make the best team from the players you've seen play

So what would be the best team that you've seen play?

I've limited myself to players I've seen play live, but feel free to choose from your lifetime if you prefer

1 T Woodcock
2 J Smit
3 O Franks
4 B Thorn
5 V Matfield
6 M Jones
7 R McCaw ©
8 K Read
9 F Du Preez
10 D Carter (gk)
11 J Rokocoko
12 M Nonu
13 B O'Driscoll
14 B Habana
15 D Howlett

16 K Mealamu
17 N Mas
18 D Rossouw
19 T Dusautoir
20 W Genia
21 A Cruden
22 J O'Connor

Sir G Henry
S Hansen
W Smith

And just for fun I've assembled a B team too


1 C Healy
2 B Du Plessis
3 S Taumalolo
4 A Williams
5 B Botha
6 J Kaino
7 S Burger
8 I Harinordoquy
9 P Weepu
10 N Evans (gk)
11 D Ioane
12 S B Williams
13 C Smith ©
14 R Kahui
15 I Dagg

16 A Hore
17 J B Poux
18 J Horwill
19 R Elsom
20 D Yachvili
21 R O'Gara
22 F Steyn

R Deans
Sir J Kirwan

have been to occasional super/provincial games throughout the years, but have only started attending internationals in the last year or so so the teams are weighted more towards recent players. The toughest choice was for #8 - Read, Harin.... or Parisse. Also who to partner BOD in the midfield. Dagg will replace Roko in a season or two if he keeps his form. JOC may be an odd choice for the last bench spot, but i felt compelled to as kids we played in the same team one year.

1 Jason Leonard
2 Sean Fitzpatrick
3 Os du Randt
4 Martin Johnson
5 John Eales
6 Michael Jones
7 Richie McCaw
8 Zinzan Brooke
9 Nick Farr-Jones
10 Dan Carter
11 Jonah Lomu
12 Tim Horan
13 Brian O'Driscoll
14 John Kirwan
15 Christian Cullen

1. Os du Randt
2. ULi Schmidt
3. Adrian Garvey
4. Bakkies Botha
5. Victor Matfield
6. Schalk Burger
7. Juan smith
8. Bobby skinstad
9. Joost v d Westhuizen
10. Naas Botha
11. Carel du Plessis
12. Danie Gerber
13. Jaque fourie
14. Bryan Habana
15. Andre Joubert

Ok ...ill just do from my club...the best internationals ive seen play for us...
Sarries is frightengly good if you just do your best club team ever.

1 Nick Popplewell
2 Ross Nesdale
3 Carl Hayman
4 Doddie Weir
5 Gareth Archer
6 Owen Finnegan / Colin Charvis / Peter Walton..hard to pick.
7 Pat Lam
8 Dean Ryan

9 Gary Armstrong
10 Johnny Wilkinson
11 Inga Tuigamala
12 Alan Tait
13 Matthew Tait
14 Tony Underwood
15 Matt Burke

Again a lot of these threads age age/generation related but here goes from the ones I have seen 'live'

Leonard
Wood
Price
Eales
Matfield
Hill
Merv
Michael Jones

Edwards
Wilkinson

G Davies
Bateman
Sella
Kirwan

JPR

1. Jason Leonard
2. Keith Wood
3. Tom Smith
4. Martin Johnson
5. John Eales
6. Richard Hill
7. Richie McCaw
8. Sergio Parisse

9. Andy Gomarsall (c2007. Maybe not the best I've seen in technical terms, but in terms of what he brought to a side motivationally)
10. Dan Carter
11. Ben Cohen (don't think I ever saw Lomu at the top of his game)
12. Will Greenwood
13. Brian O'Driscoll
14. Bryan Habana
15. Nick Evans (very tempted to go for Big Gav, but I just had to fit NEv in somewhere)

Gobersall .is that a wum.?

