10 Best Games in World Rugby in 2014

Hopes are high for the entertainment rugby will bring in 2015, but before that campaign gets underway, we must first look back on the extravaganza that has been a top-class 2014.

Here, we've ranked the top 10 matches to have taken place over the past 12 months, though many are in truth interchangeable depending on what one values as being conducive to real entertainment.

Those in the southern hemisphere hierarchy are seen by many as the dominant figures in the sport right now, so it's of little surprise to see such heavy hitters sitting atop our rankings.

It's also a running theme that games with more riding on the line see increased prominence. For example, post-season play-offs will generally feature better teams and closer matchups, which is why those particularly tight finals may reign higher than a normal season encounter.

For the sake of diversity, this list has also striven to include as broad a range of competitions as possible. The Six Nations or Rugby Championship may have had 10 truly great results, but there was a lot more happening in rugby than those tournaments alone.

Give us your suggestions for those games you feel should have made the cut by posting in the forum below.

10. Taranaki 23-26 Canterbury, 2014 ITM Cup

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Date: October 12, 2014

In the final round of the ITM Cup normal campaign, Taranaki needed just a losing bonus point from their encounter against visiting Canterbury to ensure they finished atop the ITM Cup's Premiership division.

In order to take a priority place into the play-offs, the Amber and Blacks simply needed to shut out the defending Premiership champions and looked capable of doing so after establishing an 18-6 half-time lead.

Canterbury entered this fixture on a three-match losing streak and were short on confidence but fought against the odds to stage a second-half comeback for the ages.

Up until the 68th minute, fly-half Tom Taylor had contributed all nine of their points from the tee, but it was at this point that provincial veteran Matt Todd and Jonny McNicholl grabbed two tries in as many minutes to pull Canterbury right back in.

Taranaki's Marty McKenzie was shaken at the tee; Taylor was not. The visitors' No. 10 slotted all six of his kicking attempts on the day to seal a heroic revival for Canterbury, his decisive nudge coming in the 75th minute, after which point adrenaline was enough to see the victors defend their lead.

Naki try-scorer Waisake Naholo summed up the turning of the tide when he was sin-binned with 20 minutes to go for knocking down a potential try for Canterbury. In terms of half-time turnarounds, few games with as much riding on the line this year possessed the same battling allure.

9. Leinster 23-34 Munster, 2014-15 Pro12

Date: October 4, 2014

This year saw Munster win in Leinster territory for the first time since 2008, a 34-23 victory over their most heated rivals that has served to boost confidence in the reign of Anthony Foley as head coach.

It was Foley who scored the vital try for Munster in a 23-17 victory for the Red Army in Dublin all the way back in 2005, but even he might argue this win as helmsman to be even sweeter by his reckoning.

This time it was the irrepressible Paul O'Connell leading the men from Limerick at the Aviva Stadium, where a crowd of more than 43,000 watched on as the spectacle lived up to expectations, though perhaps not for the hosts.

A pack display from Munster that would have made Foley proud in his own era saw Munster bounce back to Pro12 form in the best manner possible, commandeering a 28-9 lead at the break.

What was even more enjoyable for the travelling fans was to see their side survive no fewer than four yellow cards, Damien Varley, BJ Botha, David Foley and man-of-the-match Conor Murray among those binned. 

Ian Keatley put the icing on the cake with 21 points, a try included, with Robin Copeland and James Cronin also crossing over.

Leinster have enjoyed better fortune in recent years and have a higher expectation on their shoulders as reigning Pro12 champions, but if ever Foley needed a statement that the Red Army is rising, he picked the right time and place to make it.

8. England 21-9 Canada, 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup Final

Date: August 17, 2014

Breaking New Zealand's 16-year grip on the tournament, England's women won their second World Cup in 2014 with a 21-9 beating of a truly impressive Canadian outfit in the Paris final.

France laid on a dazzling tournament this year, and if there were any doubts that the women's sport wasn't making substantial strides, watching the rugby on offer here will have put those safely to bed.

Team phenomenon and the tournament's overall top points scorer Emily Scarratt fittingly grabbed the last contributions of the competition, converting her own try and finishing the final with 16 of England's 21 points.

Canadian maestro Magali Harvey did her finest to keep the North Americans in the tie, but England proved to be the much more complete line-up, and this fixture was as much to be celebrated for the occasion as the display itself.

