Who is the best Winger of all time?

Lets just imagine for a minute that you are on the defending team and the ball has gone wide.

Who would you least like to be bearing down on you and why?

Who is the greatest winger of all time?

Let me hear your thoughts.....

(once again let me know if I have missed anyone obvious)

Ive gone for Lomu.
The speed and strength he has is awesome.
If he was running towards me i would probs step aside and let him passed instead of being flattened by him.

Heres a few highlights of him on Youtube Click Here

I was tempted to put Nigel Walker in there from Wales

A legend at the dry cleaners for Wales (as in he never needed to wash his kit as he never made a tackle!)

When i was younger and watched jason robinson play i always used to think he was awesome, ridiculously quick! He has my vote.

I've gone for Jonah Lomu.........great video YI,

Solerina

Erm what is Heymans doing on that list? Not even the best current French winger (that would be Vincent Clerc). Also wasn't Jeff Wilson primarily a ful-back?

Anyway, hard to look past Lomu really, he had great speed and stregth and would intimidate the opposition so much. Amazing athlete.

Campese would be second, very very good player, tremendous record.

I have gone for Williams for the very reason he is completely the wrong shape for a modern day wing. Yet he still has an unbelievable scoring record. He will be missed for Wales.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Also wasn't Jeff Wilson primarily a ful-back?

I remember Jeff Wilson as a winger though I think he did convert to a full back later in his career

I went for Habana, Lomu would have been my pick but hard to pick someone who despite being a Force of Nature, never played a part in a world cup winning team.

Habana or Robinson on that list.

The reason I discounted Lomu was due to such a short international career.

There is no doubt that if he hadnt got ill, he would have been one of, if not THE best winger ever.

I met him once and he was a very nice guy (I went to the ITV launch of the last World cup coverage).

Voted Robinson, just got my vote ahead of Lomu. Caucau could have been up there too if he could have got his head together and realised his potential.

Williams, a wingers job is to score trys. Shane is the 3rd highest try scorer, and did it while playing for a mediocre welsh team - unlike Campese.

Hobo wrote:Lets just imagine for a minute that you are on the defending team and the ball has gone wide.

Who would you least like to be bearing down on you and why?

Equally, if I was in posession who would I least like to be waiting to stop me..

Hobo wrote:(once again let me know if I have missed anyone obvious)

Simon Geoghegan, for the above reason. Could defend as well as he could attack. Played for the most negative Irish team ever and rarely got a chance to shine. But when he did, oh, but when he did...

Who is the best winger of all time?

TOMMY BOWE!!!

Ah no, I thought you said the best lookin'

I went for Campese.

Lomu was a flash in the pan really.
Played terribly in the test series against France prior to the 1995 world cup, then did well in the world cup against the 4 British sides. Up until Lomu all teams assumed you had to be small and nippy to be a winger, anyone over 6 foot and athletic was a flanker or centre. Lomu caught everyone off guard in that respect. Tiny little men like Geoghegan (Ireland), Tony Underwood (England), Wayne Proctor (Wales) and Logan (Scotland) had no chance against him.

If it's dealing with the hand you've been dealt, it has to be Shane. Lomu probably underachieved given his physical prowess. When Pienaar did a number on him in the 95 final, :spank: he had no answer. You back Shane into a corner and that's when you're likely to see his best.

SHANE WILLIAMS THE GREATEST WINGER OF ALL TIME???!?!?!!!??!!? everyone except heymans is better than him on that list. Can you imagine what would happen if he came up against lomu.

Yeah, Shane would go one way, then the other and Lomu would be on the floor wondering where he'd gone...Lomu never scored against Wales so wouldn't bew a problem defense wise...

mckay1402 wrote:Yeah, Shane would go one way, then the other and Lomu would be on the floor wondering where he'd gone...Lomu never scored against Wales so wouldn't bew a problem defense wise...

But im not sure lomu and williams ever shared the same pitch.

They must have done when Lomu was at Cardiff surely...

Laughable! Sorry one and all. Shane Williams on 29% while Jeff Wilson is on 0% and Caucau gets 2%? Oh dear.

Caucau for me with Wilson a close second. Wilson was pretty much the complete winger and Caucau was simply unreal - built like a prop, serious afterburner and a wonderful step. Shame he let himself go.

Check out these links for some Caucau magic (sorry for the quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6qdM6O26CY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjFSSSHPKn0

Wilson for me - followed by (yes, seriously) Shane Williams.

Caucau was amazing at his best, had all the physical attributes and no little skill too, but he DID let himself go and part of being the greatest is doing it for as long as your career allows.

ML wrote:...Caucau was amazing at his best, had all the physical attributes and no little skill too, but he DID let himself go and part of being the greatest is doing it for as long as your career allows.

True. Still given Hobo's "Who would you least like to be bearing down on you and why?", it'd have to be Caucau for me. He could step me, simply burn on by or run right over the top - all of which would be 5 points!


Much as I wish he'd keep his feet in his mouth, I'd have to rate Campo at the top and yet he's only garnered 11%.

Just out of interest, no JJ Williams or Ieuan Evans? Evans was a diamond amongst a lot of dirt trackers for much of his career and yet he was still pretty prolific.

navyblueshorts wrote:
Just out of interest, no JJ Williams or Ieuan Evans? Evans was a diamond amongst a lot of dirt trackers for much of his career and yet he was still pretty prolific.

True - both far better wingers than Rory Underwood or Daisuke Ohata. I have never understood why the latter gets included in lists such as these - yes he has scored a hatfull of tries - but mostly against woefully limited opposition.

i cant believe Joe Roff didn't make the list either.

Jeff Wilson could do it all. And did. For a number of years. He retired from all rugby pretty much at his peak when he wasn't in real danger from losing his position. He didn't go overseas to cash in either so all respect to him. He played rugby because he loved it. Also the first (along with Josh Kronfield) to sign the first professional contracts the the NZRU when rugby almost got hijacked by Murdoch. Who knows what would have happened to international rugby if those two hadn't led the way.

Marcel Garvey just tweeted to say he would vote for Doug Howlett.

Thanks Marcel

For me it is Campese, such a brilliant record and very difficult to tackle. He wasnt too bad in defence either. Those slating Shame Williams, should try to understand that he is one of the most attacking wingers the game has seen.

Paul Diggin (Northampton Wing) tweeted Lomu as well.