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The Most Selfless Moments in Rugby | American Reacts

Michael Flanders

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Rugby's greatest moments aren't always the biggest hits or the fastest tries. Sometimes they're the moments when players put someone else ahead of themselves.

In this reaction, I watch a collection of rugby's most selfless moments—from players giving up certain tries so a teammate can score, to opponents protecting injured players in the middle of play. These moments reminded me why rugby has earned such a unique reputation for sportsmanship and respect.

If you enjoyed the video, I'd love to hear about other rugby compilations, legendary matches, or unforgettable moments I should react to next.

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🔗 ORIGINAL VIDEO: Selfless Moments in Rugby

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Which moment stood out most to you?
Share your thoughts in the comments — I try to read every one.

I'm a sports fan from the U.S. discovering the world's greatest sports one game at a time.

#Rugby #AmericanReacts #Sportsmanship

20 Comments

@neill392 2 months ago

One tradition in rugby is that if you score a hat-trick you have to buy a jug of beer for your team mates. Passing the ball to a colleague to avoid scoring a hat-trick is sometimes referred to as "jug avoidance".

@michaelclarke5153 2 months ago

At least one of the gifted tries was so the passer didn't have to score on his first return to the last team he played for. A respect thing between the player and his old club and fans.

@Andre_De_Ath 2 months ago

There are a few reasons to give the ball to a teammate so he can score. Sometimes it's that player's first try for the team, sometimes it's to help him reach a milestone like 50 or 100 tries for the team, sometimes to avoid a hat-trick as mentioned earlier, sometimes to repay a player that helped him score etc.

@mattm7426 2 months ago

The reason play continues during injury is because the medics come onto the field and help the player while the game continues around them. Usually in rugby the medics don't really get in the way of the game, the players just manage to avoid that small area on the field. However if the injury is obviously serious, the ref stops play immediately. But sometimes refs don't realise how serious an injury is at first.

@karlennis3642 2 months ago

Teamwork plain n simple...
It's not about who scores just that we DO

@HayManned 2 months ago

I know the reason Finn Russell passed to Ojomoh in the PREM final was because Russell knew he had a real 'boy from bath' on his inside, and felt like he deserved a try in the final for bath

@Sebbettful 2 months ago

4:13 Michael, the story behind that is: it was after the 2015 rugby world cup final, which the All Blacks won. The All Black, Sonny Bill Williams, was walking around the pitch acknowledging the fans. The kid was in the stands and SBW was his favourite player, and so he got very excited. He jumped over the barricade and ran out to SBW to hug him. A security guard saw the kid and tackled him. SBW stepped in, told the security guard to let the kid go, and then comforted the kid and walked him back to his seat. He then gave the kid his medal. The security guard took a lot of heat from people for it (personally, I think he was just doing his job - he saw a movement towards a player and reacted. It could have been someone with a knife). IIRC, world rugby actually later gave SBW a replacement medal. You can see the full incident here https://youtu.be/sMa5dJ4kUPA?si=ZA9eTfvI5CarSNlj

@Sebbettful 2 months ago

As others have said, the passing off can be to improve the kicking position. Sometimes it's because the passer has a defender nearby and thinks 'I'm an 80% chance of scoring, but if I pass to my teammate, he's a 100% chance'

@Raven-fh2yy 2 months ago (edited)

A lot of the guys giving away scoring opportunities is to give it to a player that is able to get it closer to the goal posts, remember in rugby the kick for the conversion (point after) is taken from a line drawn back from where the ball is grounded in the In Goal. Hence the closer to the post the less of an angle for the kick. The roll onto the side is one of the first things you are taught in First aid and is called the recovery position. In this position the throat opens completely allowing easier and deeper breathing and if the airway is obstructed in this position you aren't fighting gravity if you try to get the airway unobstructed with a finger or something like that (in rugby's case the mouth guard comes out much easier)

@twotone2a 2 months ago

From a British Ambulance Technician - EMT - (and former player), vomiting when flat on your back can be fatal. The recovery position is designed to stop an unconscious or semi-conscious person aspirating vomit (inhaling it) as it can be fatal. As well as possibly "drowning," vomit is very acidic and hence massively irritates and damages the lungs.

On your side, any vomit drains out the mouth naturally onto the ground. Vomiting is often a symptom of head injury/concussion so the recovery position is appropriate in rugby, but there is always the possibility of a spinal injury. Until expert help arrives on the pitch, it maybe better to keep the injured man lying in whatever position he is, but watch him like a hawk and only roll him if he begins vomiting. It will be obvious!!

@pantherusnz 2 months ago

@13:45 I'm pretty sure that try was what's know as "The Try From The End Of The Earth" and was scored by France against New Zealand, in New Zealand, to win the match. That match was played at Eden Park (our primary rugby stadium, in Auckland) in 1994 and it stands as the last time that the All Blacks lost at Eden Park - that record has held ever since, it is the record for the longest winning streak by an International Rugby team at any single venue, and every international team who comes to New Zealand want to be the ones to break that record. Even when they've been at their worst, the All Blacks always somehow find a way to win at Eden Park.
But back to that try - yes, it was utterly incredible by a fantastic French side.

@mikezog1030 2 months ago

You may see selfless passes from backs to props or locks more often because these props and locks are the hard grunt boys that don't do the flashy stuff and often never get noticed for the grunt work they put in to make the flashy stuff possible. The backs and particularly the wings are relied on to finish moves off so they get their names on the score sheet often, while it doesn't happen for the fat boys often..

@mikezog1030 2 months ago

Putting a player in their side like that is the recovery position so they don't swallow their own tongue while unconscious.

@kenhorlor5674 2 months ago

One rugby tradition you may not know about is players swapping jerseys after the final whistle. Often they then wear their opponents jerseys for interviews and this can cause a little confusion as the winning team captain can be seen talking while wearing the losing teams colours. But, it is a sign of mutual respect, and the tradition does still persist.

@chris3gf 2 months ago

Sometimes it can be a special milestone match for a player..like one try away from 50 tries or their 50th test or even a new player in his 1st game etc...sometimes a player did so much work before all that phases to enable that try so pass it on to them if you can.. like the Springboks one in the beginning..that was the World Cup final in 2019...the player had kicked the ball and two players chased after but because they were not under pressure the other player passed the ball so the player who did the work can take the glory.. so those are for selfless reasons... otherwise as people have already said in comments you pass the ball as u know to someone in a better position

@dlucian8636 2 months ago

The New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa Springboks will play the historic fourth and final Test of their 2026 series at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 5:00 PM.

@nicolasdejager7845 2 months ago

The rugby culture breeds comradery, your team mates are your extended family, they are brothers, your opposition are your fellow Kingman, so there is a level of respect for an opponent.

@BalrajTakhar-u7u 1 month ago

That one where the Bok player grabs the Argentine (Puma) player by the ankle is due to the fact there is a moat around many soccer stadiums in Argentina to prevent crowd trouble. While Argentina has a great domestic rugby scene those clubs stadiums are far too small for internationals so these are held at soccer stadiums. And it is quite a drop that could incur a very nasty injury.

@jasonvanwyk9943 2 months ago

It's a rough game - and violent indeed - but the is a comradeship and brotherhood in this game like no other. One of my fondest memories, is going into the opponents changeroom after a game and having a good chat over a beer - so many friendships made.