Totally agree

Me too. Silk. My all time favourite rugby player

G.O.A.T Ben Smith and Beauden Barrett are as good as if not better. All 3 are/were game changers.

Mr UV hi. I never wade in on this stuff, but as luck would have it, was at a thing at the weekend and a conversation about silky runners (not just fullbacks) broke out. So, without taking anything away from Cullen, can I invite you to remember (in no particular order) Serge Blanco, Bruce Roberson, ? Gallagher (Wellington and AB fullback who went to league in the uk? and confused them with a body swerve not a sidestep) and Michael O’Conner... sigh - showing my age...

100% agree.... My fav AB of all time.

Absolutely agree. Best fullback ever. The All Blacks coaches prematurely ended his peak and career. They should never have moved him from fullback to the wing and inside centre positions during John Hart's time and later dropped by Mitchell...insane decision by a terrible coach.

Totally agree. As a Welshman love the All Blacks and Cullen was the best attacking full back of all time. That back three of Lonu, Cullen and Jeff Wilson was outstanding

I thought John made his ego clear with that pick. Never had time for John Mitchell after that. He was a shit coach anyway

Cully is my all-time favourite rugby player, poetry in motion.

@@kiwidavid72 John Mitchell lost me when he didn't include cully in his squad. Ego to much I'd say

Right on mate. Most people don't even notice his gear change its so smooth.

Yep, he also had an ability to seemingly shrug off tackles. Had a sublime understanding with Umaga.

Wow. He's my favourite player of all time. I would love to have seen a young cullen in open field running. i tried to find some decent 7's rugby footage but there isnt a lot. must have been amazing to play against him. was he just ridiculously quick?

@@kd2239 as someone from the area he grew up in and is still very famous in, he was insanely quick. Uncatchable in space

@@yyuweyyyminxx8195 he's still quick now when he wants to be. Played a charity touch rugby game with him a few years back. Still got the step and go.

When I was a young fella, I played prop for Paekakariki in the Horowhenua Senior Reserve grade. One night, this kid turned up in jeans and a jean jacket and asked to join our warm-up touch game. Despite being in jeans and being about 14, he smoked us.

Yeah - I try to imagine him at school level. He would've been a nightmare to defend. I have friends who played against the famous Matraville High the years that school contained the Ella brothers. The stories they tell about trying to defend them are legendary. I would imagine Cullen would be something similar.

Then your son is a legend!

You named your son Paekakariki express. Legend indeed

@@MultiBots hahahaha

@@MultiBots "Dad, why did you name my sister Rose?" "We named you two after things we love." "Oh, I see." "No problem, Paekakariki Express."

I'm an Aussie, I hated watching him cut us apart, but he was amazing to watch, the best support runner I've ever seen. He knew where to be, unstoppable at times. I named my first boy after Matt Hayden, Hayden. Second after Darren Lockyer. Lochlan. Misses didn't catch on, I just said I liked them, and she suprisingly agreed.

The best ever

His from SAMOA

@@lemafoeleutogi3550 Hes Irish

Agree...hitting the ball at pace is 1 of the basics of rugby and he showed why its so effective...the best running AB fullback

Duh highlights 🙄

it's like dropping michael jordan - bloody mitchell

He was iinjured and made himself unavailable for the allblacks, But Mitchell ego had to drop Cullen, Tane, Goldie just to prove the new sheriff was in come to town, lmao last time I write that coaches name.

@@moaningpheromones spot on

@@JumboWiniata That %@&* cut Cullen in his prime. The rugby world lost the potential to see Cullen at his best beyond what he had already produced on the field. If new players ever want to learn about backing up or shadowing, you get a Cullen master class.

@@tekootianderson yeah totally agree

Andre Joubert, Caucau and Cullen had, imo, the best running styles I've ever seen...

