Favourites vs Home Favourites

Ok the rules are simple. Pick players from any era from outside your nation to make up a favourites team. These don´t have to be the best players ever but players you grew up watching and took a shine to or players you feel have slipped under the radar or players you thought to be utter legends of the game that you idolised. Then choose players from your own nation to match up against them.

FAVOURITES

15. Serge Blanco For some reason I grew up as a francophile. Maybe Akaroa - a French settlement - was near my home town of Christchurch. For whatever reason, I love watching France play right from when I was a kid. Sure back then you had amusing names like Jean Condom (was his middle name Claude?) but there was nothing amusing about Blanco. More amazing. Such grace and power. Gavin Hastings is a close second but Serge was the man for me.

14. Emile Ntamack I can´t put my finger on why this player stands out for me. But I thought he was very underrated. Such a silky runner and deceptively quick. Selfishly gave the last pass in l'essai de l'autre bout du monde (the try from the other end of the world) and the first man to lift the Heineken Cup.

13. Jacques Fourie This guy is a rock in defence and often doesn´t get his due plaudits but he has a nose for the tryline and is such a strong guy who is able to bust tackles and link up well with his support. If only the Boks played like the Stormers can sometimes.

12. Tim Horan What was not to like about this player? I remember that impressive Australian side full of stars like his centre partner Jason Little or Joe Roff. But this guy was pure class and though we lost plenty against his side, you never stopped marveling at how well he played.

11. David Campese I like guys who are unpredictable. With Campo, he was capable of brilliance and capable of self-destruction. Maybe Quade Cooper gets talked about in those terms but Campo was capable of such brilliance that no matter what he did wrong you always seemed to end up thinking about the brilliant things. Caucau gave some wonderful cameos but Campese had the long illustrious career.

10. Gregor Townsend Not the most adept of flyhalves but I have a lot of sympathy for running first fives (yes that´s what we call them, get over it! SA have 6 on their open sides. If we were all the same then the world would be a boring place and sex would be very creepy). How Scotland could do with his services now!

9. Joost van der Westhuizen Scary eyes and scarier snipes down the sideline. A quick pass and a great assessor of options. A kick over the cover defence, a run down the short side, or head down and bust through the cover. He caused NZ plenty of headaches but you always wished he was on your side. Sorry to hear of his illness. Pichot was a close second for me for his leadership.

8. Sergio Parisse I´m not a fan of pink but this is a player you sometimes wish his Italian blue were a different colour. Like Black for example. Or any good side just to see how good the guy really is.

7. Neil Back Not the biggest guy by any means but certainly the biggest nuisance. Got himself where he shouldn´t have been and part of a terrifyingly effective pack.

6. Thierry Dusatoir This guy has been a one man wrecking machine for NZ. But you have to tip your head at someone who can have so much influence on a game. 2007 and 2011 RWC were almost like one-man shows such was his contribution to bruising defence. Anyone that can have such an influence on a game makes you sit up and notice.

5. Bakkies Botha The pantomine villain easy to hate but his partnership with Victor Matfield has to be one of the most if not the most effective locking partnerships ever. The Boks for me are about intimidation and brute force and no one sums that up better than Botha. Makes you want to run up stairs to the Rocky theme tune and biff the closest person who mocks that grey tracksuit and those fingerless gloves.

4. Nobody or John Eales This guy was a lanky ungainly looking guy. But he kicked the winning penalty goal, he reigned supreme in the lineout and he developed such a name for himself in NZ as the guy whose team was impossible to beat. Plus a nice guy so difficult to hate the guy who inflicted so much damage on my beloved team.

3. Jason Leonard Any front row forward with that many games to the name has to be not only good but an absolute animal. I remember talking to him in a gym in Richmond and saying how much of a muppet he thought a particular sports writer was. As if I needed any other reason to like the guy!

2. Keith Wood The guy was an Energizer Bunny on speed. He often forgot he was a hooker, that he really was on the field and not in a Playstation game on turbo, and did things you didn´t really see from other players. You sometimes thought he wanted to take on the entire opposition and not just in rugby. A fist fight, a game of speed chess simultaneously with all 15 players. He made me tired sitting in my armchair watching the guy.

1. Adam Jones This guy looked like he had been shepherding in a Welsh valley for too long and had taken after one of his flock. Then you saw the destructive force in the scrums and in the tight and you thought you better keep that thought to yourself and wish him the best of luck in the game.

Reserves: In BOD we trust. In his prime such a handful. So much pace, like a loose forward on defence and so much power. Pure class.
Bring on Wilkinson who could bang over a goal from anywhere and a nice lad to boot (excuse the pun)
George Gregan looked like a stick of Rexona Sport. That tackle on Goldie still haunts me as did for a lot of years 4 more years.
Jason White. Not a name you associate with the greats but a player I always enjoyed watching who could be a positive destructive force in a team more used to self-destruction.
Sebastian Chabal Not so much for his rugby but for what you thought he might do. The Rasputin of rugby, he could make children eat their brussel spouts, just get the scary man away from me Mummy!
Os du Randt Bung him on either side, get him stuck into a ruck or a scrum and enjoy the show.

