The Times makes no apologies for the jingoistic streak running through this week’s Top 50. With England’s rugby team setting off on what appears to be an impossible mission to defend their world crown, with the football team falling to pieces and in danger of missing out on Euro 2008 and with Tim Henman leaving the world stage, we need every reminder we can of those rare occasions when Britain truly ruled the waves, courts or pitches of the world.

As usual, this is a purely subjective list using nothing more scientific than instinct to rate the Top 50. Those near the top of the list are there because, if only for a brief moment, they were the best in the world in their sport; others get on the list for achievement over a long period of time or because of the great rush of patriotic fervour that washed over us when they did well. And it’s not just British sides: English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish teams get their moment in the sun, too. If we have missed any, do let us know.

50) Great Britain tug-of-war team, 1920

Britain have been the reigning Olympic champions for the past 87 years, in part because the sport has not been on the agenda since the Antwerp Games, but the 1920 side sneak on to the list if only because one of their number, Robert Spear, was banned from the final after he was too enthusiastic at tugging and wrenched an opponent’s arm out of its socket. We admire that. Great Britain, represented by the City of London police force, also won gold in 1908.

49) Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas, golf, 1990-2000

The English women were the first to tee off for Europe in their inaugural Solheim Cup against the United States in 1990 and won their first match 2 and 1 against Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley. Although Europe lost that contest, Nicholas and Davies won both their pairs matches in 1992 (Davies won her singles too) to help Europe to level the series. In 2000, after three US victories, Europe won the cup again with Davies and Nicholas once more winning the opening match.

48) Great Britain boxing team, 1908

One medal away from sporting perfection: the British boxers won 14 of the available 15 medals at the London Olympics with only Reginald Baker, of the Australasia team, spoiling the party by reaching the middleweight final, where he lost to Johnny Douglas, the future England cricket captain. Admittedly, France and Denmark were the only other competing nations.

47) Wales football team, 1958

Eight years before Bobby Moore, another British side wearing red shirts set the World Cup alight. Having qualified for the tournament in Sweden by beating Israel 4-0 in a two-leg play-off, Wales, inspired by John Charles, drew their group matches with Hungary, Mexico and Sweden before beating the Hungarians in a play-off to reach the quarter-finals. There they met Brazil, where a 17-year-old Pele score the only goal, ending Welsh hopes of a semi-final place.

46) Reggie and Laurie Doherty, tennis, 1897-1905

The Victorian era’s version of the Lloyd brothers, only successful. Reggie Doherty won the men’s singles at Wimbledon four times and his younger brother, Laurie, won it fives times, but they also teamed up to win the men’s doubles eight times and claimed the US Open doubles crown twice. They also won gold together at the 1900 Olympics.

45) Northern Ireland football team, 1982

The mighty men of Ulster, with young Norman Whiteside in the team, reached the second round after topping their group with a win over Spain and a draw with Yugoslavia. Despite drawing with Austria in the second group stage, France were too strong for them.

44) England football team, 1990

A World Cup that began slowly for England – they scored only two goals and won one game in the group stage but still came first – ended in frustration at the feet of West Germany in the semi-finals. On paper, England had a fine side with Lineker, Gascoigne, Platt, Shilton and other world-class players but they struggled to the semi-finals, needing extra time to beat Belgium and Cameroon. Still, it was the closest England have come to a World Cup final in the past 40 years.

43) England cricket team, 1928-29

Percy Chapman had an annus mirabilis as England captain in 1928, winning the inaugural Test series against West Indies 3-0 and then taking the team to Australia where the Ashes were retained 4-1. The following summer the captaincy was split between Jack White and Arthur Carr, who kept up the good work in beating South Africa 2-0 in a five-Test series.

42) Ryder Cup team, 1969

After the first four Ryder Cups were shared, the United States had won 12 of the next 13 contests before this thrilling battle at Royal Birkdale. Tony Jacklin was the inspiration, as he would be in the 1980s as captain, winning three and halving one of his four pairs matches before sharing his singles with Jack Nicklaus to ensure that the title was also split. Nicklaus generously conceded Jacklin’s 18-inch putt on the final green.

