Now you see them, now you don’t: Rugby’s modern magicians

Shane Williams carries the ball during an appearance for the British and Irish Lions

Credit: PA Images

The beautiful thing about rugby is it truly is a game for all shapes and sizes.

There’s big blokes up front with the force of a rampaging rhino'; there’s lightning-fast guys on the outside who leave a dust cloud behind them like Billy Whizz'; but we’re here today to discuss a different kind of player.

On the menu today is the schemers, the artistes, the men who can stun and amaze their audience with sleight of hand - or foot - and leave their opposite number wondering how on earth he did it.

That’s right, we are here for the magicians of rugby - the men who pull rabbits from hats, make themselves disappear entirely and conjure up astounding plays from nowhere before your very eyes.

Not so much sawing in half, though - there are magicians in rugby who specialise in that particular trick, but that’s for another time.

For now, enjoy The Flanker’s reflection on some of the finest illusionists rugby has seen and their magnificent magic acts.

Carlos Spencer

There was never not going to be a place for the King on this list.

Many people’s first choice for rugby’s genuine magicians and with little argument to the contrary, every time ‘King Carlos’ got his hands on the ball, a frisson went around the stadium and everyone sat up a little straighter in their seats.

Many will remember his glorious through-the-legs pass to set up Joe Rokocoko against South Africa in 2003, or his mesmeric step that would see him almost glide through entire defences.

However, one memory stands out more than any other - waltzing through the Crusaders’ defence to finish off a coast-to-coast try, walking the ball from under the sticks to the corner before putting it down and proceeding to nail a touchline conversion in front of a ‘Saders crowd baying for blood.

[NB: The following video was found on YouTube, and as such the title is in no way a reflection of The Flanker’s views about the Crusaders. We love you Christchurch.]

Top that.

And if you still need convincing, his lockdown TikTok videos should tell you all you need to know.

Simon Zebo

A man of many talents, Simon Zebo quickly established his flair for the dramatic in the Ireland setup very quickly.

Blessed with a natural eye for an offload, great balance and footwork and an imagination few in his position can boast, Zebo made a habit in his international career of making the exceptional look normal.

He now plies his mesmeric trade in France with Racing 92, but in his time in the limelight with Ireland he managed to give us one of the enduring memories in modern Six Nations history.

In a tight affair against Wales, an Irish break saw Zebo free on the right wing as Jamie Heaslip took possession of the ball in the middle. Unfortunately, the number 8’s offload was behind Zebo, who may have been guilty of overrunning the ball carrier a tad.

Did it matter? Not a jot. Just check it out below, words don’t do it justice.

Gathering the ball at the second attempt, Zebo then set the platform for Cian Healy to rumble over and give Ireland one of the most fondly-remembered Six Nations tries.

Nehe Milner-Skudder

As any magic aficionado knows, the trick is not always what the hands are doing. Sometimes, the hands are simply an illusion.

Nehe Milner-Skudder was a perfect example of that very misdirection in action, with anything he might be doing with his upper body merely acting as a distraction from what his feet are doing.

Blessed with one of the best sidesteps ever to grace the game, Milner-Skudder announced himself on the world stage by lighting up the 2015 World Cup in England with a series of phenomenal scores, leaving defenders grasping at thin air like they were reaching for rabbits that were never really in the hat at all.

Injuries have since robbed him of the chance to cement his reputation among the great magicians of our game, but there is no doubting that when he gets his chance he can mix it with the best of them.

Quade Cooper

If Carlos was the King, then Quade Cooper had to be his grand vizier.

No-one who saw him and Will Genia lead the Queensland Reds to their maiden Super Rugby title in 2011 will have any doubt about his abilities.

The name on everybody’s lips from the day he broke into top-grade rugby, he is possibly best remembered for the audacious cross-kick in his own in-goal area against the Cheetahs in 2011 that set Digby Ioane away for what has to go down as the greatest try never scored.

Not that he is without detractors - Quade’s showmanship and arguable lack of pay-off on the biggest stages led to something of a target having been placed on his back for long stretches of his career.

However, there is one thing that should not be in doubt - when Quade was hot, he was smoking hot.

Freddie Michalak

Another player who for one reason and another never quite had the international career he promised, Freddie Michalak looked just for a moment like the man to carry the traditional French flair into the modern era.

He made his name most emphatically in the 2003 World Cup, taking France to the semi-finals. That run included a scintillating performance against Ireland in the quarters that saw the Gallic outfit race into a 43-0 lead before Ireland added some respectability.

A very gifted kicker with superb fleet of foot and an eye for the spectacular, Michalak looked destined for great things but never quite found his niche in a French side that suffered some major peaks and troughs over the next few years.

Not many rugby fans, however, will forget his crowning moment - just moments after coming off the bench in the quarter-finals of the 2007 World Cup, he split the All Blacks defence wide open and put Yannick Jauzion away for a try that was indeed heard ‘round the world.

Shane Williams

Shane Williams crosses for his final international try with the last play of his last match for Wales

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

I defy you to find a rugby fan who ever tired of watching this particular wing wizard.

Breaking through internationally with a two-try performance against New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup, Shane Williams went on to have one of the most decorated rugby careers in Welsh history.

By some distance his country’s best try-scorer of all time, Williams was possessed with the kind of agility and evasiveness that simply cannot be taught - as though a puff of smoke was unleashed every time he stepped inside.

He truly was there one second, gone the next.

Even more magic than him, though, was his international finale, as despite finishing on the losing side, Shane scampered over for one last try as the Millennium Stadium (as it was then) erupted around him.

A fairytale send-off for a fairy-tale player,