The Roar
The Roar

Rugby
Advertisement

Brumbies, Waratahs and Reds: the best since 1974
The Crowd
Roar Guru
15th February, 2009
17
Join the conversation
2074 Reads
Advertisement
Write for The Roar

Anyone can contribute to The Roar and have their work featured alongside some of Australia’s most prominent sports journalists.

The Crowd
Roar Guru
15th February, 2009
17
2074 Reads

With another season of Super 14 kicking off last weekend, I thought I would take a trip (another?) down memory lane.

The ACT became a separate union from NSW Country back in 1974, so I though that would be a good starting point to select the best players to represent the Brumbies, Waratahs and Reds. This gives us a span of 35 years (1974-2008), excluding this year, of course.

Many of Australia’s finest Wallabies have been produced in the past 35 years. With ACT, it allows me to select two of their pre-Brumbies favourite sons – Mick O’Connor and David Campese – both born and bred in the territory.

O’Connor’s Test career lasted just 4 years – 1979-82. He played for ACT 1979-80, Queensland 1981-82, before defecting to league and an even more glitttering career for the Kangaroos and NSW State of Origin.

Campese’s Test career endured from 1982-96. He represented ACT 1981-85 before transferring to NSW. Another pre-Brumbies player worth mentioning is Ricky Stuart. He played for ACT in 1986 and 87, when he was called up as a tour replacement to Argentina. The next year he was lost to rugby league. Yet another – prop Stu MacDougall – was a Wallaby between 1971-75.

Part of the criteria is that a player can only be chosen for one province. With ACT, it’s tricky since some of their finest were recruited from Sydney and Brisbane. Anyway, here goes.

ACT Brumbies 1974-2008.

15-David Campese, 14-Mick O’Connor, 13-Stirling Mortlock, 12-Pat Howard, 11-Joe Roff, 10-Steve Larkham, 9-George Gregan(c), 8-Jim Williams, 7-George Smith(vc), 6-Owen Finegan, 5-Justin Harrison, 4-David Giffin, 3-Ben Darwin, 2-Jeremy Paul, 1-Bill Young.

Advertisement

Bench: 22-David Knox, 21-Matt Giteau, 20-Ricky Stuart, 19-Brett Robinson, 18-Troy Coker, 17-Stu MacDougall, 16-Marco Caputo.

Notable omissions – Rod Kafer, Andrew Walker, Mitch Hardy, John Langford, Mark Chisholm, Pato Noriega.

NSW Waratahs 1974-2008.

15-Matt C. Burke, 14-Matt P. Burke, 13-Brett Papworth, 12-Mike Hawker, 11-Lote Tuqiri, 10-Mark Ella, 9-Nick Farr-Jones(c), 8-Tim Gavin, 7-Ray Price, 6-Simon Poidevin, 5-Steve Cutler, 4-David Vickerman, 3-Ewen McKenzie, 2-Phil Kearns(vc), 1-Topo Rodriguez.

Bench: 22-Glen Ella, 21-Gary Ella, 20-John Hipwell, 19-Greg Cornelsen, 18-Steve Williams, 17-Tony Daly, 16-Brendan Cannon.

Notable omissions – Phil Waugh, Rocky Elsom, Steve Tuynman, Willie Ofahengaue, Phil Cox, Mitchell Cox, Tony Melrose, Geoff Shaw, Gary Pearse.

QLD Reds 1974-2008.

Advertisement

15-Roger Gould, 14-Ben Tune, 13-Jason Little, 12-Tim Horan, 11-Brendan Moon, 10-Mike Lynagh(vc), 9-Peter Slattery, 8-Mark Loane, 7-David Wilson, 6-Toutai Kefu, 5-John Eales(c), 4-David Hillhouse, 3-Andy McIntyre, 2-Tom Lawton, 1-Tony D’Arcy.

Bench: 22-Dan Herbert, 21-Paul McLean, 20-Brian Smith, 19-Tony Shaw, 18-Rod McCall, 17-Dan Crowley, 16-Billy Ross.

Notable omissions – Chris Latham, Andy Slack, Paddy Batch, Peter Grigg, David Codey, Cameron Lillicrap, Mark McBain.

In my honest opinion, for the Reds, Gould beats Latham in a head-to-head contest, while on the bench McLean covers fullback as well as flyhalf. Also, for the Brumbies, I believe Howard was a more creative player than Giteau.

Some extraordinary talent spread throughout those three provinces, I’m sure you’ll agree. As a future exercise, I might look at region-of-origin for ACT, Newcastle-Hunter and North Queensland.

17
Join the conversation

Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast.  If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp.  Chances are you’re about to lose.  Set a deposit limit.

Related Posts

close