Every Rugby Winning Streak has to come to an End

Every Rugby Winning Streak has to come to an End

In sports, every team who can string together a sequence of wins, and wishes to continue yet, the truth is that every rugby Winning Streak has to come to an end.

Last weekend, the Black Ferns Sevens team had to see their astonishing rugby winning streak come to an end. The ‘Sevens Sisters’ had strung together an amazing number of 37 wins on the World Rugby Sevens Series circuit.

In fact, the number was closer to 50; as the Black Ferns Sevens rugby winning streak included the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco.

So with that long sequence being broken by France, it only reminds sports fans of some terrific achievements and many other examples in rugby, basketball or cricket.

Every Rugby Winning Streak has to come to an End

Acknowledgment must first be given to the record holders. This is led [formally] by Tier One rugby nations, yet the actual longest sequence of wins by an International men’s rugby team is headed by Cyprus [24].

Officially, the world record is 18; held by the All Blacks and more recently equaled by England Rugby.

And the record of unbroken wins by a women’s rugby team is 27. That record is held by the New Zealand Black Ferns – their loss to England in 2001, was the sides first loss in their ‘recognized’ International test record [est. 1990].

11 years undefeated, the black ferns hold one of the longest rugby winning streaks that any team has enjoyed.

Yet every winning record has to come to an end. Longevity is not always associated with winning streaks. As they can often last for one season, but hardly ever continue unbroken. Think of the Crusaders in Super Rugby.

Crusaders held in high esteem as 2018 Super Rugby Champions
Sam Whitelock of the Crusaders lifts the Super Rugby Trophy after the win in the Super Rugby Final match between the Crusaders and the Lions at AMI Stadium on August 4, 2018 in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

They were unbeaten from March 23, 2018 until they lost to the NSW Waratahs on March 22, 2019. 364 days, 19 matches (including the 2018 Grand Final). It proves that every rugby winning streak has to come to an end.

And so too in the English Premiership rugby competition, the longest unbroken record is held by Leicester Tigers. From December 1999, until September 2000, the Tigers won 17 consecutive matches.

Great Winning Streaks in Modern Sport

Last Word on Rugby enjoys all sports, and here we can find many fantastic records.

  • NFL: the New England Patriots won a total of 21 consecutive games from October 2003, to October 2004. That included the 32-29 victory over Carolina, in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
  • Longest winning streak in NBA history belongs to the L.A Lakers, who captured 33 victories in a row during the 1971/72 season.
  • WNBA: The Huskies didn’t lose a game from November 2008 to December 2010. That is a massive a 90-game streak of victories, that included two national championships.
20 Jun 1999: Jubilation on the Australian balcony after victory over Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup Final at Lord’s in London. Australia won by 8 wickets. Mandatory Credit: Laurence Griffiths /Allsport
  • In Cricket, Australia won a total of 16 tests in the period from October, 1999 until March, 2001 when India defeated them by 171 runs in Calcutta. During that same period, they also claimed the Cricket World Cup in 1999 (see above image).
  • Roger Federer holds the (Lawn) Tennis winning streak of 65 consecutive matches won from 2003 to 2008.
  • Hurdles legend Edwin Moses was invincible for a decade, starting from 1977 to 1987, during which he won 122 races straight.

All Hail the Conqueror – Jahangir Khan

The former World No.1 squash player from Pakistan, who is considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the game. From 1981 to 1986, he was unbeaten in competitive play and won 555 matches consecutively.

Khan’s is the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sports, as recorded by Guinness World Records.

Records like the above seem to be unbreakable. Yet, in sports, records are considered goals, for others to break. So from the Black Ferns Sevens 37 games on the Sevens World Series, or the L.A Lakers 33 victories, are used as motivation by others.

And that is where the fans interest is peaked. Any team nearing a record will enjoy higher support levels. England, on equaling the All Blacks record, were boosted by national pride. Defeated by Scotland at home, the truth of every good rugby winning streak coming to an end, will likely be reached by others.

Who will be the next team to break a rugby-record?

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Last Word on Rugby used many resources to build this collection of records. Sources include ESPNscrum.com, Wikipedia, Guinness World Records and many articles found on the Internet.

 

“Main photo credit”
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