All time XV - well that's how it started!

By Rich W
July 29 2003

OK here's a bit of a game to amuse us in the slow rugby wasteland of the off-season. I know it's been done before and by persons far better qualified than us but we all have our opinions and it might make for an interesting discussion point.

As I waited for my train this morning (yup late again) I killed a bit of time by reading Rugby News in W.H. Smiths. Now I don't usually read Rugby News - it strikes me as being a poor man's Rugby World - but there was not a lot else to do, so needs must.

Anyway in the aforementioned Rugby News was a piece by Zinzan Brooke listing his personal all time top XV. So I thought to myself: 'well I can do that'.

Now we're never all going to agree on this sort of selection but two things struck me about Zinzan's choices:

They were very Southern Hemisphere dominated (with a few notable and odd [Will Carling for example] exceptions); and
They were all very recent - none of them had been retired more than 10 years.

As I thought about my choices I found myself coming up with two lists: a recent (post professionalism) selection and an older (amateur) one - cf. point 2. above!

So, divided into those two subsections I present my own personal selections. I emphasise that these are entirely my personal opinions. I've tried to factor in such 'subjectives' as style and conduct (hence the exclusion of Campese) and where in doubt I've just gone for the player I like(d) and have on occasion included a Tiger where there are several other equally eligible candidates. I'm happy to stand accused of bias and favouritism. After all it's an entirely unscientific process and really intended simply to provoke discussion.

One final comment: I apologise for a handful of notable exclusions - Colin Meads, Brian Lochore and Dannie Gerber for example - it's simply that I never saw them play and that footage is rare. I can only really comment on those I've seen. Thus, I've only included players from during my lifetime and there are no apartheid years Springboks.

So the amateurs:

15	JPR Williams: Brave to the point of heroic, quick and joyous
14	John Kirwan: Big, fast, aggressive: a modern winger who redefined the position - put simply - no JK - no Jonah.
13	Clive Woodward: Mad, unpredictable, brilliant
12	Mike Gibson: Hard as nails, with a career that went on for ever!
11	Gerald Davies: Elusive to the point of being almost untackleable.
10	Barry John: Simply peerless. For a little while he just did everything - and better than anyone else
9	Gareth Edwards: The best player I've ever seen. A fast, skilful, brave, irritating genius. The word chutzpah might have been invented for him. And he also scored that try!
8	Dean: Well who else, come on?
7	Jean-Pierre Rieves: I almost grew up wanting to be French because of this guy. Brilliant on either flank.
6	Michael Jones: Harder than nails. His grasp of the game was almost preternatural (look it up).
5	Willie John McBride: Two reasons – the Lions in South Africa and [shouts] '99' - need I say more?
4	Bill Beaumont: Being chaired off the pitch in 1980. I was almost in tears.
3	Graham Price: They say that Price, Windsor and Faulkner were the best front row trio ever. Well they were amazing to watch.
2	Brace: 10-15 years ahead of his time in terms of range of skills, fitness and application. Tells a funny story or two as well!
1	Charlie Faulkner: See Graham Price - well two out of three ain't bad!

Then there's the pros:

15	Christian Cullen: Personally I'd rather watch Cullen than any other fullie of the last 20 odd years. Effortlessly brilliant.
14	Rory: Finisher nonpareil. You could argue that he belongs in the amateur ranks but for an attitude that was professional before professionalism I place him where he finished his career.
13	Phillippe Sella: If a French three-quarter can win over 100 caps I reckon he might be quite good!
12	Tim Horan: Pace and power, a step at pace, good hands, the footballing skills to play at 10 and, unusually for an Aussie, modest with it. Just how good was he?
11	Jonah: For all his faults no-one could ever realistically leave him out could they?
10	Joel: The complete 10 who read and understood the game better than anyone I've ever seen. And another good egg!
9	Rob Howley: Beat off several pretenders simply because, like Edwards, he does it all and IMHO, even in the twilight of his career he was simply the best 9 in England last term by miles.
8	Zinzan Brooke: OK so he was at times a bit 'showy' But when you can do all that why not ?
7	Josh: I see no reason to justify this! sorry Backy
6	Richard Hill: Silent but deadly: clever, brave, tough and quicker than you think. The antithesis of Zinzan but that only makes for a nice combination.
5	John Eales: I reiterate my comments of a few weeks ago: Does anyone have a bad word for Nobody? No? Thought not! Also see Tim Horan.
4	Johnno: Not just for his indomitable spirit and unconquerable commitment but because of his truly insightful grasp of the game and finer skills than are usually credited. What's more I like hard men in the second row. You catch my drift ?
3	Big Jase: Began as an amateur, overcame a career threatening neck injury, plays either side of the scrum, has reinvented himself continuously as demanded by the game's evolution, capped over 100 times and still going strong! Nuff said.
2	Sean Fitzpatrick: Simply because, despite playing over half his career as an amateur, were he still playing he would walk into any team on the planet. Period.
1	Christian Califano: First time I saw this guy he terrified me. Scrummaged like a force of nature and then sprinted, stepped and swerved like a three-quarter. Ridiculous!

Well that's my effort. I await everyone else's!