41) England football team, 1996

Football came home, David Baddiel became a pop star and Terry Venables’s side had the chance to be the first English winners of a leading international competition since the previous time football had come home. After a thrilling 4-1 win over Holland in the group stage, things looked good but lurking in the semi-finals yet again were the Germans and their penalty-taking wizards.

40) Great Britain curling team, 2002

The nation stayed up late, engrossed by the sight of four Scottish women sliding stones over an ice rink at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Rhona Martin, Debbie Knox, Fiona Macdonald and Janice Rankin had to rely on Switzerland beating Germany in the final pool match to keep them in the competition but after beating Canada in the semi-final they were in no mood to return the favour to Switzerland in the final. Martin’s “stone of destiny” won the gold.

39) Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, 1999-2006

The Ulsterman and the Englishman made their Ryder Cup debuts in 1997 but did not partner each other until the contest in 1999. Mark James’s hunch partly paid off as they won two of their four matches together, but it was at the 2004 contest that the partnership flourished: they beat Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods on the first day and Jay Haas and Chris Di Marco on the second as Europe won by a record margin. Two years later, Clarke and Westwood again paired up for two more wins out of two as well as each winning his singles.

38) Men’s rowing eight, 2000

Steve Redgrave wasn’t the only oarsman to win an Olympic gold in 2000, there were eight others who won on the next day. Britain had lost their heat to Australia, the hosts, but after a repechage they got revenge in the final, beating Australia to the gold by half a second.

37) England rugby team, 1980

Possibly the least feted of England’s grand-slam winning sides, in part because they disintegrated so quickly, but Bill Beaumont’s team were rightly made the BBC’s sports team of the year after winning all four Five Nations matches at the start of the 1980s, including a 9-8 win over 14-man Wales.

36) Tony Nash and Robin Dixon, 1964

A turn at the St Moritz course is named after the British pair who won the two-man bobsleigh at the Innsbruck Winter Olympics. Dixon, a soldier from Northern Ireland who later inherited the title Baron Glentoran, was the brakeman for the English Nash. They won the world title together in St Moritz the next year.

35) Davis Cup, 1933-36

Yes, Britain have not always been hopeless at Davis Cup tennis, they even won it four times in a row in the mid-1930s and are the third-most successful team in the competition’s history with nine wins. Until 1972, however, the defending champions got to the final on a bye, which may explain Britain’s winning streak in the 1930s. Still Fred Perry’s 45-7 and Bunny Austin’s 36-12 winning records are not to be sniffed at.

34) Modern pentathlon team, 1976

Adrian Parker, Danny Nightingale and Jim Fox won the gold at the Montreal Games and became the BBC’s sports team of the year but they had to fight controversy when it turned out that one of their Russian competitors was found to have been using an epee in the fencing category that was electronically rigged to falsify “hits” on his British opponents.

33) Scotland rugby team, 1990

One of the most thrilling conclusions to the Five Nations pitted a strong England against an unfancied Scotland at Murrayfield in the final winner-takes-all fixture. Scotland had shown grit in beating Ireland 13-10 in Dublin and Wales 13-9 in Cardiff, sandwiching a walloping to France, but felt patronised by the English, whose captain Will Carling was not shy about pointing out his team’s superiority. David Sole, the Scotland captain, marched his team out deliberately slowly to build up the tension. Scotland scored two penalty goals but England scored their first try at Murrayfield for ten years to narrow the gap. Tony Stanger’s second-half try plus some stout defending won the day for Scotland, 13-7.

32) Great Britain ice hockey team, 1936

A huge shock as Canada lost their Olympic crown to Britain after being beaten 2-1 in the semi-finals. Britain held on to draw 0-0 with the United States in their final match of the four-team medal round to win the gold. Although most of the British team had played in Canada, only one was born there.

31) England rugby team, 1991

It was almost a perfect year. Will Carling’s side made up for disappointment in Murrayfield the previous year by winning the grand slam, beating France 21-19 in the deciding match, then went into the World Cup with high hopes. Despite losing to New Zealand in their opening match, England beat France and Scotland – another thriller in Edinburgh – to reach the final against Australia, where Tony Daley’s try and David Campese’s deliberate knock-on spoilt the party.

