10 players who were kryptonite for rival teams, including Jonah Lomu : Planet Rugby

There is always that player who, when fans see his name on the opposing team’s scoresheet, takes a deep breath and puts his hands on his head.

We all know the feeling. Often he’s the star man, sometimes he’s not, but you know he’ll cause all sorts of problems for your team: a player who always seems to do his best for a particular opponent and who rarely disappoints.

The player who is a team’s kryptonite, regardless of the team’s excellent form, simply seems to be the best player on the park every time the two teams meet.

We take a look at some of the Kryptonite players over the years and who inflicted pain and, in some cases, continue to do so.

Will Skelton-Leinster

The inspiration for this piece. For a long time, it seemed the only thing standing between Leinster and Champions Cup glory was the imposing frame of the Wallabies giant. Will Skelton.

In 2019, he produced a destructive performance to help Saracens lift the trophy when they defeated Leinster in Newcastle and that was quickly followed up the following year when the Premiership club eliminated the Irish province in the quarter-finals.

He then moved to La Rochelle, where he helped Ronan O’Gara’s team beat Leinster in the 2021 semi-finals and in the main events in 2022 and 2023. It is an extraordinary record that cannot be attributed simply to chance.

More recently, Leinster can claim to have found the remedy for Skelton’s kryptonite after convincing back-to-back wins over La Rochelle last season, but seeing the Wallaby great’s name on the team sheet will still make fans slightly uneasy.

Heinrich Brüssow – New Zealand

New Zealand have dominated international rugby for decades and it is incredibly rare for a player to boast a winning record against the All Blacks, but that was the case for defender Heinrich Brüssow.

The Springboks flanker burst onto the international scene in 2009, making his Test debut against the British and Irish Lions. A masterful exponent of collapse, Brüssow was the type of player who could cause headaches for the All Blacks and Richie McCaw and that certainly proved to be the case when he won the first four of his Tests against South Africa’s biggest rivals. For further context, the Springboks are currently on their longest streak of consecutive wins over New Zealand in the modern era, which is also just four.

He went toe-to-toe with McCaw in three of those four games and the All Blacks legend had the last laugh in 2015, handing the Boks their only defeat against New Zealand.

Unfortunately for Brüssow, the changes in the way the breakdown was run severely affected his playing style and ability to influence the match and his career was not helped by the fact that Springboks coach Heyenke Meyer Favoring bigger full-backs during his time in charge, the wing won just three caps under Meyer.

Duhan van der Merwe – England

The South African-born speedster simply loves playing against England. Duhan van der Merwe produced some of his best and brightest performances in a Scotland shirt against the Red Rose, scoring six times.

In fact, Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer has scored more trebles against England than any other nation he has faced in his 44 internationals to date.

Van der Merwe has a perfect record: he played four games, won four against England and failed to cross the barrier in only one of those games. He also scored a brace and a hat-trick against neighbors Scotland.

To rub salt in England’s wounds, Twickenham is also the most profitable venue for Van der Merwe behind Murrayfield, of course.

WATCH: Duhan van der Merwe torments England again with glorious hat-trick

Kurtley Beale – Wales

Fortunately for Wales, not only do all good things come to an end, but so do bad things, as a record losing streak to Australia in November 2018 finally ended.

The streak began in 2009, when the Wallabies won 13 consecutive meetings between the two teams, with Kurtley Beale playing the role of villain against Wales for much of that time.

He came off the bench in the 2009 clash and would feature in some important moments throughout the matches between the two teams over the next decade.

He would also star in these encounters, either with a decisive shot to win the match, as was the case in 2012, or simply with a standout performance as he did in 2017. Wales fans may have felt the terrible feeling of Déjà vu in 2021 when he lined up a winning kick that ultimately went wide.

Beale may no longer be Wales’ kryptonite, but for a long time he was.

George Gregan – New Zealand

The dominance the All Blacks had over Test rugby during George Gregan’s career must be taken into account when looking at their impressive 44% success rate against New Zealand. Sure the Wallabies were a real force at the time with their golden generation, but the All Blacks were still dominant.