HOME FAVOURITES

15. Christian Cullen Watching him in sevens, watching him in the ABs, watching him for Wellington. It was like an endless youtube video highlights package. One of the most breathtaking runners of rugby ever to grace the game.

14. Goldie or Jeff Wilson. The complete player. He could kick, could step off both feet and he could even hit the winning runs against Australia in a one day cricket match. He often said he valued space because he didn´t want to be tackled. Now we see so many players looking for contact rather than finding ways to avoid it.

13. Smoking Joe Stanley Maybe it was the upturned collar, maybe it was the nickname. But this guy was cooler than Lou Reed growing up for me.

12 Walter Little. Along with Frank Bunce, this guy was the other centre in one of our best centre partnerships ever. He could kick, he could pass, he could find space with his speed and step. He made North Harbour one of the exciting teams to watch in a time when my own Canterbury had the likes of Steve Cleeve and Shayne Philpott and sucked the kumara.

11 Jonah Lomu Not the most complete player by any stretch. Slow to turn back but such an unstoppable force going forward. It was like having a robot on your team and the other team didn´t realise you had a secret weapon. Did things no other player could and the shame with his condition we never got to see him in his full prime. Glad to see he got out of hospital recently.

10 Andrew Merthens. We´ve had our fair share of AB first fives. This one is not the complete player Carter is but he was a great servant for Canterbury and AB rugby. One of my favourite memories of him was putting in a crashing tackle (yes it did happen) and then get up with an expression on his face that said yeah I am the man and you better stay down on the ground and worship me. A character off the field as well with a dry sense of humour.

9. Graeme Bachop One of the most underrated ABs. We would do well to have someone like him at halfback. Such a swift pass, defended like a loose forward and knew how to exploit the short side.

8. Zinzan Brooke. Thought he was a show pony back trapped in a forward´s body. Wanted the world to see that trapped boy inside him. Outrageous long distance drop goals, any excuse to do a fancy pass. I remember I used to call him Robocop as there was a period where he used to swathe his head in bandages and actually seemed to play better when he came back on the field.

7. Michael Jones. Josh Kronfeld could surf but Michael Jones could fly. Oh no that was Michael Jordan. Michael Jones seemed to glide through a rugby field. Such speed. He was a devout Christian that firmly believed it was better to give than to receive. He certainly proved that on the rugby field.

6. Jerry Collins. This was a guy that just loved rugby. Would play for his club if he wasn´t allowed to play for his province or country. I admired his love of the game. Any guy who tries to deliberately lose some of his guns whilst the rest of us are trying to build our biceps up into something respectable says it all. Such a destructive force and was such a nice guy he even once watered the ground so the groundsman didn´t have to bother later.

5. Colin Meads Pinetree was before my time. But I´ve seen plenty of videos of him running down a field with a rugby ball in one hand as if it were a pine cone. Maybe that´s why he´s called Pinetree. More like Kauri though. The Tanemahuta of AB rugby.

4. The Kamo Kid or Ian Jones. Back in the day when you had to jump for a lineout this kid saved our back many a time. Such a gifted jumper you wonder how many modern players would fare in that era.

3. Olo Brown The Silent Assassin, a back so straight in the scrum you could eat a halftime orange off of it.

2. Sean Fitzpatrick The man everyone hated (even within NZ south of the Bombay Hills) but who everyone wanted in their team at the same time. A wise one in the dark arts he took his punishment though when he was found on the wrong side of the ruck back in the days of rucking. Why did that have to go?! OK technically you´re still allowed to but anyone seen lifting a sprig in anger seems to get the whistle now even if the intent is to get the ball rather than scrape a skin handbag off a player.

1. Steve McDowell A judo champ as well as an AB RWC winner. He was a rock in the pack as well as the enforcer. Responsible in part for many humiliations of the Canterbury side, he was nonetheless a hero to me growing up.

Reserves: Glen Osborne. A gangly looking kid but super quick and part of a wonderful 1995 RWC side.
Carlos Spencer: Why not bring on some half time entertainment?
Syd Going Would love to see how the little whippet would do with the big boys of the modern era bearing down on him.
Jerome Kaino: Didn´t think anyone could hit harder than Jerry Collins
Brad Thorn Learnt his new craft and became a stalwart of the team. Put the P in Professional. Makes no sense but that´s what he did anyway.
Kees Meuws Won me so much money on the TAB for a substitute try it beggars belief. Supersub. More like SuperMoneySpinner!

I predict a narrow victory to the Favourites. Goldie to run for the line in the dying minutes and George Gregan to make another tackle to force the ball free. He then taunts the Home Favourites side with chants of Until the next hypothetical match up someone dreams up to which Glen Osborne replies: ´what´s hypothetical?