30) Three-day eventing team, 1972

Richard Meade won the individual gold medal – the only British winner until Leslie Law in 2004 – and was part of the four-man Britain team with Mark Phillips, Mary Gordon-Watson and Bridget Parker who won the team gold. Gordon-Watson’s horse, Cornishman V, would later have a starring role in the film International Velvet.

29) Ryder Cup team, 1957

Great Britain & Ireland won the Ryder Cup for the first time in 24 years at Lindrick under the captaincy of Dai Rees. After his side lost the foursomes 3-1, Rees left Max Faulkner, the 1951 Open champion, out of the singles; Peter Mills, Faulkner’s replacement, was one of six Britons to win on the final day, beating Jack Burke, who had won the Masters and USPGA the previous year.

28) Wales rugby team, 2005

Mike Ruddock’s side won Wales’s first grand slam for 28 years in style, beating England 11-9 with a late Gavin Henson penalty from long range, then coming back from 15-6 down to beat France in Paris thanks to inspiration from Martyn Williams. The other three games were won with ease, but Wales made the mistake of forcing Ruddock out a year later.

27) The Searle brothers, 1992

Jonny and Greg Searle, the brothers from Hampton School, won the now defunct coxed pairs gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics by more than a second from Italy’s fancied Abbagnale brothers. Famously, Garry Herbert, their cox, broke down in tears on the winners’ podium as the anthem was played.

26) Scotland rugby team, 1983-84

It had been a long time in coming but Scotland won their second grand slam in 1984, just 59 years after their first. They had given indication of their strength the previous autumn by holding the All Blacks to a 25-25 draw at Murrayfield – a missed conversion cost them the win. A 32-9 win over Ireland was their biggest margin, but with France also unbeaten by the final game it was the 21-12 victory in Edinburgh that mattered most.

25) Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, 1987-89

The Englishman and the Welshman had already played two Ryder Cups together when they were first tried as a pairing by Tony Jacklin in 1987. They were an instant success, winning three and halving one of their four matches (although each lost his singles) as Europe won on American soil for the first time. At the Belfry two years later they picked up two and a half more points together as Europe retained the cup.

24) Men’s 4x400 metres relay team, 1991

In an otherwise disappointing world athletics championships for Great Britain in Tokyo, the men’s four-lap relay team claimed a belated second gold for the nation to go with Liz McColgan’s 10,000 metres medal. Roger Black, Kriss Akabusi, Derek Redmond and John Regis won by four-hundredths of a second from the United States.

23) England cricket team, 1981

“Botham’s Ashes” may not have been won against the strongest Australia side to come to England, but the series cannot be beaten for drama. The elements are so familiar: the deposed captain back in the ranks, England on the rack at Headingley, “oompty” from Beefy and Dilley, Willis bowling down the hill, five wickets for one run at Edgbaston and Botham on the route to first knighthood and possibly sainthood.

22) England rugby team, 1910-24

The opening of Twickenham as England’s international home in 1910 and the birth of the Five Nations the same year proved a boost to the nation’s fortunes. Having not won the Home Nations championship since 1892, England won eight of the first ten Five Nations titles (sharing it once with Ireland and once with Scotland and Wales) and, with Wavell Wakefield their talisman in the back row, performed the grand slam on five occasions.

21) Great Britain rugby league team, 1972

The only time Australia have not won rugby league’s World Cup in the past 40 years was in 1972. The competition involved only Britain, Australia, France and New Zealand and after beating the champions 27-21 in Perpignan, Britain came top of a round-robin group and met Australia in the final in Lyons for the title. That win in Perpignan was crucial as the final finished 10-10 and the scores were level even after 20 minutes’ extra time, meaning that the trophy was presented to Great Britain as the best qualifier from the group.

20) Great Britain sailing team, 2000

Great Britain are the most successful nation in Olympic sailing events and the Sydney Olympics was their best Games, bar the 1900 and 1908 Olympics when there were few competitors. In the waters off Sydney, Ian Percy won the Finn class, Ben Ainslie the Laser and Shirley Robertson the Europe. There were silvers in the 49er and Star classes for Britain as well.