Twenty years after being the last team apart from the Black Ferns to win a World Cup, it was England's turn to take their title back, and a demonstrative, practiced performance against the Canadians showed precisely why they were so deserving.

7. Golden Lions 35-33 Western Province, 2014 Currie Cup

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Date: September 13, 2014

Based on their performances across the normal season, it was predicted by many that Western Province and the Golden Lions would be the teams to contest the 2014 Currie Cup final.

And based off their September meeting, it was very clear as to why these two were rightfully dubbed South Africa's strongest, with the Lions topping that particular encounter 35-33.

Western Province travelled to Ellis Park as an unbeaten unit in Round 6, but a Schalk van der Merwe try in the seventh minute showed the Lions weren't about to be tamed.

Four more followed for the Lions over the course of the following 61 minutes, but Western Province were no slouches, managing three tries of their own.

Juan de Jongh cruised over just 17 minutes in, and a last-gasp assault of the Lions' gates saw Justin Geduld and Michael Rhodes add their third and fourth, but it was too little, too late.

Kurt Coleman, Demetri Catrakilis and Cheslin Kolbe each aided the Western Province score from the tee, and one could even be accurate in suggesting that were there five minutes more, they could have completed the comeback win.

It wasn't to be, but the two-point Lions triumph was nevertheless magnificent to take in.

6. South Africa 31-30 Wales, 2014 Mid-Year Internationals

Date: June 21, 2014

Wales were denied a first-ever Test win in South Africa after succumbing to their own indiscipline just two minutes from the final hooter in Nelspruit, a Liam Williams shoulder charge stopping the side from making history.

For neutrals, the Springboks 31-30 victory would have been a marvel to behold, a nonstop affair which saw Wales start as the more confident of the two sides, but it was ultimately the calmer head that prevailed.

Jamie Roberts and Alex Cuthbert crashed over in the first half to mount a fine assault for Warren Gatland's side, but Cornall Hendrick and a first penalty try ensured Wales were by no means out of sight.

Dan Biggar, at this point starting his campaign to solidify his spot as Gatland's starting fly-half, was under pressure to perform in South Africa and largely answered the call with a 15-point contribution.

Heyneke Meyer's squad weren't being examined as 2015 Rugby World Cup contenders for no reason, though, and Willie Le Roux's individual brilliance, swiftly followed up by Williams' moment of madness, sealed the result.

Some Welsh players understandably crumpled into a heap at the final whistle, either from exhaustion, disappointment or very well a mixture of the two, but positives were abundant.

Nevertheless, to come so close only to lose by a most agonising and preventable outcome made for drama of the highest—and most excruciating—order.

5. Montpellier 19-22 Castres, 2013-14 Top 14 Semi-Final

Date: May 17, 2014

One of two matches on our countdown to go into extra-time, Castres were given the chance to defend their Top 14 title against Toulon this year after trumping Montpellier in 100 minutes.

The tempo of the game was furious from the outset after Rene Ranger took just 13 seconds to receive the first yellow for roughing up Romain Cabannes.

Francois Trinh-Duc and Rory Kockott were big figures for Montpellier and Castres respectively, in a fixture which, despite all its end-to-end action, relied largely on the kicking game for points.

Ranger went some way in redeeming himself for his earlier misjudgement by cancelling out Antonie Claasen's 30th-minute try with one of his own, with plenty of drama in between before normal time ended at 19 points apiece.

In the end, though, it was Seremaia Bai's drop goal at the very end of the first period of extra-time that decided things, with Montpellier spoiling their chance to draw level after 100 minutes.

Instead of taking their shot at goal to level matters, Trinh-Duc's men went for the line-out and paid the price as Castres proceeded into a second successive Top 14 final. This game had a little bit of everything.

4. Saracens 20-24 Northampton Saints, 2013-14 Aviva Premiership Final

Date: May 31, 2014

Swiftly following up that extra-time decider was another of terrifically tenser stakes, this time in England as Northampton Saints left it until the death to win their maiden Premiership title.

Saracens came to Twickenham on the back of their second first-place finish atop the English standings in as many seasons, with the Saints hoping to overcome the demons of their 2013 defeat to Leicester Tigers.

