Greatest rugby team of all time

I couldn't agree more with Ed. Joost, I do believe, is the greatest technical and try scoring scrumhalf I've ever seen! And Victor Matfield is the greatest line-out jumper the world has ever known.

hey guys,,, i reckon the best player of all time has to be michael jones or jerome kaino personally......

LETS ALL JUST LOOK AT THE STAT BOOKS AND THE GAME FOOTAGE AND ACCEPT: Daniel Carter is the best 10 to ever play the game. LOOK AT THE FOOTAGE AND STATS! Jonah Lomu was the most devastating player to date. Like him or not, he did things no-ones has done before or, Europe without these two guys you havnt got a Greatest Ever Team. This comment will be controversial but it needs to be said; Nobody in Europe would qualify for the Greatest Ever Team because theres either an Aussie, a Bok, or a Kiwi thats been better. or a Fijian (Rupeni Caucau)

The Best 15 Of All Time 15: Cristian Cullen - Loved to run the ball in General Play, Special mention to Matt Burke & Andre Joubert 14: John Kirwan was the best 14 Special Mention to Jason Robinson 13: I can't split Frank Bunce and Brian O'Driscoll 12: Tim Horan, head and shoulders above the rest 11: David Campese, the greatest of them all sorry Jonah Lomu 10: Stephen Larkham a contrversial selection, but its my best team of all time 9: Geaorge Gregan: The only man to bring down the monster Jonah one on one 8: Zinzan Brooke - Special Mention to Buck Shelford, the original master 7: Michael Jones - Special mention to Josh Kronfield and George Smith 6: Francois Pienar 5: John Eales 4: Colin Meads 3: Olo Brown 2: Sean Fitzpatrick 1: Os Du Randt

this in my opinion is this greatest 2 groups of players to ever play the game of rugby both non-professional era and proffesional. 15(fullback) JPR WILLIAMS.............he was a great player he could tackle a bus aswell as sidestep one 14.(wing)Gerald davies .................he would only touch the ball 4 times and score 4 try's 13. (outside center)Brian O Driscoll.........Could win a game single handly as he proved against the french 12(inside center)Phillipe sella ...........Great hands ,great feet,and a great understanding of the game 11(wing)Jonah lomu................the most destructive player ever to grace the game he was the 1st great professional player 10(outside half)Dan carter........joint greatest player of all time. single handedly destroyed the lions in 2005 and soon 2 be top point scorer as well 9(scrum half)Gareth edwards.........also joint greatest player . probably scored one of the best try's of all time against the all blacks 8(flanker)Buck shelford...........a man mountain great strength aswell as being a great leader 7(flanker)Richie mccaw..........the most cunning player and definately the fittest player. inspirational on the pitch 6(flanker)Micheal jones........... he changed the way flankers play and took it to a new level . just awesome 5(second row)willie john mcbride(C)..........the greatest leader on the field of all time .he led the greats in 74 what a team 4(second row)martin johnson ............ a player who demanded respect on the field . a great lineout forward. a great leader probably has 1 everything in the game 3(prop)charlie faulkner..............one of the props in 74 series legend!!!!! 2(hooker)graham price..............also in the 74 series ..........................THE PONTYPOOL FRONT ROW the greatest front row ever to play the game and definately the toughest 1(prop)bobby windsor...................a great scrummager amence srength the other prop in the 74 series so there u have it in my opinion the greatest rugby xv . a lot of people wont agree but hay everyone is entitled o there opinion

Greatest XV 1. Os du Randt 2. Sean Fitzpatrick 3. Robert Paparemborde 4. Colin Meads 5. Frik du Preez 6. Michael Jones 7. Richie McCaw 8. Zinzan Brooke 9. Gareth Edwards 10. Dan Carter 11. Rupeni Caucaunibuca (Just on sheer talent, the best attacking player I have ever seen) 12. Mike Gibson 13. Phillipe Sella 14. Gerald Davies 15. Christian Cullen 2nd Greatest XV 1. Ray McLoughlin 2. Keith Wood 3. Carl Hayman 4. Martin Johnson 5. John Eales 6. Ian Kirkpatrick 7. George Smith 8. Mervyn Davies 9. Fourie du Preez 10. Jonny Wilkinson 11. David Campese 12. Tim Horan 13. Brian O’Driscoll 14. Doug Howlett 15. Serge Blanco So many players unlucky to miss out, I thought alot about my final decisions, please tell me what you think.

Greatest XV 1. Os du Randt 2. Sean Fitzpatrick 3. Robert Paparemborde 4. Colin Meads 5. Frik du Preez 6. Michael Jones 7. Richie McCaw 8. Zinzan Brooke 9. Gareth Edwards 10. Dan Carter 11. Rupeni Caucaunibuca (Just on sheer talent, the best attacking player I have ever seen) 12. Mike Gibson 13. Phillipe Sella 14. Gerald Davies 15. Christian Cullen 2nd Greatest XV 1. Ray McLoughlin 2. Keith Wood 3. Carl Hayman 4. Martin Johnson 5. John Eales 6. Ian Kirkpatrick 7. George Smith 8. Mervyn Davies 9. Fourie du Preez 10. Jonny Wilkinson 11. David Campese 12. Tim Horan 13. Brian O'Driscoll 14. Doug Howlett 15. Serge Blanco So many players unlucky to miss out, I thought alot about my final decisions, please tell me what you think.

best no 10 is not michael bloody lynagh. Stephen Larkham is way ahead of him. And then you're forgetting the real masters, Dan Carter, just , over Barry John. I'm a New Zealander, so Sid Going wins in the halfback stakes - how many gaes did that guy win? how many did Gareth Edwards win? The best no. 15 by a country mile is Christian Cullen - amazing, strength, speed, guile. How manmy test tries did Jeff Wilson, and John Kirwan score at no.14? a lot more than campese

Danny - You're not suggesting Jerry Collins as the best number 6 of all time?

