February 1 down the years
Thorburn lands monster kick
Wales' Paul Thorburn landed a record-breaking kick on this day in 1986
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1986
Welsh fullback Paul Thorburn kicked the longest penalty goal in Championship history to steer Wales to a 22-15 win against Scotland in Cardiff. His record-breaking 70-yard effort was one of five penalties the Neath star landed at the Arms Park that carried the hosts to victory along with a try from winger Adrian Hadley and a drop goal from Jonathan Davies. Reflecting on his monster kick, Thorburn would later recall, "That kick alone almost led to me having an American Football career. I had told [captain] David Pickering I would have a go and knew that if I missed it would still leave play in the Scotland half. I probably kicked more important goals, but that was my longest. There was an element of hit and hope about it, but I remember I gave it a real hoof".
2009
Dan Carter's high profile sojourn with French Top 14 side Perpignan was brought to a premature end with confirmation of season-ending Achilles tendon injury. The All Blacks fly-half, who had joined the Catalan club at the start of December on a seven-month contract, sustained the injury in the final moments of a 13-13 draw with Stade Francais in Paris and was subsequently sidelined for six months. Carter's lucrative sabbatical, worth a reported Euros 700,000 (£618,000), had lasted just five games.
1975
Jean-Pierre Rives made a rousing Test debut in France's 27-20 win against England at Twickenham. During his 59-Test international career, Rives came to epitomise the team's spirit as a risk-taking and gloriously unpredictable outfit. His long blond mane made him one of the most recognisable figure in the game and he featured in one of the all-time great back rows alongside Jean-Claude Skrela and Jean-Pierre Bastiat. A succession of shoulder injuries ended Rives' career in 1984 before he embarked on a notable career a a sculptor and artist - creating amongst other things the Giussepe Garibaldi Trophy contested by France and Italy.
1969
Wales reaped the rewards of their squad system approach to team preparation by opening their Five Nations campaign with a 17-3 win against Scotland at Murrayfield. Mervyn Davies and JPR Williams made notable debuts for the Welsh.
1890
Billy Bancroft, legendary fullback, mades his Wales debut against Scotland at Cardiff. He went on to make 33 consecutive Test appearances before retiring in 1901.
1930
Herbert Waddell's last-minute dropped goal (then valued at four points) brought Scotland an out-of-the-blue 12-9 win against Wales at Murrayfield.
1947
Travel arrangements were disrupted during one of the coldest British winters on record. As a result only 2000 Welshmen were among the small crowd that saw Wales romp to a 22-8 defeat of Scotland at Murrayfield.
1958
Peter Jackson's last-minute try bought England a 9-6 victory at Twickenham against the Fourth Wallabies.
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