19) England cricket team, 1932-33

Boo, hiss, drat those perfidious Englishmen and their villainous tactics. Yes, this was Bodyline, the series that proved it is not only Poms who whinge. Regardless of the rights and wrongs, it worked. “I’ve not travelled 6,000 miles to make friends, I’m here to win the Ashes,” said England’s captain, Douglas Jardine. And he did: 4-1, with the blessed Don Bradman averaging only 57.

18) The 1997 Lions

The first rugby tour by the British and Irish Lions to South Africa after the end of apartheid was expected to be hard-fought. South Africa had, after all, won the World Cup two years earlier. The Lions, surprisingly captained by Martin Johnson, lost one match before the internationals but ran out 25-16 winners in Cape Town with tries from Matt Dawson and Alan Tait. The Springboks hit back in Durban, scoring three tries, yet the Lions won the match and series with composure, Neil Jenkins scoring five penalty goals and the unlikely figure of Jeremy Guscott dropping the winning goal. The thrashing in the third international was irrelevant.

17) Great Britain hockey team, 1988

Hardly a surprise as Britain were seeded second and had reached the World Cup final two years earlier, but Sean Kerly and Imran Sherwani’s goals against West Germany sparked one of those moments to remember. The team were met by cheering hordes at Heathrow. As Barry Davies memorably said in his commentary after the third goal: "Where were the Germans? Frankly, who cares?"

16) Great Britain athletics team, 1980

A string of gold medals by a narrow margin marked a successful Games for Britain’s athletes, although the lack of American athletes should be taken into consideration. Allan Wells won the 100 metres, Steve Ovett the 800 metres, Sebastian Coe the 1500 metres and Daley Thompson the decathlon. Wells and Coe also won silvers and Ovett, Gary Oakes and both women’s relay teams won bronze.

15) Wales rugby team, 1978

The last grand slam success for Wales until 2005. A golden generation was coming to its end. Gareth Edwards won his 50th cap in a 9-6 win over England; Scotland were brushed aside 22-14 (Edwards scoring his 20th and final try for Wales); Ireland went down 20-16 and then Wales came back from 7-0 to beat France 16-7. Edwards and Phil Bennett retired after the match.

14) Men’s 4x100 metres relay team, 2004

Kelly Holmes won two golds but the rest of the Britain athletics team in the Athens Olympics mustered only one bronze between them until the sprint relay side claimed a belated third gold. Jason Gardener, Marlon Devonish, Mark Lewis-Francis and Darren Campbell took advantage of poor baton changes by the United States, the favourites, to win by 0.01sec, Lewis-Francis pipping the vastly more experienced Maurice Greene to the line.

13) Coxless four, 2000

Steve Redgrave’s final Olympics ended in glory – again – with a narrow win over Italy. Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell fought through pain and illness (Foster had back surgery and severed tendons in a hand, Redgrave had diabetes) and instantly disbanded after the Games.

12) Great Britain athletics team, 1993

After a disappointing world championships in 1991, Britain had a much more satisfying haul in Stuttgart two years later. Linford Christie won the 100 metres in 9.87sec, Colin Jackson won the 110 metres hurdles in a world record 12.91sec and Sally Gunnell won the 400 metres hurdles in another world record time. There were also three silvers and four bronzes.

11) Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, 1984

Da-da-da-daaaaah, da-de-dada-dade-da-da-da-daaah. Purple outfits turned into gold medals as T&D spun and flipped their way through Bolero and into the nation’s hearts with a string of perfect sixes in Sarajevo. Ten years later, they tried again, but could come only third in Lillehammer.

10) Graham Hill/BRM v Jim Clark/Lotus, 1962-65

A good ding-dong battle in Formula One for four years between two British drivers in British cars. Hill won four grands prix to Clark’s three in 1962 to win the championship, but the next year Clark won seven to Hill’s three with only John Surtees, another British driver in a Ferrari, winning another grand prix. Surtees won the crown in 1964 by one point from Hill and eight from Clark, before Clark had another golden season in 1965, winning six of the first seven grands prix to take the crown.

9) Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent, 1990-96

The comprehensive boy from the university of life was partnered with the Etonian Oxford Blue to become the greatest team on water since Ratty asked Mole if he wanted to mess about on a boat. Four gold medals in world championships and two in Olympic Games tell only part of the tale about how dominant they were.

8) Wales rugby team, 1971

Wales used only 16 players in winning the first of three grand slams in the 1970s. Gerald Davies was the star, scoring two tries in an easy win over England and another one against Scotland to set up a tense 19-18 win. Ireland were brushed aside before JPR Williams sprinted 70 yards to score a try against France that sealed the title.

7) The 1971 Lions

Number 8 effortlessly leads into this marvellous team as Wales supplied the bulk of the victorious British Isles side, the only Lions team to beat the All Blacks. Despite losing their first fixture on tour to Queensland, the Lions grew in confidence and won the first international 9-3. New Zealand fought back, scoring five tries in an easy win in the second, but the Lions were not bowed. In Wellington, they won by two tries to nil and with only a draw needed in the fourth match they got precisely that, 14-14, thanks to JPR Williams’s dropped goal from 45 yards.

6) England cricket team, 2004-05

The journey that ended at the Brit Oval with the Ashes being regained for the first time in 18 years began in the Caribbean in 2004 when Michael Vaughan’s side discovered a fearsome edge to their bowling – particularly from Stephen Harmison – and won 3-0. Whitewashes of New Zealand and West Indies (at home) followed and then they showed character to rally in South Africa and win there. In all, Vaughan’s side, which was enhanced in 2005 by the arrival of Kevin Pietersen, won 16 Tests out of 23, losing only two.

5) England football team, 1966

Yes, you read that correctly. Fifth place. Call me perverted but although 1966 and all that was a wonderful moment was it really the best sporting performance by a British team? Were they the best side on the planet in their sport at the moment they won the World Cup? I’d suggest that the next four sides were better. And we did have the advantage of playing at home. Despite that, though, what a marvellous achievement, especially given the paucity of success the England team has had since.

4) The 1974 Lions

The 1971 side broke the mould by beating the All Blacks, but the team who toured South Africa three years later were arguably stronger. They were certainly more successful, winning 21 and drawing one of their 22 matches on tour. The international series was noted for violence on the pitch, with Willie John McBride, the Lions captain, urging his team to “get their retaliation in first” against the “blatant thuggery” of their opponents. There was also the “99” call, at which everyone should bundle into a fight, on the grounds that a referee would never send off the entire side.

3) Coxless four, 2004

This may provide a shock, but I place Matthew Pinsent’s four in Athens ahead of Bobby Charlton and Co for the drama of the gold-medal final and the fact that the team, which came together only in 2003, had to be rebuilt at very short notice after Alex Partridge punctured a lung. Pinsent, James Cracknell, Ed Coode and Steve Williams swapped the lead with Canada in the final with almost every stroke but dug deep to find a finishing spurt to win by eight-hundredths of a second. Pinsent wept on the podium and the nation wept with him.

2) England cricket team, 1951-58

Consider these names: Hutton, Washbrook, Edrich, Simpson, May, Cowdrey, Compton, Graveney, Bailey, Evans, Bedser, Laker, Lock, Trueman, Tyson, Statham. These men, and others, provided the greatest period of cricketing success in English history. Between beating New Zealand away in 1951 and beating them at home seven years later, England won ten series and drew four, losing none. They won the Ashes three times (twice at home, once away) and won half the Tests they played.

1) England rugby team, 2003

Jonny and the boys were the best rugby team in the world four years ago, although they often had to grind out results in the World Cup itself. At last Clive Woodward’s side didn’t choke with the Six Nations grand slam on offer, walloping Ireland in Dublin in the deciding match before heading on a tour Down Under where they beat New Zealand with 13 men and put three tries past Australia. Deservedly the favourites in the World Cup, they wobbled at times but someone kept on popping up to put things right (Greenwood against South Africa; Balshaw against Samoa; Catt against Wales and Wilkinson against France).

The final moments of the final are seared on the brain: lineout 30 yards out; Thompson throws to the back; Catt runs through; Dawson bursts out of a ruck to gain 15 yards; Johnson drives the ball on again and then back it comes to Wilkinson for the sweetest of dropped goals.

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