15. Christian Cullen 14. David Campese 13. Frank Bunce 12. Dan Carter 11. Jonah Lomu or Tim horan 10. Michael Lyanagh 9. Joost Vanderwesthiuzen 8. Zinzan Brooke 7. Richie Mcaw 6. Michael Jones 5. John Eales 4. Martin Johnson 3. Carl Hayman 2. Sean Fitzpatrick 1. Jason Leonard

15-C.Cullen 14-J.Wilson 13-P.Sella 12-T.Horn 11-J.Lomu 10-A.Mehrtens 9-J.Van der Westhuizen 8-Z.Brooke 7-R.McCaw 6-O.Finnegan 5-J.Eales 4-M.Johnson 3-O.Du Rant 2-S.Fitzpatrick (c) 1-C.Hayman This is the best team ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nobody could match up to a line up of this caliber.

15. Serge Blanco 14. David Campese 13. Philippe Sella 12. Tim Horan 11. Jonah Lomu 10. Michael Lynagh 9. Joost van der Westhuizen 8. Zinzan Brooke 7. Michael Jones 6. Francois Pienaar 5. John Eales 4. Martin Johnson 3. Os du Randt 2. Sean Fitzpatrick (c) 1. Jason Leonard

1. Jason Leonard 2. Sean Fitzpatrick (vc) 3. Carl Hayman 4. John Eales 5. Martin Johnson (c) 6. Michael Jones 7. Richie Mcaw 8. Zinzan Brooke 9. Joost Vanderwesthuizen 10. Dan Carter 11. Jonah Lomu 12. Matt Giteau 13. Frank Bunce 14. David Campese 15. Christian Cullen

1. Os du Randt 2. Sean Fitzpatrick 3. Olo Brown 4. Martin Johnson 5. Victor Matfield 6. Michael Jones 7. Francois Pienaar 8. Zinzan Brooke 9. Gareth Edwards 10. Hugo Porta 11. Jonah Lomu 12. Tana Umaga 13. Philippe Sella 14. Rupeni Caucaunibuca 15. Serge Blanco

John - You're a bit rabid. The players selected from NZ are pretty much all from the team that DID win a series in SA, so I'm not even sure why you brought up that the AB's took a while to win a series there. And there are NO current All Black players even mentioned in the squad above so what does the last few years even have to do with the subject at hand? Especially when you're not even accurate with your facts - the AB's have won twice in SA (06 & 07) and SA didn't beat the ABs in 07 so not "every year since 03". 3 wins in 4 years may be better than the 8 match losing streak that preceded it, but it's not really anything to brag about (especially when they've lost twice as many in the same time frame). Finally SA haven't "given as good as they've got" since readmission and neutral refs by the way. The record is 29 wins to the All Blacks, 9 wins to SA and 1 draw. A grand total of ONE SA win in NZ in that period and that was over a decade ago. If you're talking 'modern' rugby rather than historical stats skewed by biased reffing and touring squads without any Maori representation, the ABs have it all over the Boks in the head to head stats.

15. Serge Blanco 14. David Campese 13. Phillipe Sella 12. Tim Horan 11. Jonah Lomu 10. Michael Lynagh 9. Nick Farr-Jones (capt) 8. Wayne Shelford 7. Michael Jones 6. Richard Hill 5. Martin Johnson 4. John Eales 3. Jeff Probyn 2. Sean Fitzpatrick 1. Pascal Ondarts

Billy Whizz has to be one of the back three, Campo make way! As for back row, it's probably sentiment but Mickey Skinner makes it

Just an observation from an occasional Rugby observer (so not professing to any great knowledge here). Distinct lack of French flavour seems very strange to me, especially given the French regularly make WC semis and enjoy 6-nations success. Also, perhaps more importantly, given that they are held up as the most stylish and unique of the top 8 or 10 rugby playing nations. Can some of you rugby folk tell me why that is?

Cullen,Kirwan,Gerber,Umaga,Ella,Rupeni,Going Brooke,Jones,Ofengahue,Williams,Eales,Hayman,Meleamu,Durant

Derrold - are you writing about the best world 15 of all time or attacking South African rugby? But I loved your post. Here's a couple of things to think about: - I'm not sure rugby can be played at 300 000 feet, that's somewhere out in space. *LOL*. But the altitude issue is a red herring. The All Blacks have won at altititude, they just weren't able to in '95. - nobody has ever been able to prove the 'poisoning' theory, or found Suzie. As in 1991, 1999, and 2003 they couldn't win the cup. Do you have any excuses for the '99 loss to France and '03 to Australia in the Semi's? - cheating...mmmm.... well the Aussies didn't seem to worry too much about Shane Warne and was it Steve Waugh being involved in match fixing. What do they say about people in glass houses? - 21 Tim Horans. They'd only allow 15 on the field during game time. They'd never win any possesion - the Springboks and All Blacks would push them all over the park at scrum time and they'd never see a lineout ball. I think John Eales would feel a bit hard done by if a Tim Horan clone was picked in his place as lock, and you obviously don't rate Mark Ella or Michael Lynagh. What was it you were writing about? As I said, I loved your post.