Serge - merde
Campo- loved to hate him
Sella - ooh la la
Guscott - The Prince
Jonah - The King
Dominguez - ahead of his time, metronomic kicker
Joost - set the benchmark for the modern 9
Parisse - the class 8 in world rugby, if only he was welsh
Hill - notoriously thrifty and quietly lethal
Jean Pierre Rives - the hardest man in rugby. Fact
Eales - none better at the lineout
Matfield - except him
Leonard - a rock
Wood - greatest all round rugby playing front row forward ever
Loe - gulp

vs

JPR - nuts
Gerald davies - nuff said
gibbs - unstoppable and deft
Roberts - unstoppable and blunt
Shane - a small man with magical ffet
Jiffy - great on the break
Gareth Edwards - still the best 9 in history
Mervyn Davies - awesome
Charvis - try scoring nut job
Warburton - the future, great tackler
Norster - lineout exponent
Charteris - from zero to hero for me, plays his heart out
Jenkins - a la Keith Wood
Windsor - gulp
Price - crouch touch pau - feck off!

I would have paid a lot to see that match!

Foreign Favorites
1 Nick Popplewell
2 Keith Wood
3 Carl Hayman
4 Norm hadley - Monstrous Canadian Powerhouse.
5 Simon Shaw
6 Pat Lam
7 Michael Jones
8 Buck Shelford

9 Gary Armstrong
10 Carlos Spencer
11 Jonah Lomu
12 Brian Lima
13 Inga Tuigamala
14 Caucau
15 Serge Blanco

Home favorites
1 Jason Leonard
2 Brian Moore
3 Phil Vickery
4 Wade Dooley
5 Ben Kay
6 Tim Robder
7 Richard Hill
8 Dean Richards

9 Austin Healy
10 Mike Catt
11 Rory Underwood
12 Will Greenwood
13 Gerry Guscott
14 David Duckham
15 Jason Robinson

Ah man.... foreign favorites....i forgot Simon Geoghan (sp)...now that boy could play rugby....

Nice guys. Richard Hill could cover the entire backrow.

Faletau could well be a player for the future. Such a mature performance from a young lad.

I think the problem is Kia, is that people pick the best players rather than their favorites....and favorites dont necessarily mean the best players....ive probably been guilty of that aswell to a degree...

Ill change mine to make it my actual favorites....

Well to be fair sometimes your favourites are the best. I´d have more Canterbury players though if it were the best for NZ.

indeed....

Ok mines changed...more my favourite players....

I love this thread! Here's my choices:

15. Gavin Hastings A right pain in the backside for most teams that faced him!
14. Jeff Wilson. Looked like Mika Hakkinen and could run almost as fast...
13. Tim Horan Amazing player.
12. Scott Gibbs. Just because he is a very fast prop
11. James Small. Don't know why, just liked him. Had a bit of "dog" in him.
10. Carlos Spencer. Sublime skills. And with Hastings to kick the goals he can be as creative as he likes!
9. Morgan Parra. Superb little scrum half.
1. Craig Dowd. An utter animal with size, power and deft hands. What's not to like?
2. Rafael Ibanez. The gnarled warrior you'd need at hooker.
3. Os Du Rant. Let's face it - you'd rather have him on your side than not!
4. John Eales. Sickeningly good at everything.
5. Kobus Wiese. An ugly, brutal ox of a player. Adds significant bulk!
6. Olivier Magne. I loved watching this guy play!
7. Josh Kronfeld. Superb player, great on the floor and everywhere in support.
8. Zinzan Brooke. Dropped a goal from almost the halfway line amongst other things. Just great.

And my home team:

15. Ben Foden. Cracking player, love the way he plays. Nice girlfriend too!
14. Dan Luger. Could have had more caps but for my other winger...
13. Nick Greenstock - simply because he looked like my mate Ian. Underrated, never got the chances he deserved.
12. Will Greenwood. Great rugby brain, great try-scorer and he looks like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. What's not to like??!
11. Jason Robinson. That jinking sidestep followed by the amazing pace. Need I say more?
10. Danny Cipriani. Controversial, but when he's on form there is little to touch him. I wish he'd just forget the tabloids and concentrate on the rugby though.
9. Matt Dawson. IMO England's best scrum half by a country mile.
1. Jason Leonard. 114 International Caps at the coalface; oh and he'd destroy most of today's props on reputation alone!
2. Phil Greening. Fantastic Mobile hooker who was unlucky with injuries. Plus it was always entertaining to see his bandaged ear!
3. Phil Vickery. A complete bear of a man.
4. Simon Shaw. Mr Shaw should have had 100+ caps by now were it not for SCW thinking he was too heavy to be lifted.
5. Martin Bayfield. Simply for being a taller replacement for Wade Dooley!!
6. Tim Rodber. Immaculately turned out Army officer the size of a small building. An example as to how rugby should be played.
7. Peter Winterbottom. One of the hardest men ever to play English rugby; why can't we find a proper 7 like him now?
8. Lawrence Dallaglio. A natural born leader and a man you would happily follow into the trenches. Just don't upset him!

Ah mr Bounce...

I was close to including Kobus aswell...tough as old boots that guy....

And glad to see im not the only Rodber fan....the guy was immense...

Magne, Kobus, Ibanez Winterbottom you unearthed some good ones there Mr Bounce. Could even be a favourites name team.

Yeah I remember watching old Kobus absolutely flatten someone once and thought "He's worth watching". Big as a bus and much much angrier

Yeah some good un's...i was very close to picking Winterbottom aswell....real England favorite alright....tough as nails aswell....but i actually forgot about Shaw....who defo should have had more caps than he got...top top player...we could do with a 25 yr old Shaw now!