Jpr Williams the god of fullbacks

@@kristianhumphreys JPR was good but Cullen had a strike rate like no other the guy practically scored each time he took the ball at pace

@@samwlloyd Jpr was good?? That's a massive understatement , Cullen wouldn't score if Jpr was playing because Jpr would SMASH him, best defensive back of all time

JPR was good , but Cullen could do everything he could but so much better.

Fullback job #1 is defence, and JPR was supreme at that. Cullen was pretty good at job #2 though.

@@Loosehead "Fullback's number one job is defence" 🤦‍♂️🤡 Yeah if you're playing amateur rugby in the 1970s, old timer.

@@Chris-zd7gw I merely mean that when JPR hit you, you stayed hit.

@@Loosehead the ABs of that era didn’t require much defence…

7

Between him and Rupeni Caucau for me.

what about Serge Blanco?I think Serge is the best fullback I have ever seen

Hey sis fancy seeing a comment on here from you lol 2 years later & I'm just watching this now 🙄 can see why he's your all time favourite 👌

Rose Te Amo awww hi my sis 😘 yeah fancy catching up on here 2yrs later. Yup Cully all the way 🙌

@@robosborne7103 He's good but if you've seen Cullen, You'd throw Blanco out of the Window

Yeah he was crazy strong. Could still keep his legs pumping with big defenders hanging off him

He got robbed by bad timing and bad coaches of RWC chances.

Hahaha ohh bro. Mine did to 🙏🏽. The good old days

your nana had good taste...

Yep they shafted him, and don't forget John Harts "lets move the best fullback we have and make him a centre!"

Yes I was furious about that at the time. He was the greatest fullback ever in world rugby. Met him in New Plymouth and he was polite and happy to autograph my copy of his book. Great guy and very humble.

Yes - an amazing era. Include the likes of Zinzan Brooke, Merhtens, Michael Jones, Nick Farr Jones, Campese,, Tuigamala, Umaga, Lomu ... sooooo many southern hemisphere greats all playing at the same time. The days when the Bledisloe was a contest ...

tim horan was pretty special as well but cullen was utterly devastating

@@Fuzcapp Don't forget Joost!

That's right

@@Fuzcapp so true..i feel lucky i was able to watch these greats play

An Arbitrary Miscellany sorry, 7:04 for me

6:36 for me against the World Champions at the time.

I saw him. I was meant to play against him once but we both had unexpected results in the lead up and we didn't cross paths... I was gutted... And relieved, he would've carved us up.

Mate can you tell us a bit more, what was he like to play against in college.

​@@matthewsoftley234 I was playing fullback so I had the best view. He didn't touch the ball that many times in the game because our forward pack was better. But I do remember him running the ball back at us from the back, and that he stepped two of our players in succession. He was very unselfish because he looked to pass. Did I think he was going to become an All Black, let alone become an All Black great? HELL NO. Lol

I used to teach Tana, and now live up the road from Mr. Cullen. Thats all, but it makes me feel special.... sorta faint reflected glory🤗

mine was boilup and many Waikato's...doing the same thing....Cheers

he made being scored against (by him) pleasurable. Running rugby became a thing of true beauty when he was in full flight.

Monty Brewster I'm glad you enjoyed it Monty! As a Saffa he was devastating against us. I loved watching him play, the greatest full back ever

Yeah, as a Welsh man RR I can assure you we were on the wrong end of his brilliance too. But as I'm sure you'll agree, what sets rugby apart from most other sports is we love the game & we love great players whether they are our own or from other countries. I've spent hours marveling over players you had like Joost Van der Westhuizen (RIP), Percy Montgomery, Jean De Villiers etc, etc. A great player is a great player. I love the game & I love a great player where ever they are from. Thanks again fro a great vid.

Great comment 🤛🏽

I get the same buzz from watching Dan Carter and Beauden Barrett doing their thang.

