It started halfway across the middle of Britain. Bobbie Goulding broke away from a scrum and pushed Offiah away, but was tackled by speedy Australian full-back Brett Mullins. From the ball play, Alan Hunte, Goulding and Phil Clarke worked possession to Betts who fed Davies in the halfway line with a long way to go.
“I noticed that Mullins had been involved in a little fight with Alan Hunte at the ball game,” Davies recalls.
“And when the ball came out, there were some good open passes, and then I straightened up a little bit and there was kind of a dogleg.” [where the defensive line is not straight]so I threw a dummy and suddenly found myself in space. And then it was like slow motion.
“As soon as I got to the gap, I got to the open space. And the noise just hits you. It hits you, but it doesn’t affect you, because it’s like playing like a kid on the field.
“And Brett Mullins was coming up and I knew that if I controlled him a little bit, leaned my head in and then accelerated off my left foot, I’d have a good chance of beating him since I was out of position because of that little fight I’d had.
“From ten meters away, I knew I had killed him.”
Best attempt at Wembley? There’s a friendly disagreement there. Six months earlier, Offiah had scored a stunning long-range try, headed in the same corner of the stadium, for Wigan against Leeds in the Challenge Cup final.
“I went through Brad Fittler and Steve Renouf, and then Brett Mullins,” Davies says. “Martin Offiah always says he scored the best try at Wembley, and I say, ‘Wait, who did you beat, mate? Who did you beat?'”
Offiah remembers: “I always joke with Jiffy that he scored the second best try of all time at Wembley. And he always says it was against better opponents. But yeah, it was an incredible score. I’d say that’s the moment Jiffy will be remembered for.”
Seen in 2025, the attempt has a poignant touch. Ray French, the BBC television commentator who described him so memorably, died in July.
On the night of his death, BBC One Latest News carried a short tribute. There was an archive clip: Davies’ attempt, with French’s words.
“It was a really moving moment remembering that and remembering Ray too,” Davies says.