One of my favourite England players was Josh Lewsey. Didn´t have the natural talent of Jason Robinson for example but was super consistent for England.

Ah Kia...and dont forget THAT tackle on Rodgers....ha ha

Ah Matt Rodgers. Haven´t heard that name in a while. Thought you meant Buck Rogers there for a while.

Like Lote Tuiquiri. There used to be a time when league took away rugby players. Now there´s a fair few coming the other way. Brad Thorn and Jason Robinson stand out as the most successful league imports for me.

Crikey Kia you must be praying to the same rugby gods as me.
Favourites - Home Favourites
Hastings - Cullen
Robinson - Wilson
Guscott - Stanley
Horan - Little
Campese - Tuiagamala (better haka than Lomu)
Lynah - Merhtens
Joost - Bachop
Dallaglio - Brooke
Smith - Jones
Piennar - Collins
Pelous - Jones
Eales - Pinetree
Os Du Rant - McDowell
Kearns - Fitzy
Noriega - Brown

Home favourites

1 Clohessey
2 Wood
3 Wallace
4 Fultcher
5 O'Connell
6 Wallace
7 Corkery
8 Foley

9 Bradley
10 Keys
11 Geoghegan
12 Bell - loved this guy
13 Mullin
14 Horgan
15 O'Shea

Foreign favs

Hvent really got a 15 I would say as favourites, but do/did like.

Francois Piennar
Sean Fitzpatrick
Adam Kleeberger
Christian Cullen
Clyde Rathbone
Cameron Murray
Xavier Garbajosa
Jonah Lomu

to name a few.

Serge - Pure class
Campo- Marmite
Sella - Lets see what he does to France now!!!!
Greenwood - Always destroyed us
Kirwan - Just loved watching him
Merhtens - metronomic
Joost - Class in prime

Shelford - Monster
M Jones - ahead of his time and would be class today
Jean Pierre Rives - complete nutter
Eales - class
Jonno- true leader
Leonard - the funbus is complete legend
Wood - best non welsh hooker
Loe

vs

JPR - nuts
Gerald - pure gent and pure class
Bateman - shame his best years were lost to league
Gibbs - unstoppable with soft hands
Shane - proof small cam make it in the big world
Benny
Gareth Edwards - still no one to match him

Mervyn Davies - awesome
Morris - hard as nails
Warburton - the future
Norster - our last truly great world class 2nd row
Wyatt - really believe he had it all pity liked his beer too much
Viet Gwent - Need I say more

Favourites:

15 Christian Cullen
14 Jason Robinson
13 Alan Bateman
12 Scott Gibbs
11 Joe Roff/ Jonah Lomu
10 Dan Carter / Filipe Contepomi
9 Rob Howley
8 Sergio Parisse
7 Ritchie McCaw / Neil Back
6 Sebastian Chabal
5 Martin Johnson
4 Brad Thorn / Victor Matfield
3 BJ Botha
2 Sean Fitzpatrick
1 Castrogiovanni

Home Favourites

15 Girvan Dempsey
14 Shane Horgan / Tommy Bowe
13 Brian O'Driscoll
12 Gordon D'arcy / Rob Henderson
11 Simon Geoghegan
10 Ronan O'Gara / David Humphreys
9 Isaac Boss
8 Jamie Heaslip/ Eric Millar
7 Sean O'Brien / David Wallace
6 Stephen Ferris / Neil Best / Alan Quinlan
5 Paul O'Connell
4 Malcolm O'Kelly / Jeremy Davidson
3 Paul Wallace
2 Keith Wood
1 John Hayes

Chabal should've had a few runouts as centre.... reckon he would've punched some holes

Ha ha he's not a great choice at 6 but I wanted to get the caveman in some where! He was always great to watch!

Foreign Favourites:
01 Gethin Jenkins
02 John Smit
03 Carl Hayman
04 Ali Williams
05 Victor Matfield
06 Serge Beston
07 George Smith
08 Joe van Niekerk
09 Fabien Galthier
10 Jonny Wilkinson
11 Jonah Lomu
12 Tana Umaga
13 Conrad Smith
14 Drew Mitchell
15 Mils Muliania

Home Favourites:
01 Peter Clohessy
02 Keith Wood
03 John Hayes
04 Malcolm O'Kelly
05 Paul O'Connell
06 Sean O'Brien
07 David Wallace
08 Anthony Foley
09 Peter Stringer
10 Ronan O'Gara
11 Denis Hickie
12 Rob Henderson
13 Brian O'Driscoll
14 Shane Horgan
15 Girvan Dempsey

Gee Stag you think you could have got a tolken Ulster man in there! What about Paddy Wallace?

The Ulstermen that came close - David Humphreys, Stephen Ferri,s Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble.

Humphreys would be my second choice 10

Stag it was a joke, chillax, good teams .

Surprised no Quinlan though?

I'm not that big a Quinlan fan to be honest. He's grand and all but I think that he has a bit too big a cult status.