Woodman
Servat
Vickery
Johnson
Matfield
Dusatoir
McCaw
Dallalgio
Dawson
Carter
Habana
SBW
Greenwood
Jane
Dagg

1. Du Randt
2. Wood
3. Hayman
4. O'Connell
5. Thorn
6. Dusitoir
7. Mccaw
8. Parisse
9. Vd Westhuizen
10. Carter
11. Lomu
12. Horan
13. O'Driscoll
14. Wilson
15. Cullen

Leo Cullen at 15?? Mind you he would still be offside at the ruck. "Every Time Ref"

Team needs a bit of eye candy for the ladies Rava

1. G Jenkins
2. K Wood
3. P De Villiers
4. M Johnson
5. V Matfield
6. R Hill
7. R McCaw
8. Z Brooke
9. F Galthie
10. D Carter
11. J Lomu
12. G Henson
13. BOD
14. D Campese
15. J Robinson

Best Tigers Team:
rowntree, Wheeler, White, Johnson, Kay, Corry, Back, Richards
Healey, Stransky, Rory Underwood, Will Greenwood, Clive Woodward, Alessana Tuilagi, Geordan Murphy


Best England team:

Fran Cotton, Brian Moore, Julian White, Martin johnson, Wade Dooley, Richard Hill, Peter Winterbottom, Dean Richards
Nigel Melville, Jonny Wilkinson, Rory Underwood, Will Greenwood, Jerry Guscott, Jason Robinson, Josh Lewsey.

Best NH Team (Excluding English):
Robert Paparemborde, Keith Wood, Graham Price, Paul O'Connell, bob norster, abdel Benazzi, Fergus Slattery, Scott quinnell
Robert Jones, Jonathan Davies, Ieuan Evans, Phillipe Sella, Brian O'Driscoll, Patrice Lagisquet, Serge Blanco

Best SH Team:
Topo Rodriguez, Sean Fitzpatrick, Richard Loe, Victor Matfield, John Eales, Michael Jones, Richie McCaw, Zinzan Brooke
Joost vdW, Dan Carter, Stu Wilson, Tim Horan, Danie Gerber, David Campese, Christian Cullen

You've seen a lot of SH / International rugby live over the years LT! Very jealous

1. Jared Brotherston 2. Colin Bryce 3. Anthony Harper
4. Stu McKenzie 5. Douglas Adams
6. Neil Sharp 7. Hugh Millington 8. Sam Afoa
9. Hone Johnson 10. me
12. Nick Willis 13. Simon Matherson
11. Brendan Smith 14. Joel Wesley 15. Sam Jeffries

Got the best seat to watch those fellas play. No one else was watching Sydenham B play but what a team we made.

Bathite wrote:You've seen a lot of SH / International rugby live over the years LT! Very jealous

I used to get tickets to every Twickenham international which helps.

LondonTiger wrote:Best Tigers Team:
rowntree, Wheeler, White, Johnson, Kay, Corry, Back, Richards
Healey, Stransky, Rory Underwood, Will Greenwood, Clive Woodward, Alessana Tuilagi, Geordan Murphy

Cracking team that

bluestonevedder wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Best Tigers Team:
rowntree, Wheeler, White, Johnson, Kay, Corry, Back, Richards
Healey, Stransky, Rory Underwood, Will Greenwood, Clive Woodward, Alessana Tuilagi, Geordan Murphy

Cracking team that

It is, though I would make a couple of changes

Rowntree, Cockerill, Castro, Johnson, Kay, Croft, Back, Richards
Healey, Stransky, Rory Underwood, Howard, Smith, Alessana Tuilagi, Murphy

Never had the fortune to see Wheeler or Woodward, too young. It is a shame it all went downhill for Smith but at his best he was fantastic. Also, as much as I love Greenwood, I have to find a place for Howard.

Another good Tigers' team killer938!

Croft over Corry is a big call, but I like the front row.

bluestonevedder wrote:Another good Tigers' team killer938!

Croft over Corry is a big call, but I like the front row.

When Crofts career is nearer its end I would consider him ahead of Corry. Same for a number of players in the current team - Dan Cole foremost.

Biggest disappointment in a tiger's shirt - Josh Kronfeld sadly.

Guess you're probably right LT. Trying to compare players who have finished their careers against those young ones who are yet to reach their peak (hopefully) is quite subjective. Ben Youngs could potentially oust Healy, and we never know how Ford is going to go.

Agree about Josh Kronfeld- very disappointing, which was all the sadder, because he seemed like a genuinely nice bloke.

Biltong wrote:1. Os du Randt
2. ULi Schmidt
3. Adrian Garvey
4. Bakkies Botha
5. Victor Matfield
6. Schalk Burger
7. Juan smith
8. Bobby skinstad
9. Joost v d Westhuizen
10. Naas Botha
11. Carel du Plessis
12. Danie Gerber
13. Jaque fourie
14. Bryan Habana
15. Andre Joubert

Gee, can you imagine that backline in action....

Apart from Fourie and Habana they'd be pretty slow Mr Fishpaste. They're not getting any younger...