Thanks so much for this, Andy! I've been thinking about what to choose all afternoon.
In Rugby, there's no question in my mind, it's got to be the great Welsh players of the 70s (which you just mentioned). Can any passage of sporting play better this, perhaps the greatest try in the history of the game, when the men of the valleys combined for the Barbarians against the All Blacks in 1973?
I have a fond memory of an unlikely Welsh triumph, that of a humble postman who had just decided to give the game of snooker a try, Terry Griffiths, perhaps the most modest, unassuming world champion there ever was, who won the World Snooker title in 1979. Nobody had ever heard of him beforehand, and he took on and beat the best in the game (granted, only about half a dozen people played snooker back then, lol, but it was still quite the achievement, and by such a nice person. Classic quote: "I'm in the final now, you know." He was just about as surprised by it all as everyone watching).
I'm surprised no one has offered something from cricket yet. So much to choose from, but how about the Botham-inspired English comeback at Headingley in 1981.
Myself, I was wowed as a kid by the skills of the great West Indian Viv Richards, and fielding genius Derek Randall (see this catch....
And, for its sheer impact on the sport, and in deference to the Aussies, we must find a place for Shane Warne's first Ashes delivery, 'the ball of the century', to dismiss a nonplussed Mike Gatting.
Since I'm actually Scottish, I'd have to nominate Sandy Lyle's Masters triumph, especially the way he birdied the 18th after finding the bunker off the tee, Allan Wells winning the Olympic 100 metres, the even greater 'Chariots of Fire' moment of Eric Liddell:
... and from soccer…
I take you back to 1978: Somehow, a second-rate manager convinced a nation that we were going to win the World Cup in Argentina, and so off they went, Ally's Tartan Army. We came, we saw, … we were crap! The Scottish team were so abject that we took but one point from Peru and Iran, but then, in a moment of sublime sporting perfection, Archie Gemmill produced this bit of wizardry against Holland, and somehow restored the pride of Scots everywhere.
Thanks for bringing back some great memories, and prompting some YouTube research. I'm stunned that one can find the 1924 Olympics!
P.S. I almost missed this thread because of your post title: I assumed it was another VEM rant, lol! A little more descriptive next time, please… ;)