I see he is working for Sky now. Imagine Stuart Barnes (his #1 fan) fawning all over him.

Really stag? I think he was an awesome player. The perfect no 6 and one of the best Irish players of his generation. The easterbunny was a good and underrated player but Quinlan was better IMO, a real hard man. Closest thing we had to Richard Hill.

At 6 I'd definitely have Ferris and O'Brien ahead of him. Its a toss up with Easterby.

Nah he's a far better 6 than SOB, he'd take SOB back to school in that position. Clearly Ferris being an Ulsterman is better than both....

I always thought Munster played a 7 at 6 (Quinlan), a 6 at 8 (Leamy) and an 8 at 7 (Wallace)

We like to confuse the opposition that way

I find it interesting you Irish boys pick ROG but we Kiwis don´t pick someone like Fox or Carter who have won us plenty of games. Merths is my fave because you imagine sitting down to have a beer with him would be a lark. He´d have plenty of funny stories. Yet someone like Fitzpatrick is my fave simply because he was the man and one of our best captains ever. But it was a game of two halves, full credit to both teams the guy was a walking cliche in post match conferences. Richie has emulated Fitzpatrick´s record yet there´s not many I know who would pick him over Jones. Shame, as he´s a good Canterbury lad.

But seeing the teams people have put, favourites are indeed a mixture of characters, legends and people who added something special to the game.

Kia to tell the truth I'd have went for the Humph but those one eye Munster boys would have slaughtered me....

No it's hard not to go for ROG, he's been so fundimental to so many great days for Irish rugby. Humph and Sexton maybe played better stuff with the ball in hand but when the chips were down ROG has pulled it out of the bag so many times for Munster and Ireland.

Strong Leinster / France bias, but sure

Foreign Favourites:
01 Ollie Le Roux
02 Fabian Ibanez
03 Stan Wright
04 Bakkies Botha
05 Fabien Pelous
06 Rocky Elsom
07 George Smith
08 Imanol Harinordoquy
09 Dimitri Yashvilli
10 Dan Carter
11 Shane Williams
12 Yannick Jauzion
13 Conrad Smith
14 Cedric Heymans
15 Isa Nacewa

Home Favourites:01 Peter Clohessy
02 Keith Wood
03 John Hayes
04 Malcolm O'Kelly
05 Paul O'Connell
06 Stephen Ferris
07 David Wallace
08 Anthony Foley
09 Peter Stringer
10 Ronan O'Gara
11 Denis Hickie
12 Gordon Darcy
13 Brian O'Driscoll
14 Shane Horgan
15 Girvan Dempsey

My FAVOURITES although no necessarily the best/greatest

OTHER FAVOURITES
15 – Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
14 – Takudzwa Ngwenya (USA)
13 – David ‘Dai’ Duckham (England)
12 – Mike Gibson (Ireland)
11 – Jonah Lumu (New Zealand)
10 – Mark Ella (Australia)
9 - Alessanandro Troncon (Italy)
1 – Davit Zirakashvili (Georgia)
2 – Mario Ledesma (Argentina)
3 – Paulica Ion (Romania)
4 – John ‘Nobody’ Eales (Australia)
5 – Gordon Brown (Scotland)
6 – Thierry Dusattoir (France)
7 – Jacques Burger (Namibia)
8 – Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford (New Zealand)

HOME FAVOURITES
15 – JPR (London Welsh, Bridgend, Tondu)
14 – Gerald Davies (Llanelli, Cardiff, London Welsh))
13 – Ray Gravell (Llanelli)
12 – Scott Gibbs (Neath, Swansea, Ospreys)
11 – Shane Williams (Neath, Ospreys)
10 – Arwel Thomas ( Neath, Swansea, Bristol, Pau Llandovery, Harlequins )
9 – Michael ‘L’ Griffiths (Neyland , Bridgend, Llanelli)
1 – Barry Llewellyn (Newport)
2 – Bobby “The Duke” Windsor (Cross Keys, Pontypool)
3 – Adam “Hairbear” Jones (Neath, Ospreys)
4 – Geoff Wheel (Swansea)
5 – Delme Thomas (Llanelli)
6 – Dai “The Shadow” Morris (Penarth, Neath, Ebbw Vale)
7 – Sam “Bread of 7 “Warburton (Blues)
8 – Merv ‘The Swerve’ Davies (London Welsh, Swansea)

Nice blend of international players there in the last two posts. Good work. I used to love watching Yamaha play for Japan. Back in 1995 they had none of the imports they have now and looked to be so tiny. But they zipped around like angry wasps and watching them was compelling. Fiji is renowned for its sevens side and they used to play the fifteens version of rugby as if it were sevens. Delesau was a favourite as well but the pace and power they have made you think they were freaks of nature. Maybe players like ROG and Merths made you believe that you could do what they do, regardless of how absurd that seems as they were kicking machines. But their defensive frailties made you look upon them as more human and therefore more likeable.

