Christian Cullen - The Paekakariki Express

Christian Cullen was, in our opinion, the greatest fullback that ever played the game.

He was an exceptional runner who could sidestep anything and instinctively create try scoring opportunities out of nothing.

We still can't understand how he played his last test at 27.

Enjoy and thanks for watching!

[mruv]

Easily the smoothest player of all time for me. He never looked like he even broke a sweat. Was dangerous from ANYwhere. I rate him as the Greatest fullback of all time 💯

[petelosuaniu]

Greatest All Black fullback in my book. It was disgraceful how John Mitchell dropped him in 2003. He was still in good form. I still remember the standing ovation Wellington fans gave him in his final NPC match as he walked off. The game stopped and all the players clapped him off the field.

[celticwinter]

The best fullback ever - respect from an Irish fan

[nicholaswood]

Just the greatest open field runner ever. He changed speed without any perceptible effort. Never has a player stood up so many defenders and glided past them without them laying a hand on him. Absolute class.

[willswagger]

I played against Cullen when he played for Manawatu it was obvious he’d become an All Black he teared us up no one could catch him think he scored like 5 tries in that game I wish there was highlights of his younger years cause man he was simply the best I ain’t seen anyone come near to emulate him

[unsung]

The best ever. Against Scotland at 2:30 on the video, he steps like Phil Bennett. He shifted to overdrive even when he appeared to be at full stretch. No player has so consistently and so frequently brought me to the front 2cm of my seat as Cully getting the ball in the open. Ridiculously talented fella. Bravo Cully, bravo and THANK

[Blackstock]

He is easily one of the best All Black of time, we were robbed when they dropped him.

[kentaiapa]

His outstandng skill and agility were only matched by his modesty. Absolute legend.

[kaeso]

For me...Christian Cullen and Rupeni Caucau were the definition of poetry in motion...they run with grace and make it look so easy

[tonymoore]

It seems that every time he caught the ball he was at full speed. Amazing positional play. Never seen anything like it.

[daisysuperdog]

Just an awesome talent. I am a Springbok supporter, but absolutely loved the way this guy played. What a blessing to watch him run with ball in hand.

[richardward]

Cullen's pace and strength was incredible for the size bloke he is. And he IS the greatest fullback to play the game, anyone playing in that position should be notice that he almost always hits the ball at pace running at a gap. Brilliant to watch.

[tank.]

Hands down the greatest fullback ever.

[japeking]

What I really like is the lack of get the ball down safely, get on with the next play. Watching him in full flight just made me weep with joy. Thank you.

[Tee.NZ.]

11:15 best creative set play move I've seen..but on a side note, Cullen easily the best fullback in history. The ability to sprint a 100m to score a try then run back all ready to run again. The mental fortitude on this guy. Legend.

[Bloufo]

I used to always dread when he played against us (Boks). His skill and injection of pure pace was electrifying. The God of fullbacks.

[jamiehumphries]

He is by far my favourite player of all time. Supporting him as a youngster and watching him play for the Hurricanes and All Blacks was amazing

[maxhalley]

He was my favourite player growing up. I tried to emulate the way he'd almost shephard a defender where he wanted them to go and then go the other way, all in one fluid motion. I'm reading his book at the moment. Interesting to know how quiet he was. As one teammate said, "there's shy, and then there's Christian Cullen shy." He came from an incredibly hard working and humble background and was the less talented, but more dedicated of two brothers. He was always trying to prove himself....which he most certainly did. No other full back that I've ever seen comes close. Nobody was as clinical a runner with the ball. Absolute legend.

[lenairejean]

Best fullback ever and my favourite All Black! There will never be another Christian Cullen #christiancullenforever15

[barrythebloke]

What a player!!! A beautifully balanced runner who never appeared to be at full speed. Strength, pace, vision, step and strong as an ox. Uncanny ability to read the play and run the best line whether with ball in hand or as a support runner. Last but not least he is ALWAYS accelerating on to the ball and thus breaking the line and exploiting the gap. I’ve admired many great fullbacks -JPR, J-M Aguirre, Pierre Villepreux, Serge Blanco, Andy Irvine, Gysie Pienaar and Matt Burke - but Christian Cullen is at the top of my list. As an aside, how many times does Zinzan Brooke (a superb footballer in his own right) throw Cullen a great pass in the video.