It’s one of the most viral moments of the past decade.
When we think of the greatest tries ever scored, Gareth Edwards for the Barbarians will come to mind for most, but there is a grassroots level effort that can surely stake its claim for that coveted label.
Alan Knuckey is the man behind one of the greatest tries ever captured on camera, and without the weight of the world on him like many professional players, he decided to pull off the riskiest of moves, and it worked superbly.
Camped on their own five-metre line with put-in at the scrum, Charlton Park RFC’s scrum-half fizzed a pass into Knuckey, who received the ball behind his own white line. A shout could be heard form the crowd: “Do it now!”
What happened next went down in grassroots rugby history. Knuckey proceeded to drop the ball onto his backheel, in what could be described as a scorpion kick, right over the head of his opponents. The back used his pace to burst through the bewildered players and go the full 100 metres and score. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Laughing spilled over from the sidelines as the supporters could not believe what they were seeing. Applause began as Knuckey cruised in for the score. Even the big winger, number 11, began clapping as he raced away.
You can watch this iconic try below.
Footage of this score has been viewed more than seven million times since 2016.
Viewers have been blown away by the skill in recent years as the footage has resurfaced.
“The encouragement and laughing was very contagious. Brilliant try!” wrote one.
“Excellent! That is the best try I’ve ever seen!” wrote another.
Knuckey himself uploaded the video nine years ago with the caption: “Rugby try, football skill, back heel kick, over the head, over the defence, side-step the full back, run the length of the pitch to score under the posts. If people start trying this kick, will it be known as the KNUCKEY?”