Overseas favourites:
15. Serge Blanco (FRA)
14. Christophe Dominici (FRA)
13. Brian O'Driscoll (IRL)
12. Matt Giteau (AUS) - he missed a single kick at Murrayfield.
11. Shane Williams (WAL) - broke my heart in 2010, but you can't deny his genius.
10. Christophe Lamaison (FRA)
9. Matt Dawson (ENG) - the acceptable face of English rugby
8. Lawrence Dallaglio (ENG)
7. Olivier Magne (FRA)
6. Francois Pienaar (SA) - my first real memory of rugby was the 1995 final, and we'll all forever associate him with it.
5. Fabien Pelous (FRA)
4. Paul O'Connell (IRL)
3. John Hayes (IRL) - it's great to see a prop weep like a little girl. I know I'd do the same.
2. Raphaël Ibañez (FRA) - looks and plays like Napoleon, and a pretty good pundit.
1. Tony Woodcock (NZ)- I like it that the only All-Black to score a try in the 2011 final was a prop.

Home Favourites
15. Chris Paterson - What can I say? What can any of us say?
14. Tony Stanger - for "that try"
13. Alan Tait - the only thing I admire about League...
12. John Leslie
11. Sean Lamont - Gives his all; you couldn't ask more of him.
10. Gregor Townsend - A fly-half with a running threat. Honestly, that's enough.
9. Gary Armstrong - Played my position during my formative years; definitely a cliche, but my brother and I used to watch videos of him to improve our technique. Honorable mention for Andy Nicol, for the image of him lifting the Calcutta Cup in that blood-stained shirt in 2000!
8. Simon Taylor - Scotland's most talented forward (of my generation, at least)
7. Martin Leslie - old twitchie
6. John Jeffrey
5. Doddie Weir
4. Nathan Hines - IMO, the best of our antipodean imports, and not to be trifled with.
3. Tom Smith - Double B&I Lion
2. Ross Ford
1. Al "Chunk" Jacobsen - looks like a pie, runs like a pudding. Probably my favorite forward of the current squad. Tough call ahead of David Sole

whoops sorry

15 Cullen
14 Kirwan
13 Sella
12 Castaignède
11 Campese
10 Ella
9 Catchpole
8 Shelford
7 M jones
6 Richard Hill
5 McBride
4 Matfield
3 Hayman
2 Sean Fitzpatrick
1 Macloughlin

vs

15 JPR
14 Gerald
13 Bleddyn Williams
12 John Dawes
11 Shane Williams
10 Barry John
9 Gareth
8 Merv
7 Martyn Williams
6 Dai Morris
5 Luke Charteris
4 Alun Martyn
3 Adam Jones
2 Bobby Windsor
1 Charlie Faulkner

Cullen
Howlett
Smith
Horan
Clerc
Larkham/Lynagh
Elissalde

Brooke
Smith
Jones
Pelous
Eales
Hayman
Fitzpatrick/Ibanez
Mas



Perry
Lewsey
Guscott
Greenwood
Robinson
Wilkinson
Bracken

Dallaglio
Back
Hill
Dooley
Johnson
Rowntree
Moore
Leonard

Only a young 'un so can't pick some of the greats of yesteryear but out of those I've seen play my choices would be:

FAVOURITES

15 Chris Latham- because he wore his socks down and wasn't too shabby a player. Always very loyal to Worcester over here when i'm sure he could have gone to bigger clubs.

14 Rupeni Caucau- brilliant on his day, even though he looked like a prop, shame that he's never made the most of his talents.

13 BOD - for staying at the peak for so long and constantly adjusting his game as he lost the pace he had when he first came onto the scene, it genuinely seems there is nothing he can't do.

12 Brian Lima - Mainly for that hit on Derrick Hougard in 2003. "That's a car accident."

11 Shane Williams- you can't help but admire the brillianc of his footwork and the way for a while he appeared to be the only source of creativity for Wales and the Ospreys

10 Carlos Spencer- Just for the sheer brilliance he was capable of producing even like his through the legs pass for rokocoko against SA in 03 or the chip backwards over his head for Saints. Nikki Little comes a close second

9 George Gregan- seemed to sum up what you want in a scrum half, irritating, annoying but ultimately very tough and competitive (Honourary mentions to Stringer and Troncon)

8 Sergio Parisse - for being a 1 man team

7 Serge Betsen- ruthless and disliked by many England fans for the way he went after Wilkinson in 2003 but I always respected his commitment which was evident from its impact on his looks. Jaques Burger also deserves a mention for much the same reasons.

6 Jerry Collins - Fearsome tackler and seemed to just love playing, always liked the story of him turning out for Barnstable 2nd XV while on holiday.

5 Paul O'Connel- pure passion and commitment

4 Fabien Pelous- always struck me as being a French version of Martin Johnson

3 Martin Castrogiovanni- a real character and its easy to see why he's such a crowd favourite at Tigers.

2 Keith Wood - a hooker has no right to be in as many places as he was, Schalk Brits another in a similar all-action mould.

1 Soane Tong'uiha- he's just a little bit frightening.

HOME FAVOURITES

15 Mike Catt- Plays fullback because of the centres i've already picked even though he didn't have his finest moments at fullback (the Lomu doormat incident springs to mind). Always seemed to enjoy playing his rugby and had amazing longevity as a player.

