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‘Belongs at the Rugby World Cup’: 49ers star shines in Super Bowl with goosey

San Francisco 49ers' running back #23 Christian McCaffrey reacts after scoring a touchdown during Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 11, 2024. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

The San Francisco 49ers fell painfully short of victory in Super Bowl LVIII after Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes led a memorable charge to glory in overtime.

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But before all the confetti and jubilation of the Chiefs’ second consecutive Super Bowl crown, which included images of pop star Taylor Swift celebrating on the broadcast, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey risked stealing the show.

McCaffrey, who was crowned the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week, stunned fans at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium with one of rugby’s most iconic attacking weapons.

With the match locked at 19-all in overtime, and with the 49ers parked just inside their own half on a 2nd & 6 play, McCaffrey made a telling burst on the back of a perfectly executed goose step.

The goose step, which is more affectionally known in rugby circles as a ‘goosey,’ aims to throw a defender off as the attacker momentarily changes the speed at which they are running.

It was made popular by Australian rugby legend David Campese.

McCaffrey, 27, was knocked out of bounds about 25 yards away from the endzone. It didn’t end in a score but that hasn’t stopped rugby fans from praising the American for the iconic manoeuvre.

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On the back of McCaffrey’s heroics, the 49ers – let my second-year quarterback Brock Purdy – managed to take the lead with a field goal.

But the Kansas City Chiefs still had a chance to win it all. Then-two-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes could win another ring with a touchdown.

Mahomes overcame immense pressure to keep the game alive with a conversion on a 4th & 1 during their opening set of downs, and the momentum that generated carried the Chiefs down the field.

About three broadcast shots of Taylor Swift later, Mahomes made history with only a couple of seconds left on the clock by inspiring the Chiefs’ fourth Super Bowl win in franchise history.

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Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman Jr. The Chiefs are Super Bowl 58 champions after beating the 49ers 25-22 in overtime.

“Just the adversity we dealt with this year… I’ve just got to give God the glory, man,” Mahomes told NFL on Fox. “He challenged us to make us better.

“I’m proud of my guys, man, this is awesome. This is legendary.”

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Bob Marler 284 days ago

I’m struggling to understand the relevance of these NFL articles on Rugbypass.

There’s nothing uniquely rugby about the goose step. Any more than running fast in a straight line is unique to athletics. Sometimes people do things with their legs to evade another player in a variety of sports.

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Hellhound 40 minutes ago
France put World Cup pain behind them with unbeaten run in November

France is starting to look like they are finally over their WC headache, although they were lucky that NZ had a very bad game. The Argies as usual is one game good, the next bad. If they can sort that out and be more consistent, they could become contenders for the WC.


NZ, Argentina (if they are more consistent), and now the Wallabies too is in an upward curve (can they be consistent?), as well as Fiji(as inconsistent as Argentina) looks like possible contenders. The Boks will be as usual a huge threat to defend their title. Things are looking up for the South, so the North should rightfully beware of the Southern Hemisphere threat.


With the French looking dangerous, the English with their close runs (mostly a mindset problem) and the Scottish seems to be the NH main contenders. The Irish is good, but not excellent anymore. They are more overbearing and with their glory days mostly gone with old players hanging on by a thread, by 2027 if they don't start adding in the younger players, they won't make it past yet another WC Quarter final. The problem is that their youngsters, while good is nothing special.


That is just 8 teams without the Irish that can become real WC contenders. Lots of hickups to be sorted still for these teams, excluding the Boks to become a threat. Make no mistake, the top Tier is much closer than people realise and the 2027 WC will be a really great WC, possibly the best contended WC ever.

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