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There has been a lot of discussion surrounding greatest teams recently and NZ Rugby World magazine took on the challenge of publishing New Zealand’s 50 greatest All Blacks in their latest edition.
Selecting just 50 players was the responsibility of former All Black selector Peter Thorburn, NZRW columnist Martin Devlin and magazine editor Gregor Paul.
The following criteria were used to whittle the list to 50:
• Each player had to be perceived to have upheld the core values of the All Blacks
• He had to have made a contribution either through a specific act or years of achievement
• He had to have mastery of his position.
• Current All Blacks would not be selected as it was too difficult to place their achievements in context when their careers hadn’t ended, However, exceptions were made for Richie McCaw, Daniel Carter and Carl Hayman, who it was agreed had already delivered too much to be ignored.
However these three players were excluded from the top 10 which was agreed should be reserved exclusively for those who had hung up their boots.
While they compiled their top 50 over the past three months, they also invited their readers to vote online for their top 10 All Blacks. Space and copyright prevents me from including the explanations for each player’s inclusion, but here are the NZ Rugby World’s greatest 50 All Blacks:
50 – Dave Loveridge
49 – John Gallagher
48 – Walter Little
47 – Josh Kronfeld
46 – Olo Brown
45 – Robin Brooke
44 – Carl Hayman
43 – Peter Jones
42 – Tiny White
41 – Grant Fox
40 – Waka Nathan
39 – Anton Oliver
38 – William Wallace
37 – Stu Wilson
36 – Cliff Porter
35 – Kevin Skinner
34 – Joe Stanley
33 – Ron Jarden
32 – Kel Tremain
31 – Johnny Smith
30 – Bert Cooke
29 – Jeff Wilson
28 – Bruce Robertson
27 – Justin Marshall
26 – Bob Scott
25 – Dave Gallagher
24 – Graham Mourie
23 – Andy Haden
22 – Andrew Mehrtens
21 – Ian Jones
20 – Dan Carter
19 – Ian Kirkpatrick
18 – Tana Umaga
17 – Wilson Whineray
16 – Frank Bunce
15 – Maurice Brownlie
14 – John Kirwan
13 – Brian Lochore
12 – Sid Going
11 – Richie McCaw
10 – George Nepia
9 – Christian Cullen
8 – Bryan Williams
7 – Sean Fitzpatrick
6 – Buck Shelford
5 – Zinzan Brooke
4 – Michael Jones
3 – Don Clarke
2 – Jonah Lomu
1 – Colin Meads
Reader’s results
10 – Tana Umaga
9 – Buck Shelford
8 – Zinzan Brooke
7 – Jonah Lomu
6 – Dan Carter
5 – Michael Jones
4 – Christian Cullen
3 – Sean Fitzpatrick
2 – Richie McCaw
1 – Colin Meads
Not surprisingly, readers’ favourites tended to concentrate on players from the modern era. However, the same four players from the 1987 World Cup winning side are included in both top 10’s – Shelford, Brooke, Jones and Fitzpatrick.
What I wouldn’t give to watch some of these players play again.
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.