14 Jason Robinson- the most exciting player England have had since i've been watching rugby.

13 Will Greenwood- brilliant rugby brain, wish we had a centre like him now. Also not a bad pundit.

12 Manu Tuilagi- Shifted in one to accomodate Greenwood, already looks a brilliant prospect pace, power, fearsome tackling just needs to cut out his interests in other sports like swimming and boxing.

11 Josh Lewesy- hugely versatile and commited player, i was impressed by the way he came out of retirement to help wasps out when they were struggling with an injury crisis. Also gave Cipriani a much needed clip round the ear.

10 Andy Goode - "the tubby tiger" as Greenwood once described him. Not picked on talent but because he looked like he shouldn't have been playing rugby at all. The gloves, red cycling shorts and hair made him possibly one of the most odd looking players.

9 Matt Dawson - there was a temptation to pick Shaun Perry to form the most unfashionable halfback pairing imagineable but its Dawson that actually gets selected.

8 Martin Corry- Another unfashionable pick but he always gave 100% as captain even though he had the unenviable task of trying to follow Johnson for both club and country and was viewed by many as only holding the England captaincy till Wilkinson recovered from injury.

7 Neil Back - countered the trend of players getting bigger and bigger and was a constant thorn in the oppositions side. Could teach Richie McCaw lessons on cheating (and I mean that in the most complimentary way). The Hand of Back is perhaps the single most brilliant peice of cheating I've seen.

6 Lewis Moody - I have great respect for commited players and commitment doesn't come much more committed than Moody.

5 Martin Johnson - doesn't really need explanation

4 Simon Shaw- seems to have been playing forever and has been a great servant for Wasps and England

3 Graham Rowntree - because of his ears

2 Lee Mears- Because I've tackled him

1 Jason Leonard - so many caps in such a tough position deserves respect

Favourites

15. Monty - its the hair. admit it, you all loved it aswell.
14.O'connor - The guy could play anywhere he wanted, so naturally talented.
13.Fourie- thought he was a fatty for ages, until i actually paid attention to him in the build up to the lions. I take it back Jaques!
12.Berrick Barnes- My idea of an inside centre, skill over size.
11. Visser- I suppose this is cheating, but hes not scottish yet! Like Lomu with a bit more agility, or cullen with a bit more power. Creates and finishes, complete package in attack.
10.Larkham- For someone who wasnt even meant to be a flyhalf, he was the dogs Love sacks. Sublime floating passes while in full stride.
9.Du Preez- had everything. great pass, great box kick, great brain.
8.Harinordoquy- Such a skillfull player, and can perform any role asked of him.
7.Nyanga- totally underrated player, ignored entirely by lievremont, couldve been france's star for years by now. getting back to pre 07 form and should make a return to the french side.
6.Robshaw- Perfect foil to the flashier Harinordoquy and Nyanga. Tireless worker, always seems to put in 110%.
5.Eales- Nobody's perfect.
4.O'connell- but these two are pretty close
3.strangely, I dont actually have a favourite tighthead.
2.Wood- the fastest hooker until Brits
1.Jenkins- Had everything you could want in a prop and more.

home favourites.

15.Hastings
14.Stanger
13.Tait
12.Leslie
11.SLamont
10.Rutherford
9.Blair (in his prime)
8.Beattie (brief as it looks like his career is going to be)
7.Rennie
6.White
5.Weir
4.Murray
3.Murray
2.Ford
1.Chunk

When you're a Kiwi you end up with a decent match. As a Scot I'm not so sure.

1.Du Randt 2.Wood 3.Brown 4.Johnson 5.Pelous 6.Benazzi 7.McCaw 8.Parisse 9.V der V 10.Carter 11.Lomu 12.Horan 13.BOD 14.Wilson 15.Cullen

...and for the winning side:

1.Smith 2.Bulloch 3.E Murray 4.Weir 5.S Murray 6.White 7.Barclay 8.Taylor 9.Armstrong 10.Townsend 11.S Lamont 12.Leslie 13.Tait 14.T Evans 15.Hastings

Not sure I'd really want to watch that match.

AWAY FAVOURITES
1 Du Randt 2 Fitzy (c) 3 Loe 4 Eales 5 POC 6 Hill 7 Reeves 8 Harinordoquy 9 Edwards 10 Porta 11 Kirwan 12 Sella 13 Gerber 14 Campese 15 Blano

HOME FAVOURITES
1 Sole (c) 2 Deans 3 Milne 4 R Gray 5 Broon frae Troon 6 F Calder 7 JJ 8 Beattie Snr 9 Armstrong 10 Rutherford 11 Visser! 12 Renwick 13 Tait 14 Irvine 15 G Hastings

Thoughts: AWAY FORWARDS - Du Randt was like a block of concrete (altho one smashed by Gibbs!), Fitzy one of the hardest players ever to play the game, Low was simply a rock, Eales an incredible athlete, POC an inspirational leader (could have gone for Jonno here for the same reason), Hill a man that relished the work that nobody else would do, Jean-Pierre I never saw him come off the pitch unless he was pouring with blood, and HairyDonkey is an inspiration to any team he plays in. AWAY BACKS - Edwards had all the skills, Porta carried a nation for years, Kirwan had the ultimate nose for the line, Sella and Gerber inspired me, just wish I could've seen more of the latter, just loved Campese's cheeky attitude to the game, and Blanco ran with just so much grace.

