Surely worthy of consideration even amongst players of the modern game?! Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield . The extremely powerful and skilful Zinzan Brooke was the number eight for the All Blacks during their 1987 triumph and he’s been selected by voters for this team. (from Rian, May 2012), Where's McCaw, Mattfield, Gregan and Joost? Rugby is one of the most difficult team sports in the world and continues to attract a lot of fanfare and interest worldwide. sitemap (from chard, June 2012), Do you guys hate south africans? search All Blacks number 8 Zinzan Brooke was one of several New Zealanders who helped redefine the way in which loose forwards played. Beating Steve Thompson to a place in the line-up, "Pitbull" was a flag-bearer of the English pack in the early '90s, as learned as they come in the art of gamesmanship, frustrating most oppositions he'd face. Want more Read Rugby Union direct to your inbox? Unsuprisingly, 3 players from New Zealnd make the list. 10 jersey. France legend Serge Blanco could play on the wing, however, he was best known for his brilliance at fullback. I have been reading all these sites about who the greatest rugby player is. Who would make your all time greatest XV? See the current list below of top athletes, compiled using other published lists and visitor feedback. Naturally, they have produced the maximum number of prodigious rugby talents. World > Lists > All Time Greatest > Rugby Union. The most capped English player of all time, Jason Leonard made a staggering 114 appearances for the English national team in a 14-year span between 1990 and 2004. In 2010, the prop legend was forced into a slightly early retirement due to recurring neck injuries, but a then 34-year-old Vickery had already stamped his mark on the game, a part of the 2003 World Cup squad and a two-time British and Irish Lion. The 6 feet 4 inches tall Lomu managed to score 37 tries for New Zealand in only 63 matches in his international career. Now a pundit and BT Sport analyst, Dallaglio's technical know-how is being put to good use in the media, a decade after he helped Johnson's team to 2003 glory. John Eales or Martin Johnson? The final New Zealand man to make the side is versatile star Ma’a Nonu. The first stage is to get nominations for rugby union before the vote is started. We are compiling a list of the greatest athletes from the sport of rugby union, which will then be voted on and the winner placed on the shortlist of the all time greatest athlete ever (all sports). Last updated on 14 September 201914 September 2019.From the section Rugby Union. Football/Soccer is clearly the world's most popular sport, and has the most popular athletes, but which sport has the fittest players (but not necessarily the greatest athlete). author info Famed for his kicking prowess, Wilkinson is also renowned for being able to use both feet despite being naturally left-footed and it was with the fly-half's right boot that he sent over the infamous match-winning drop goal against Australia in the 2003 World Cup final. Moreover, Rugby consists of specific roles for the players in each of the 15 positions and therefore, it becomes difficult to compare players of different positions. Edwards was quite simply the complete package and would no doubt have been as effective today as he was during the 70’s. Dan Carter or Jonny Wilkinson? (from Kerekau, Jan 2013), Jack Kyle, If you believe that there is someone missing from this list, please place a comment below, including any relevant details about the person. South Africa’s 1995 World Cup-winning captain Francois Pienaar joins the team at flanker. An inch of space and Robinson would exploit it, able to turn on the afterburners in the slightest of seconds, scoring 28 tries in 51 outings for his country. disclaimer O’Reilly played 15 games during the 1955 tour, scoring 16 tries. It's so far beyond any other Rugby player that he's our only choice, and that man is Richie McCaw. This list could consider the likes of Barry John , JPR Williams & Mervyn Davis (wales). With over 100,000 votes, Martin Johnson, England’s World Cup-winning captain from 2003, gets in at number four. > All Time Greatest > Rugby Union. [adsenseyu1] 14.George Gregan (Scrum Half, Australia, 132 caps) The second row's proudest achievement came when he managed to lead England to a shock Grand Slam win in the 1980 Five Nations, the team having not seen such a feat for 23 years. Johnson may not have been the most technically excellent second row of all time, however his grunt work and leadership make him irreplaceable. One of the most understated figures of the 2003 squad, Richard Hill's contributions to the national team unfairly go unheralded when compared with the likes of Jonny Wilkinson and Martin Johnson. He’s the starting prop in this team. The prop began his career with Saracens but will be most fondly remembered at club level for his time at Harlequins. ... French full-back gets your vote in the 15 jersey. ... Habana shares the record for the most tries (15) in Rugby World Cups. the were some of the best rugby players, btw richie mccaw stinks, bryan habana shouldn't be there! Your email address will be stored by Read Rugby Union so that we can send you Read Rugby Union updates by email. (from sihle thando pamala, Jan 2013), Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Tony Woodcock should all be in the top 100. Beaumont's qualities in the loose weren't what set him apart from the rest, but a work rate unlike many others and a distinct tact in leadership were. He won the World Cup in 1987. William Small Smith (SA) was the first player to stop Jonah Lomu from scoring in the 1995 world cup and then there's Fracois Pienaar an John Smith (Both SA) (from Wihan, Nov 2012), I guess i'm from a different age, but here goes. This list is not complete - if you know of someone who should be listed here, let us know using the comment form below. Embed from Getty Images Victor Matfield (from Ryno, July 2011). As a one-eyed Cantabrian, I was more interested in provincial rugby, particularly during the 1982-85 Ranfurly Shield era, though I'd argue this All Black XV shows no signs of blatant provincial bias. Percy Montgomery, We will reveal BBC Sport readers' best XV on Tuesday, 1 October - teams must be selected by 17:00 BST on Monday, 30 September to count. Read about our approach to external linking. document.write(" CITE THIS PAGE: "+ author + ", "" + document.title + "." Topend Sports Website, "+ published + ", "+ url + ", Accessed " + today); He literally ran over Mike Catt while scoring one of those tries and it underlined his immense strength. We select our greatest XV of all time based on the best rugby players to have ever graced the game… 15.Serge Blanco. Jonah Lomu or Shane Williams? He’s the final man in the side. Here, we've taken a look at some of the most talented players ever to don the red rose, building a dream line-up of English titans. He rounds off an amazing forward line. Dan Carter or Jonny Wilkinson? Sport > World > Lists Countries like Australia, France, South Africa and Ireland have produced some outstanding players too. South Africa speed machine Bryan Habana is regarded as one of the quickest players to ever play the game and helped his country to World Cup glory in 2007. Now passing that information on as part of Stuart Lancaster's England staff, it's good to see that such a smart maestro of the midfield isn't going to waste in his retirement. The highest-ever England try scorer, Rory Underwood's record of 49 scores in just 85 caps is the kind of prolific nature that ensures the older of the Underwood brothers will never be forgotten for his services to the national cause. He starred for the All Blacks in the 1995 Rugby World Cup and became a household name after the tournament.