While there are plenty of options to choose from from that wonderful Wallabies team, there was no player who annoyed, infuriated or struck fear into the men in the black jersey than the astute and optimistic scrum-half.

He played a mammoth 27 Tests against New Zealand, winning 12 times; a remarkable record against any generation of All Blacks.

One will never forget his “four more years” chirp at the World Cup, but Gregan was not all words and is still regarded as one of the best scrum-half to ever play the game, and rightly so.

Rugby’s Most Infamous Chirping, Trash Talking and Sledging

Jonás Lomu – England

The late great All Blacks winger struck fear into all rivals and his fans in his heyday, but Jonas Lomu He was particularly destructive when facing England.

You can’t mention Lomu and England in the same sentence without going back to Will Greenwood’s famous comment about the legendary winger before the two teams clashed in the 1999 World Cup.

“There is absolutely no one I would trade man for man,” then England manager Clive Woodward boldly stated.

But Greenwood injected: “Clive, we’re all with you, but on behalf of the whole team I think we would swap Austin Healey for Jonah Lomu.”

That’s how high the big winger’s scoring was by opposing teams and Greenwood wasn’t far behind, as Lomu would score in that game, beating Dan Luger and Matt Perry en route to a key try in the All Blacks’ victory. .

That was one of Lomu’s least active games against England after scoring four tries when the two teams met in the World Cup four years earlier, while he also crossed the line in New Zealand’s 64-22 thrashing of the Red Rose in 1998 at Twickenham.

In 2002, he also scored a double, although he lost at Twickenham in what was his last match against England.

The ridiculous Rugby World Cup records that Jonah Lomu still holds

Cheslin Kolbe – England

There’s a bit of a theme here with England struggling to contain the extremes originating from the southern hemisphere, with Cheslin Kolbe also tormenting the Red Rose.

Last year, Kolbe produced arguably his best performance of 2024 against England and the speedster was certainly no slouch over the other 12 months.

Then you can’t forget the pocket rocket’s first match against the Red Rose in 2019, when he put the final nail in England’s coffin in the Rugby World Cup final by fending off the likes of Owen Farrell, Joe Marler and Billy Vunipola to score one of the most memorable tries in the history of the tournament.

Kolbe has played only three times against England, but has taken three victories. However, his ability to beat English players extended to the British and Irish Lions series, where he again left Farrell and Luke Cowan-Dickie on his way to a special try.

Morne Steyn – British and Irish Lions

For many rugby players, the opportunity to play for or against the British and Irish Lions just once is a dream come true, but for Morne Steyn it marked the beginning and virtually the end of a special career.

In 2009, he came off the bench to make his debut against the tourists and see the Boks win, but it was his impact in the next match that was telling, when he nailed a decisive long-range shot to seal the series. with one game ahead.

12 years later, Steyn recreates that moment in the decisive 2021 Test match, committing an almost identical penalty in his penultimate game in Green and Gold. His efforts against the tourists earned him the fitting nickname “Lion Killer”.

Manu Tuilagi – New Zealand

Much of Manu Tuilagi’s Test career was ravaged by injuries that left a feeling of ‘what if’ for many, but when he was fit and firing, he was a force of nature.

Few teams know this better than New Zealand, as the English center does his best for the All Blacks. Arguably two of his best performances came against the men in black.

His spectacular performance at Twickenham in 2012 was arguably the crown jewel of his England career, closely followed by the World Cup semi-final in 2019.

England and New Zealand faced each other sparingly during the midfielder’s Test career, but he certainly made his presence known when facing the All Blacks.

Beauden Barrett – Australia

Beauden Barrett has terrorized many teams during his illustrious career in an All Blacks jersey and could truly be considered the kryptonite for several teams, but perhaps none more so than the Wallabies.

Their current record against Australia is 27 tests, 23 wins, one draw and three losses. However, there is no team that has felt the impact of Barrett’s class more than the Wallabies. Barrett also scored 11 tries in that time, including one in the Rugby World Cup final that sealed Australia’s demise.

The final result is arguably his most memorable against Australia, but his 2018 masterclass ranks among one of his greatest performances. He scored four tries in the clash at Eden Park and had five conversions for a total of 30 points as the All Blacks thrashed their rivals 40-12.