HOME FORWARDS - Sole for his walk just ahead of Mighty Mouse, Deans narrowly pips Fordy for the injustice done to him on the Lions be Ciaran Fitzgerald, the Bear a short nose ahead of Tom Smith, both made from granite, Richie will become a star, Broon cos he was a proper old-fashioned player, Fin and JJ cos they worked in tandem to destroy England in 1990, and John Beattie cos I followed him at school. HOME BACKS - Armstrong was the ultimate border terrier, and John Rutherford simply gifted, MacVisser will become a legend for Scotland, Renwick combined skill and power, Tait achieved the ultimate in two codes, Irvine has to have a place in the team somwhere, and Big Gav, I have now forgiven you for missing that kick against England in 1991!

GeordieFalcon wrote:Ah man.... foreign favorites....i forgot Simon Geoghan (sp)...now that boy could play rugby....

He had the cartoon arms and legs, like Speedy Gonzales. Brilliant

Away Favs :

15. JPR Williams - A player good enough to force Andy Irvine out of the 15 shirt is a player worthy of being entered into my team at 15.
14. Lomu - Speed of an Olympic sprinter and the strength of an Olympic weightlifter.
13. BOD - Ever since he scored that try vs Oz in the 2001 Lions tour I knew he was something very special.
12. Jauzion - Powerful Game breaker.
11. S. Williams - Almost the complete opposite of Lomu but incredible agility.
10. Wilkinson - Sure there are probably more complete fly halves out there, Carter springs to mind. Wilko though is a physical tough fly half and more of my kind of player than Carter.
9. Gregan - One of the best Scrum halves to ever play the game.
8. Chabal - Big, strong and fast. I remember seeing him on the hoof in the mid 2000s thinking this is what Jesus would look like if they had gyms in Judea.
7. McCaw - Best ever openside. Nuff said
6. Pienaar - I know Invictus is just a movie but Pienaar's story and his comitment to the Boks whilst they were emerging from the aparthied era is a testiment to the bridges the sport we love can build. He also tackled well, what more do you need from a blindside?
5. MJ - Failed at the England job but led his team as Captain to WC victory and Captained the lions to a won over the Boks and was unlucky to have not beaten the Ozzies in 2001. I also really like the guy.
4. McBride - Phenomenal man on and off the pitch.
3. Castrogiovani - Probably the best prop in the northern hemisphere. A monster in the scrum and physical and abrasive in the loose.
2. Keith Wood - The 1997 lions DVD/Video inspired me to carry on playing rugby when I felt that I did not want it anymore. I was only 12 but seeing the Passion in Wood's face and voice as he talked it up before the test matches inspired me to dig deep and carry on. I seriously doubt he will ever read this (Keith Wood I mean) but if he does, thank you.
1. Gethin Jenkins - A prop who takles like him and works so hard in the loose is a rare thing.

Home Favs (Scotland)

1 Sole - Has to be, one of my 1st rugby memories at 6 years old was that walk out.
2 Ford - I think we are yet to see the best out of him.
3 Smith - Cornerstone of the Scottish and Lions pack for the best part of a decade.
4 Gray - See 2 above.
5 Brown - A particluarly personal one for me this. In the lead up to the Lions tour to South Africa in 2009 they had Geech, McBride and others talking about their tour in 1977 when they did not lose a match. One of the most touching moments in the series of programms shown on ESPN was McBride talking about his last conversation with Brown as he was dying of terminal cancer. McBride told him that everytime they had played in the 2nd row together they had never lost a match. McBride himself then went on to tell Brown he was the best player he ever played with. It was a lovely thing to see that was very similar to what I was going through at the time with a relative of mine, it made an impression.
6 White - Possibly the hardest tackler to ever play for Scotland.
7 Calder - A Scottish winning Lions captain (a very rare breed)
8 Taylor - Injuries robbed him of the player he could have been.

9 Blair - He was not nominated IRB player of the year for nothing. When the Darkest days of Scottish rugby were upon us Mike Blair was at his best, and it showed.
10 Townsend - What would we have done to have someone with his flair over the past 5 years?
11 T Evans - Far better player than a pundit.
12 Leslie - Big hitter and great with the ball in hand.
13 Tait - Fantastic running centre with pace, power and an eye for the try line.
14 Irvine - At home on the wing or at 15. Only JPR could keep him out of the 15 slot for the 1977 Lions tour and only big Gav can keep him out of it for my Home favs.
15 G Hastings - Apart from that shocking miss in that world cup in 1991, an unblemished career.... more or less. Fantastic with the boot and a dangerous and powerful runner

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:8. Chabal - Big, strong and fast. I remember seeing him on the hoof in the mid 2000s thinking this is what Jesus would look like if they had gyms in Judea.

Brilliant!

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:11 T Evans - Far better player than a pundit.

I'm a better player than Thom Evans is a pundit. How can someone who has had such a rich and varied life be so boring??