the modern period.

Not everybody has to come out of a mold. "Potheads" can play some ball, look out.

By HvS, at March 16, 2011 4:22 pm
Thank God, the sane people have arrived...

John T good spot - and he still beat another 2-3 players after the trip!

By Von, at March 16, 2011 4:25 pm
Crossing without doubt, but it doesnt diminish Rupeni ability

By Unknown, at March 16, 2011 4:27 pm
People are just angry with Caucau because he smokes ganja, ate whatever he wanted and didn't need to train, yet he still embarassed the entire NH.

It's absolute jealousy. Irrational hatred. There's no reason for it.

These people train and hit the gym, eat healthy, yet can't break out of the amateurs. And they resent Caucau for his brilliance.

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 4:32 pm
Let's be fair. Other than maybe Sonny Williams, with his monster hands, who else is going to do this? Really, this is great try, clearly not as good as his early works, but he definitely still has it. So, a quick message to the haters, "STOP HATIN'!"

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 4:39 pm
curious how people have a go with Caucau.

i don't know the whole caucau story, but i just see a incredibly skilled player who had difficulties of adaptation with eurpean rugby and life. He is very precious for Toulouse as half of the team is involved in international matchs.

He actually seems more than happy and he is chasing well his place for the rwc. he seems fit to play during top14 and hcup finals

By Colombes, at March 16, 2011 4:47 pm
"People are just angry with Caucau because he smokes ganja, ate whatever he wanted and didn't need to train, yet he still embarassed the entire NH"

4 international tries
Zero career silverware
Zero career achievements

Most overrated player of all time

By ElTigre, at March 16, 2011 5:01 pm
Haters are always going to hate. It is in there nature god bless them all.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"

I can't name many players who would try his, let alone do this.

It is sad though... What could have been...

There is some creedence to the crossing complaint though, a player does seem to obstruct defender, pretty tough to see for a ref though, doubt I could call it, or if any of the haters saw it before the replay.

By Canadian Content, at March 16, 2011 5:07 pm
@ ElTigre, A) He plays for Fiji. B) When he was at his best you were obviously too consumed with your beloved team to pay attention to what he was doing with the Blues (in in some parts, with Agen). In his prime, he was anything but overrated.

If I were you I wouldnt make judgements on something you clearly know nothing about. Citing his international records shows your ignorance.

For those who DID actually see and watch what he did, week in week out, it was a delight to be a part of and hasn't been matched since.

If only he could get in that same shape again now, the world would be treated. :)

By Laz, at March 16, 2011 5:16 pm
vosloo, not rougerie, you illiterate donkey.

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 5:33 pm
@ ElTigre I'll think you'll find that he's scored more than four interenational tries and scored at least 60 when he played for Agen.

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 5:41 pm
Nice sneaky trip on him alright. What's frustrating about Caucau is thinking what he could have achieved in the game if he was more professional about it. As it is, he's one of the most talented players I have ever seen.

By Mike, at March 16, 2011 5:53 pm
shades of lomu against france in 1999. running,stopping, being in a maul falling over getting back up and powering over the line. the man is a legend. id love if himself and manu tuilagi got to play against each other in the heineken cup. maybe goin a bit far to call it a wonder try though

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 6:14 pm
shades of lomu against france in 1999. running,stopping, being in a maul falling over getting back up and powering over the line. the man is a legend. id love if himself and manu tuilagi got to play against each other in the heineken cup. maybe goin a bit far to call it a wonder try though

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 6:14 pm
@"Let's be fair. Other than maybe Sonny Williams, with his monster hands, who else is going to do this? Really, this is great try, clearly not as good as his early works, but he definitely still has it. So, a quick message to the haters, "STOP HATIN'!""

i really dont think sbw has proved hes in the same bracket as rupeni at this stage. a few clips of him barreling over outhalfs in the itm cup wont change that. he certainly will never have the pace or power that rupeni has but we'll see how things pan out come the world cup for sbw

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 6:18 pm
omg what a hero

By Juan, at March 16, 2011 6:38 pm
how the...