When it comes to fullbacks Matt Burke was a champion, the guy had it all, who could forget that length of the field try he scored against the ABs. And I say that as a kiwi.

not Lomu though.... wtf

@@NZENZN Apologies - Yes, Lomu ... what was i thinking. :-)

Campo with Lomu to join Cully as my back three. Imagine that!

It's him or Caucau

Joost

@@skyelark155 h8

@@epeli8roko323 English please?

Caucau too

Cacau and Cullen were the best runners of all time- just in watchable talents

@@vagalN Joe roko, sivivatu, caucau, vidiri and Vunibaka Cullen My god as an Englishman these are my favourite wings and FBs. These boys could score from anywhere. So much speed.

Gareth John He was the best in my opinion as well, and that's coming from a South African

who ?????

Jude Graham yeah who??

THE best

I thought you were Andy Ruiz.

Peppermint Patrick the pleasure is all mine! Thanks for the support

ha ha!! me too, ur wife has great taste ahhahahaha

Mitchell was a bloody control freak. Great inspirational Captain for the Mooloos .... but a Coach for the All Blacks? Hmmm

By 2000 Cullen knees were shot. He wasn't the same player and so Mitchell had no choice

@@yehbuddy1005 I agree,i thought Ben Blair was a better fullback by 03. That's taking nothing away from Cullen whom I rate as the best AB fullback ever in his pomp but he was done by the time Mitchell took the reins.

@@yehbuddy1005 He did have a resurgence after his injury and was still over looked.

Mitchell was the worst NZ coach ever

CHRISTIAN CULLEN WAS A GREAT PLAYER HES COOL

Nope. Best individual player of all time is Jonah Lomu. No contest.

@@johnoneill9902. Sorry, Cully was a much better player than Jonah ..... hard thing to say ...... but unfortunately true. MUCH, MUCH love for Jonah and a fantastic player ... but unfortunately, people rated him for the wrong reasons. Cullen scored more Test tries than Lomu .... in less appearances. Cullen had a much higher chance of scoring per game than Lomu. Lomu either bashed through or ran around defence .... Cullen sliced through defence, could find gaps, create opportunities and provide support play. And finally, Cullen was a MUCH better defensive player .... solid tackler, deceptively strong, could see and shut down an attack, could chase down potential run-away tries, stopped MANY try attempts dead ... like any solid, reliable Fullback. Unfortunately, Jonah had a reputation for inconsistency in his defence .... left too many holes in the line and once you're past him, you were safe. Christain Cullen was a more solid, all round player. Sorry Dude. Jonah Lomu R.I.P .... may have been the greatest All Black Rugby superstar the World ever saw (no doubt) ..... but he wasn't the greatest All Black player.

As an Aussie I hated see this guy get the ball. Hands down best player of all time and my fav. Fooking legend

@Real World Warrior lowen Pfft. You obviously haven't watched much of Cully. Cully, AS A FULLBACK, could strike from ANY part of the field ..... from under a high ball, from behind his own line, anywhere ... slicing through opposition lines ... forwards and backs. Scoring tries from his OWN tryline was a regular occurrence. And as an effective FULLBACK, he was the last line of defence ... that's one on one defence. And he was a strong tackler. Jonah was a WINGER. By default, his position relied on his team to give him the ball .... pretty much on the wing only ... where all he had to do was face a back, who was half his size. And he wasn't an effective defensive player. Who relied on his team more?

Nice one mate, i bet there's a few Christians and Cullens running round because of this Kiwi legend.

when haven't the hurricanes had a star studded team? lol. i still think canterbury is/was and always be better, just because of their coaches and grass roots rugby culture. when was the last north vs south? from what i remember the crusaders will jordan won it for south

@@mentalasylumescapee6389 The cane's had a freakishly insane backline in the late 90's early turn of the 2000's. How they weren't able to turn that to accolades..🤔🤔.

@@locominyana8916 crusaders.

@@mentalasylumescapee6389 was actually the blues

Nahh that 105mtr try is

1:35 wtf

Beats 7 players 🙌🏽 damn