Looking back on moments that defined one of the stars of Warren Gatland’s first Wales era
Dan Biggar has announced his retirement from rugby at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on a career that’s taken in Grand Slams, a Rugby World Cup semi-final and a couple of tours with the British & Irish Lions.
Being a fly-half in Wales is rarely easy, and Biggar sometimes felt undervalued by a fanbase pining for a number 10 in the Barry John or Phil Bennett mould.
But he was also the perfect stand-off for the style of rugby head coach Warren Gatland wanted to play, a player who could get stuck in, keep things tight when required, and make catching his own kicks look – if not necessarily easy – utterly spectacular.
As part of a golden generation of Welsh players, he earned 112 Test caps for Wales (three for the Lions) and captained the side before retiring from international rugby after the 2023 World Cup. He’ll also be forever remembered for an idiosyncratic kicking routine that became affectionately known as the “Biggarena” (a nod to ’90s dance craze the “Macarena”).
“It certainly hasn’t always been plain-sailing and easy,” he said on announcing his decision to hang up his boots. “Playing number 10 for Wales brought its own unique pressure and challenges, but it made me stronger as a person and a player.
“There is no real perfect moment to walk away, but this does feel like the right one. I am choosing to retire, which a lot of sports people don’t get to do, when they are healthy, and I feel very grateful.”
So, in honour of a true Welsh great, here are five memorable moments from Dan Biggar’s glittering career.
1. Dan Biggar’s halfway line kick against England at the 2015 World Cup
Biggar wasn’t part of Wales’ run to the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, and was behind fellow fly-halves Rhys Priestland, James Hook and Stephen Jones in the pecking order during the 2012 Six Nations Grand Slam.
He started all five games when Wales won the championship the following year, however, including the famous 30-3 demolition of England – a match he’s since described as his favourite.
But it’s another game against those fierce rivals to the east that arguably deserves its place in Biggar’s career highlights reel. With a place in the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals at stake, Biggar put in a player of the match performance against the tournament hosts.
He scored 23 points as Wales came from behind to beat England at Twickenham, culminating in a spectacular penalty from the halfway line that sealed the win. A few months later Biggar was crowned BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year.
2. The fastest ever World Cup drop goal
Dan Biggar hit some memorable drop goals over the course of his career, including the Six Nations match winner against Scotland in his 100th Test (2022) and a long range effort from behind South Africa’s 10 metre line a few months later. Only one, however, is mentioned by Guinness World Records.
The kick in question came 36 seconds into Wales’ 29-25 victory over Australia at the 2019 World Cup in Japan, and it remains the fastest ever drop goal in the tournament’s history.
After that game, Warren Gatland’s side went on to reach their second semi-final in three attempts, ultimately losing to eventual champions South Africa in Yokohama.
3. The first Lions Test in South Africa
Dan Biggar of the British & Irish Lions during the 1st test against South Africa. (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
Biggar was often underrated in his homeland, and was also unlucky to ply his trade at the same time as an extremely talented group of home nations fly-halves.
While he was part of the British & Irish Lions squad that drew to New Zealand in 2017, he was unquestionably third choice behind Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell.
That all changed in South Africa four years later when Gatland started Biggar – arguably the ideal fly-half for the head coach’s power-based brand of rugby – in all three Tests against the Springboks.
He had his best game in the first encounter, scoring 14 points as the Lions ran out 22-17 winners in Cape Town. He ended up going off injured 10 minutes into the deciding third Test as the Lions lost the series.
4. Paying it forward
Dan Biggar’s on-field competitiveness has never been in doubt, and he’s rarely been afraid to let his feelings known to opponents, officials and his own teammates. We saw another side to the player in October 2021, however, after his Northampton Saints side had thrashed Worcester Warriors 66-10.
The opposing fly-half that day was an up-and-coming 19-year-old named Fin Smith, and Biggar took time after the final whistle to give the youngster some advice and reassurance. Smith hasn’t done too badly since, having made Biggar’s old Saints shirt his own, and gone on to become an established England international, widely tipped to travel to Australia in Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions squad.
Last October, Fin Smith received words of encouragement from Dan Biggar.
Now, Smith and Biggar are team-mates at @SaintsRugby 😇#GallagherPrempic.twitter.com/MSdnCNJUCK
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 10, 2022
5. The Toulon slips
Dan Biggar attempts to catch a high ball for Toulon (Getty Images)
The final destination of Biggar’s career has been an extended stay in the south of France with Toulon – also, coincidentally, where fellow Lions fly-half Jonny Wilkinson ended his playing days.
By his own admission, Biggar’s swansong in the Top 14 hasn’t quite gone as planned, and for some his most memorable moments in a Toulon shirt may be a couple of bizarre incidents the fly-half would prefer to forget.
In November 2023, Biggar pulled up clutching his back while attempting a conversion against Perpignan. He was unable to continue the match, and – to add insult to injury – the kick went down as a miss because he’d already started his run-up.
Then, last October Biggar literally slipped up while kicking a conversion against Toulouse – not that landing on his backside made any difference to the final result, as Toulon eventually lost 57-5 to the reigning champions.
Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.