By David, at March 16, 2011 7:11 pm
lol what a try! have not often seen something like this before...
ened to say caucau is a really sympathic guy!

By GTI, at March 16, 2011 7:18 pm
How about Fritz's run in the set up ? Mr. Lièvremont, OPEN YOUR F***NG EYES !!!

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 7:35 pm
I'm a little confused as to the number of people trash-talking Caucau... Sure the first reaction might be one of a confusion rather than amazement, but this try is still quite impressive.

What I really find amazing is how bad Caucau's English is given the amount of time he spent in Auckland.

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 9:45 pm
French commentators are so funny

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 9:48 pm
Dude's asking for a dislocated shoulder waving his arm that high up!

By Chambo9, at March 16, 2011 10:08 pm
^^Von, great post. I can't believe how many people feel prompted to start slating the guy because he scored a great try like that! It's not like he was being arrogant or anything, he acknowledged that he wasn't tackled well and didn't celebrate the try.

Stop hating and enjoy the rugby. Thanks RD.

By Phil, at March 16, 2011 10:26 pm
Brillant try.....just as brillant as Von comments......

By Flipje, at March 16, 2011 10:46 pm
yep thats a brilliant try never seen anyone doing somethng like that! He's deffo one of the best runners ever in world rugby and if you idiots slagging him off have actually watched any of his tries in his career you would agree. Cullen and Rupeni the best runners with ball in hand in my opinion

By rodmac, at March 16, 2011 11:00 pm
I don't think the people slagging him off are saying he was never good. I think they are stating he isn't nearly as good as he was. And can you really blame them? He isn't at the same standard he was at when he played for the blues.that combined with his lazy work ethic makes him and easy target even though he was one of the best wingers ever...when he was younger. he is still however a good player and if he gets his fitness right he can get closer to his glory days

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 11:28 pm
lomu never needed a maul. he WAS the maul. lol

Great try. Never give up, never surrender. Bad tackling.

By Stubby, at March 16, 2011 11:34 pm
I'm a big fan of Caucau, but i'm bemused at how people are blown away by this try. As previously mentioned there is a pretty strong case for at least 2 possible tacklers being blocked off by crossing and the first tackler just dropping off him was shambolic. Those who feel the need to proclaim any try he now scores as a 'wonder' try are as extreme and misguided in their views as those who slate him needlessly. Can we have a bit of perspective? Wonderful talent, srappy try at best!

Oh and he may well have been looking for an offload and its certainly a skill to be able to grip the ball like that, but i'm fairly certain that had he taken any sort of decent hit while doing that he's have spilled the ball and looked a bit of a pillock!

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 11:47 pm
poor defense.

By Anonymous, at March 16, 2011 11:50 pm
Why are so many of you making such opinionated comments, yet doing them under the Anonymous guise? Come on, pick a name and it'll be easier to actually have a discussion, and take you seriously.

It's a funny try, and there is an element of skill involved. Certainly nothing like his glory days, but still good to see.

By Benson, at March 16, 2011 11:58 pm
i love him

By Anonymous, at March 17, 2011 12:30 am
Easy for you couch potato nobody's to judge rupeni.. You losers couldnt score a try like that against an under-5's team.

By Daniel, at March 17, 2011 2:48 am
Rupeni is a great player and all, but this try was ugly.

By Stephen, at March 17, 2011 4:51 am
I'd love to see one of you muppets above pull this off, stop hating and enjoy.