However, a 100th-minute try from Alex Waller saw Jim Mallinder's side show that they, as anticipated, were now very much one of the Premiership's big guns.

Coming into this clash, nobody could argue against these two teams being the best that England had to offer, and it showed during a tense first period in which Ben Foden bagged the only try of the half.

Lee Dickson, Owen Farrell and later Charlie Hodgson exchanged kicks to see the score lead change hands on numerous occasions, Saints taking their scoring opportunities better, but Saracens managing to worm their way into kicking territory and capitalising.

Normal time ended level at 14-14, and just as it seemed as if Hodgson's late penalties would give Saracens their second-ever Premiership crown, Waller dotted down under contentious circumstances to give the rising stars of England their dramatic triumph.

Constant chances at the line made by a selection of the best and brightest talents available to the Premiership ranks, and with no shortage on controversy, the 2014 final didn't disappoint.

3. France 20-22 Ireland, 2014 6 Nations

Date: March 15, 2014

The staggered Six Nations kick-offs made for some controversy this year as Ireland were all too aware of what needed doing in order to claim their 2014 title.

However, even that drama couldn't have masked the quality of Europe's finest encounter this year, a fitting clash between France and Ireland to decide this year's Six Nations champions.

It simply added to the spectacle that this would be Brian O'Driscoll's last-ever game in the green of his country, but even without that side story, the two teams laid on a fixture of titanic proportions.

Despite the attention on O'Driscoll, it was his team-mate inside, Jonny Sexton, who featured as the most dazzling asset, bursting through for a brace of tries and kicking the majority of his chances to give Ireland the slimmest of wins.

Les Bleus threatened and made their own surges to give England some minor hope of claiming the 2014 title, but Ireland were the deserving champions in every regard.

Tries from Brice Dulin and Dimitri Szarzewski lit a fire under France, who were at times in the ascendancy. However, missed chances and spilled opportunities simply made for more heart-in-the-mouth moments, welcome for any neutral rugby fan seeking entertainment.

2. Waratahs 33-32 Crusaders, 2014 Super Rugby Final

Date: August 2, 2014

There's something so satisfying about a fixture being decided in the last phases of play, even more so when the decisive margin is just a single point.

And who would have thought that Crusaders and New Zealand sage Richie McCaw would be the one to gift the Waratahs their pivotal chance on goal and claim their maiden Super Rugby title?

There was some indecision over whether or not referee Craig Joubert was even correct in awarding Bernard Foley that last-gasp opportunity, but that only helped in intensifying the nature of the result.

Foley deserved his praises though, converting eight of his nine total kicking attempts, while the Crusaders went through some fly-half troubles after Colin Slade was forced to replace an injured Dan Carter.

Adam Ashley-Cooper soared over for the Waratahs' only try whereas Matt Todd and Nemani Nadolo dotted down for Crusaders in a tie that could have seen either side win, and it couldn't have been dubbed undeserved. 

A Super Rugby final between two such powerful line-ups was always going to produce fireworks, but a 65-point result with only a point's difference between them was more than anyone could have hoped for.

1. South Africa 27-25 New Zealand, 2014 Rugby Championship

Date: October 4, 2014

Sticking in the southern hemisphere, South Africa did this year what they could not 12 months prior at Ellis Park, handing New Zealand a rare defeat to close out their Rugby Championship campaigns.

This year's title was already in All Blacks possession, but the occasion of seeing Steve Hansen's side succumb to their Springbok counterparts was nevertheless a sight to behold as the hosts took the fight to their foes.

Francois Hougaard started the scoring for Heyneke Meyer's side before Handre Pollard assured his critics with a brace of tries before the first half was even over.

The opening 40 minutes went to Meyer's men as the home outfit notched 21 of their 27 points before the break, while Malakai Fekitoa's sole score kept some New Zealand hopes alive.

Ben Smith and Dane Coles then scored a try each in the space of four minutes to push the notion the visitors would do as they've so often done in recent years and reverse the scoreline.

Hansen's side boasted a one-point lead with two minutes to go, but substitute Pat Lambie gave the three-point injection needed to seal the 27-25 win.

To see the All Blacks silenced provided a viewing point of its own, and, of course, it was a team of South Africa's quality needed to do the hushing.

To and fro the world's finest went before a result emerged, with champagne rugby in abundance.