Who was the best flyhalf of the last 20 years?

The period of 1998-2018 can be broken down into three main eras of dominance by three international teams.

Rod Macqueen’s Wallaby team of 1998-2002, Clive Woodward’s England team of 2003-2007, and the All Blacks pretty much dominating from 2010 onwards, despite serious but intermittent challenges from the Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks from 2007-2009.

During these periods of dominance, when each team was at its peak, Australia (1999), England (2003), and the All Blacks (2011 and 2015) were rewarded by holding aloft the Rugby World Cup trophy.

It is not surprising these teams all featured outstanding flyhalves in their starting lineups. Hence, the commonly held view that a team can’t win a Rugby World Cup without an exceptional No 10.

The anomaly is probably South Africa’s Rugby World Cup final win over England in 2007. Butch James was a solid flyhalf/inside centre who never locked down the ‘Bok flyhalf position due to leg injuries and suspensions.

He relied heavily on Fourie du Preez, Francois Steyn and Percy Montgomery to share his playmaking and kicking roles in that tournament, although his defence nullified Jonny Wilkinson quite well in the final. Montgomery actually scored the most points of any player in that World Cup and took on the penalty goal responsibilities.

I have not included James in the three contenders of the last 20 years, and South Africa in 2009 seemed to enjoy their dominance over the All Blacks through the spearhead of Victor Matfield’s lineout and forward pack, a supporting role being provided by a kicking oriented backline and fast chasers.

The All Blacks rectified their back three deficiencies by 2010 by introducing the two fullbacks model to counter these tactics.

I have based the three contenders for the title of ‘The Best Flyhalf of the Last 20 years’ from those three teams who enjoyed sustained success and top dog status over the last two decades, culminating in winning the Rugby World Cup, and those enduring first-choice No. 10’s who were instrumental to their dominance.

Each flyhalf has their particular key strengths, notably none of them have any glaring weaknesses across the fundamental flyhalf skills such as kicking, passing, running, game management and defence.

These are the four main areas I have used to make a totally subjective assessment on each player. Warning: no stats involved, gut feel only!

Stephen Larkham – Wallabies (1998-2007)

Macqueen took a skinny fullback from the ACT and turned him into the leading flyhalf in world rugby during his reign as Brumbies and Wallabies coach.

Having made his Wallabies debut on the wing in 1996, Larkham was an ungainly looking athlete, nicknamed “Bernie” by his teammates for his very quiet nature, akin to the ubiquitous corpse in Weekend at Bernie’s.

His light, physical stature belied a deceptive turn of pace, great footwork, and sublime passing skills that allowed Larkham to ghost through a defensive line and put his hard running centres and outside backs through the smallest of holes.

Not known for his goal kicking or length off the boot, Larkham did famously pull off an amazing 48m drop goal to remove South Africa from the 1999 Semi Final in extra time. He’d never kicked a drop goal before at any level, had a bung knee, and poor eyesight so he could hardly see the posts at that range!

A pretty calm and confident head on slight shoulders was Australia’s Stephen Larkham, and he forged a great partnership with his Brumbies teammate George Gregan during the Wallabies’ golden years.

Despite not being a top tier place or drop kick exponent, Bernie was an exceptional short tactical kicker supported by a very good kicking back three who worked as a unit, all with very good game awareness and an ability to identify an opponent’s weakness or lack of positioning.

Larkham was a reliable, but unremarkable, defender and was lucky enough to have several fantastic backrowers to handle some of the heavy forward traffic thrown into his channel. Larkham had a bad run of leg and arm injuries that eventually took their toll, a knee injury at the 2007 Rugby World Cup effectively ending his Test career.

Jonny Wilkinson – England (1998-2011)

That man who shattered Australian hearts in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final in extra time with that infamous drop goal.

Wilkinson made his debut as a replacement winger for England at only 18 in 1998 and was a superb, well-rounded flyhalf who epitomised professionalism and dedication to his craft.

