These are the 5 plays Doug is most proud of - in order:

What an unbelievable start to a test career, coming on after halftime Doug scored his first test try 22 sec into his career. It had the hallmark of a lot of tries to follow and included several of Doug's greatest strengths.

Tana Umaga made a great break on his own 10 metre line approaching halfway he looked to find Doug on his shoulder, a good pass and Doug's speed left the defence in his wake. Key features of the try were Doug's support play and the angle that Doug ran at. He has a great habit of running toward the ball carrier; this then makes the pass easier. Sheer speed did the rest. After 22 seconds Doug had his first test try.

Doug performed some of the basic fundamentals of wing play such as support play, anticipation and sheer speed.

Tana Umaga gained an intercept on the halfway he immediately turned in the tackle to find Doug screaming up on his outside, Doug's great running angles were again on display, he ran towards Tana, received the pass and immediately veered off into a gap, with Jason Robinson the speedy English fullback lining Doug up on the angle Doug's sheer speed saw him leave Robinson grasping at thin air. He was then able to dot down behind the posts and put the All Blacks in front. There is no substitute for pace, Doug has plenty of it and it's value was shown superbly in this try.

Pure class effort. Doug displayed some of the basic skills taught at schoolboy level but he performed them to perfection.



The All Blacks stole a Fijian lineout 25 metres out from the try line. Doug received a bad pass on his 10 metre line. From a standing start he ran towards the defender carrying the ball in two hands putting doubt in the mind of would be tackler, then with a brilliantly timed side step he left his opposite stranded, however he still had a lot of work to do. 20 metres out from the try line and with the fullback still to beat and only 1 metre from the sideline he put in a perfect chip kick over the approaching fullback, ran past him regathered the ball on the full and dived over in the corner. All of this was performed at top pace which heightens the need for accuracy. These are the sort of skills Doug would have spent hours perfecting at both team trainings and when training alone. As the saying goes practice makes perfect - this was perfection.

A crucial try scored at an important time in this test match. Wales had just scored against the All Blacks and with less than 5 minutes to play and the crowd right in behind them the All Blacks led 19 - 17

Anticipation and commitment were the features of this try. Again the understanding between Doug and Tana Umaga was a vital ingredient. The All Blacks forced a turnover on the 22metre line, when Umaga received the ball he sensed the Welsh backline was up very flat so he put in an exquisite little grubber kick. Doug's pace and anticipation of the kick saw him get to the bouncing ball the same time as the Welsh cover defence, he snatched the ball from the grasp of the Welshman who only succeeded in tripping the flying Howlett up, he fell to the ground 5 metres regained his feet and dived over to secure the All Black victory. Instinct, pace and determination were required.

A high level of skill & intelligence was required in this try. Great finishing by Doug after a well structured build up.

After a bit of Carlos Spencer magic on the inside Doug received the ball less than 20cm from the sideline and 10 metres from the try line. A good effort by the sole Springbok defender managed to push Doug towards the sideline. His awareness of the try line and corner post enabled him to dot down with less than 3cm from the side line. His ability to stay on his feet while off balance was the key to this try.