Greatest games: Carlos Spencer inspires fine Blues win

We take a look at the best ever games from years gone by and today head back to 2004 where the Blues overcame the Crusaders in a Super 12 classic.

Lead-up to the fixture

The Blues were the defending champions having claimed their third title by defeating their arch rivals in the showpiece event in May 2003. They were once again in fine fettle heading into the ’04 campaign, boasting a remarkably strong squad, but the Christchurch outfit were wanting revenge.

It was a match that took place in the early stages of the season, but both had already been stung by heavy defeats. Robbie Deans’ men – the champions from 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002 – were shocked 43-19 at home by the Waratahs while the Aucklanders lost 44-27 against the Brumbies in Canberra.

They were results which provided a rather stark wake-up call to the sides that had dominated Super 12 a year earlier, making this encounter even more important. It was already one of the great rivalries as arguably the two best non-international teams went head-to-head, but there was an added edge to this contest.

The Crusaders and Blues were stacked with talent and it proved to be an outstanding game as these New Zealand franchises stood toe-to-toe, ending in a moment which is still well remembered in the tournament’s 25-year history.

Memorable players involved

The quality that took to the field that day was quite staggering. Throughout the respective XVs there were outstanding players aplenty, from the Crusaders’ generational talents Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, to the Blues’ flying wings Rupeni Caucaunibuca and Doug Howlett.

That is not to overlook the likes of Reuben Thorne, Justin Marshall, Caleb Ralph, Keven Mealamu, Ali Williams and Mils Muliaina who also played in that game.

In truth, however, the real star was the ultimate maverick himself, Carlos Spencer. There are few individuals in rugby that have lit up the sport more than the 44-times capped New Zealand pivot and Spencer produced a particularly special performance back in 2004.

It was one of Spencer’s last great displays in his homeland before his form rather dissipated, leading to a move to Northampton Saints in the Premiership. The playmaker was utterly majestic that day, scoring 18 points which included two tries and four conversions.

Of the other four scores by the Blues, three of them came from the great Caucaunibuca. Like his team-mate at 10, it was the last time we saw the Fijian flyer at his best before injury, lack of form and off-field issues took hold.

He may have only been at his peak for two years but he was quite something to behold when in full flight. The Crusaders had impressed in the first half, going 24-12 ahead, before Caucaunibuca and Spencer came to the party.

2 points up, on his own try line and with a minute to go – throwback to when Carlos Spencer did this 👏🔥 pic.twitter.com/Azh5UbIQDb

— Rugby Lives (@RugbyLives) January 30, 2018

The Pacific Islander especially shone, scoring two quickfire tries – completing his hat-trick in the process – to get the Aucklanders back into the contest. Ordinarily, he would be the story but instead, it was the All Black fly-half that took the headlines thanks to his courageous last minute score.

Why it will live long in the memory

When you search for this match on Google, it is very difficult to find anything that discusses the opening 79 minutes of the contest, despite the enthralling battle that took place.

The Crusaders controlled the opening half, deservedly going 24-12 in front, but the Blues produced a rousing comeback to lead 31-29 late on. Generally, that would be enough for a match to go down in the annals of history, especially when some late defensive heroics prevented the hosts from snatching the victory with the final move of the match, but Spencer then just happened to produce something remarkable.

Having seen his team turn over the ball on their own five-metre line, most would decide to run down the clock and boot it out to confirm victory. That wasn’t in the fly-half’s repertoire, however.

Instead, the pivot passed the ball just in front of the uprights into the hands of Joe Rokocoko, who showed his quality to weave his way up to the 10-metre line. Rokocoko was scythed down but back-row Justin Collins was there to continue the move before his off-load sent Spencer clear to score.

The brazenness wasn’t finished, though, as the fly-half decided against crossing the whitewash under the posts and duly mocked the Crusaders by walking over to the right-hand corner to touch down. He then enraged the home supporters further, kicking an incredibly difficult conversion to deny Robbie Deans’ men a losing bonus-point, before giving them the middle finger.

It was classic Spencer and a moment which continues to be replayed, given the audacity of the move and the cocksure approach taken by the former All Black playmaker.