Wilko’s kicking game was his key strength, both out of hand and off the tee. It was the oil that kept the England machine ticking over and saw them dominate world rugby between Rugby World Cups until they were outkicked and outsmarted by Jake White’s Springboks and their lineout in the 2007 final.

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That World Cup sealed the decline of England’s previous dominance and also triggered the soul-searching in New Zealand that would lead to Henry’s reappointment and comprehensive rugby review. This ultimately led New Zealand on a path to the next two Rugby World Cup trophies.

Jonny was also a superb defender and a very rare breed of flyhalf who could generate pressure from his aggressive tackling – Butch James was another one, but not quite in Wilko’s all-around class.

Wilkinson was a fearless defender and extremely tough too when on the receiving end of a hit. I watched him almost get cut in half by the Samoan hitman Brian Lima, ‘The Chiropractor’, in a 2003 pool game, but Jonny shrugged it off and got stuck back in to steer England to a good victory in what could easily have been a banana skin game against a fired up Samoan team.

Wilko’s calmness under pressure and ability to ensure England played in the right areas of the field through astute kicking took a lot of pressure off his running and passing game, which were not exceptional but still of a high quality.

Wilkinson had a horrible run of injuries from 2003-2008, missing a huge amount of rugby, but still holds the record for highest number of points in the Six Nations and managed to accumulate the highest number of Test points by an individual during the twilight of his career, a record he took off Neil Jenkins.

It was a title also he eventually lost to Dan Carter in 2011.

Dan Carter – All Blacks (2003-2015)

Carter debuted off the bench for the All Blacks at 21 years of age in 2003, but was caught behind Carlos Spencer in the New Zealand flyhalf pecking order.

It wasn’t until the 2004 Spring Tour that he became the first choice for the famed black No. 10 jersey, a position he had a mortgage on whenever physically fit until his retirement in 2015.

Dan Carter was, in my opinion, the complete Test flyhalf package. A superb athlete, intelligent, calm, he possessed a deadly running and kicking game with an uncanny ability to identify space.

He had the sniper-like accuracy of Wilkinson off the kicking tee and his drop-kicking control became instrumental in how the All Blacks reinvented rugby restarts.

Carter could also run the ball like an outside back, his speed and footwork were surgical and he was a constant threat with ball in hand. Carter’s passing game is often underestimated but his long ball either side was just as effective as Larkham’s in his hay day.

Defensively, Dan Carter was very solid, using his speed, core strength and footwork to good advantage. His tackle effectiveness throughout his very long career was close to on par with Wilkinson’s and, like Jonny in 2003, he had the defensive benefits of fast and physical backrowers on his team at both of his Rugby World Cups.

Dan Carter was a key cog in the All Blacks machine. (AFP/Marty Melville)

He was unlucky to be injured in the Rugby World Cup 2011 before a pool game against Canada and missed the rest of the tournament, but rebounded strongly to be one of the All Blacks’ most influential players in the 2015 cup.

He was named man of the match in the final against Australia that year and holds the record for most Test points by an individual – over 1500 and well clear of Wilkinson – averaging over 16 points per Test over his international career.

Carter has never lost a Bledisloe Cup and was named International Rugby Board player of the year three times.

An interesting fact is that, while at Christchurch Boys High School, Carter was the second choice flyhalf for the combined South Island Schools team, behind a certain Brendon McCullum!

Verdict

In my opinion, all three were incredible flyhalves, probably all peaking at the time their teams won a Rugby World Cup, and they were each the best in their position in the world.

Larkham was eventually overthrown by Wilkinson, and in turn Carter took the mantle from Jonny Wilkinson. But for me, the lad from the South Island possesses all the strengths across the board, matching the best facets of Wilko’s and Bernie’s games while exceeding them in their lesser skills.

He had the benefit of an exceptional All Blacks team for most of his career, but his individual contributions from a points perspective within that wonderful structure cannot be overlooked.

Dan Carter and his ability to execute the entire range of flyhalf skills to a consistently excellent standard under enormous pressure make him a very hard guy for the All Blacks to replace and continue their dominance towards the 2019 Rugby World Cup.