By Pussy Patrol, at March 17, 2011 6:03 am
i was uncool/bored enough to watcht the video a few times, pausing it at crucial moments. he gets hit by 2 guys at the same time, one (a lock incidently) gets bumped off, the other, caucau wrestles off with one hand holding the ball in the air. the the tulouse no.8 blocks the fullback (sort of) and the prop, who then trips caucau, whereupon caucau is tackled again but still drives the tackler over the line and dots the ball down. all faults of caucau/luck/poor tackling?/etc considered, its still an impressive try. oh and he's scored 12 international tries with 10 international caps, and 96 club tries for 139 club caps before tulouse. thats a fairly impressive record, and silverware means nothing to individuals, only teams, so do your research before commenting el tigre.

By guillermo, at March 17, 2011 6:41 am
I love this try, Caucau waving his arms around like a demented windmill, everyone confused, some of that great NH tackling we keep hearing about, he goes down, he gets up again.. he bounces over.. excellent!

By Thom, at March 17, 2011 7:19 am
How the..? What the..?

HUH!??

By Jeremy, at March 17, 2011 8:38 am
7092 SAID: WELL SAID VON!!! theres a lot of Player Haters out there n they wouldnt even be able to do some of the tries Caucau does ... the Fact is, just them watchg this post on caucau scoring contradicts what they say.. KIP UP THE POSTS ON CAUCAU SCORES RUGBYDUMP!! ENOUGH SAID!

By Anonymous, at March 17, 2011 9:35 am
I don't see what Fritz can do more than what he does to be selected in the national team.
Best center we have today, honestly, and he can play 12 & 13 (which is not the case of most of our centers)...

Jesus Christ we don't care if he may be a little to violent, or be a little bit on the edge sometimes (the finger in h cup): last game against Italy showed that we desperately need that kind of players in the field.

By Jackie_Choune, at March 17, 2011 11:06 am
lot's of comments on here from idiots who've obviously never taken to the pitch themselves, nice clip and yes, a wonder try as any player would have a very hard time holding on to the ball in those conditions or the awareness to make the decision with 3players trying to haul you down,...then there's the sheer strength, crossing is when you block a tackler coming in. Hard to call in a maul situation, and hardly relevant to the try.

By can't stand couch potatoe know it alls!, at March 17, 2011 11:19 am
Caucau is like the real life Kung-Fu Panda.

It would be interesting to know how his weightloss is going since he's been at Toulouse. From the various videos I've seen he hasn't made much progress so far.

By Anonymous, at March 17, 2011 12:43 pm
weirdest try ever, bit of crossing as well. should have never scored anyway

By Anonymous, at March 17, 2011 12:48 pm
Co-sign Von, right on the money.

By Anonymous, at March 17, 2011 1:00 pm
Rougerie? Where do you see him here? He plays for Clermont...

By Frenchy, at March 17, 2011 7:06 pm
Great skill with ball in hand! Wish I could hold the ball like that! Those commenting on the crossing, please learn the rules before you post. If any offence was committed it was accidental offside.

http://www.irblaws.com/EN/laws/3/11/105/during-the-match/offside-and-onside-in-general-play/accidental-offside/#clause_105

By Jimbo1, at March 17, 2011 8:53 pm
sick work caucau

By zacaria, at March 18, 2011 9:00 am
Wonderful ballhandling skills, but his number 8 was accidentally offside, as he brushes him on the way past...

By Unknown, at March 18, 2011 12:22 pm
who needs those fake, derivative "viral videos"..

Caucau showing the ball in a double windmill is as real as it gets.

By cheyanqui, at March 18, 2011 5:24 pm
caucau is looking in better shape every game, if he keeps this up he is going to be a force to reckon with come the world cup!

By Alex Hall, at March 21, 2011 12:13 pm
While this was clearly not a try to stack up against his best for the Blues, Agen, or Fiji (WC 2003), it still showed a remarkable degree of dexterity that very few current players would be able to match. Those who on principle deride whatever he does these days simply display their ignorance in my view. One of the greatest talents the game has ever seen, in some respects probably the greatest. Just ask those leading international players of today who have faced him for their opinion.

By cavandy, at March 23, 2011 1:43 pm