The Greatest Speeches And Team Talks In Sport

To celebrate World Speech Day, we got psyched up, shed a tear and went into battle with the greatest collection of team talks and speeches in sporting history.

Toulouse FC

The French Ligue 1 soccer club had one game to survive relegation from the league, so the coach did this. Unsurprisingly, they managed to secure victory and stay up.

Friday Night Lights (2011)

Down at half-time in the state final, Coach Taylor picks his players back up again. Clear eyes, full hearts…

School of Hard Knocks Part.1

Former Welsh international rugby player Scott Quinnell lead a team of misfits and last chancers with his now iconic ‘Butterflies & Dragons’ speech.

School of Hard Knocks Part.2

Just to prove it was no fluke, Quinnell followed it up five years later…

Miracle

Kurt Russell does his small part to help win the Cold War thanks to an ice hockey match in Miracle (2004).

The British & Irish Lions vs South Africa Part.1

Forwards coach Jim Telfer delivered a speech to his pack when the Lions killed the Springboks in the first test match of 1997.

The British & Irish Lions vs South Africa Part.2

Head coach Sir Ian McGeechan followed it up before the second test to help ensure another victory and win the series as a whole.

‘I am a CHAMPION!’

We have no idea who this, where this is or what the team is, but we’d like to meet him.

Jonny Wilkinson

Need to give a team talk in two languages at once? No problem for the mesmeric fly-half. Anglo-French inspiration to an international, multi-lingual XV.

Any Given Sunday (1999)

Because, well, it’s impossible to leave out.

About the author

Luke Bradshaw

Sports Editor

Luke was born and raised in various parts of south London, before studying Politics and Social Psychology at Loughborough University. His time in the midlands was limited to his study and upon his return to the capital (via the obligatory travelling in between), wrote for a number of different local and national publications, before moving into the editorial side of things. Aside from the obvious interest in sport, he loves food, travel, reading and film, but if any can somehow incorporate sport in the process, then all the better.