Unlike any other sport, Rugby demands a lot from the athlete. However, the game of rugby changed a lot with the introduction of professionalism in 1995. It heralded a new breed of rugby star. Who are bigger, stronger, faster, and more dedicated than ever before. It has also seen the emergence of true modern sporting heroes. Players who have thrilled us raised the bar and made the difference at the very highest level. Rugby is one of the most famous sports, Hence the game itself saw the greatest Players ever to walk on the field. Today we summoned the Greatest Rugby Players Of All Times List.
Greatest Rugby Players Of All Times
Content Summary
The Greatest Rugby Players Of All Times are:
10). Jonny Wilkinson – ENGLAND
Wilkinson’s playstyle was the epitome of the professional era. He set new standards in terms of dedication and an almost obsessive pursuit of perfection. Wilkinson was one of their great match winners of his time and one of the game’s greatest ever accumulators of points.
To his legacy, only Dan Carter has scored more in Test rugby. Wilkinson has garnered 1,246 during his 97 caps for England and the Lions. His finest hour came in 2003 when he slotted the drop goal that won the World Cup.
9). Gareth Edwards – WALES
Former Welsh rugby union player Gareth Edwards is “arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey” according to the BBC. Gareth Edwards played 53 matches for Wales’s national team and scored 88 points from 1967 to 1978. He also played 10 matches for the British Lions and scored 3 points. He played 12 seasons of his career for Cardiff RFC in his club career and scored 69 tries in 195 games.
Gareth Edwards was voted the greatest player of all time in a poll of Rugby World magazine in 2003. Gareth was also named the greatest ever on the list of “50 Greatest Rugby players,” compiled by former England captain Will Carling in The Telegraph in 2007
8). John Eales – AUSTRALIA
John Eales has Nicknamed “Nobody” due to his record, which is certainly pretty close to perfection, As nobody is perfect. One-of-a-kind player who have won two World Cups, and Captaining Australia to glory in Cardiff in 1999.
Captained the Wallabies 55 times during his 86-cap Test career, establishing himself as one of the most respected figures in the game. He was also very much a one-of-a-kind player.
It’s hard to believe now, but he scored 173 points in international rugby. An agile, athletic second-row lineout ace, he was also a top-class place-kicker, who landed 65 Test shots at goal. A real ambassador for the game and a great player.
7). Martin Johnson – ENGLAND
English former rugby union player Martin Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest locks in the history of rugby. Martin Johnson led his England national team to victory in the World Cup in 2003 and is also the only man to captain the British and Irish Lions on two separate tours.
He led his club team Leicester Tigers to the victory in the league six times and also won the Heineken Cup consecutively. Martin Johnson earned 84 caps in England’s national rugby team in which he scored 10 points and also earned 362 caps in Leicester Tigers where he scored 90 points.
Since his retirement, he has served as manager of the national team between 2008 and 2011, leading England to Six Nations success in his final year before resigning after the 2011 World Cup.
6). Tim Horan – AUSTRALIA
He made his Test debut for Australia against New Zealand in 1989, he impressed his opposite number, Joe Stanley, so much that Stanley gave him his jersey. The Kiwi knew talent when he saw it.
After emerging as one of the young stars of the 1991 World Cup, Horan returned from a horrendous knee injury to be player of the tournament eight years later as he lifted the Webb Ellis trophy for a second time.
He possessed pace, balance, great ball skills, and courage, with his attacking prowess, formidable defense, and play-making ability marking him out as one of the finest centers the game of rugby has ever seen. Scored 40 Test tries at a rate of one every other game.
5). Joost van der Westhuizen – SOUTH AFRICA
One of the game’s great competitors on the field, the former Springboks scrum-half has carried that attitude into his off-field battles since hanging up his boots. You only have to watch the legendary Living With Lions video from the South African tour of 1997 to understand just how highly he was rated by the opposition and what a threat he was seen as.
Aggressive and fearless, he was arguably the finest running scrum-half the game has ever seen, scoring 38 tries in 89 Tests, a remarkable tally for a No 9.
Despite standing 6ft 1ins tall, he was able to find and penetrate the tiniest gaps in opposing defenses. An inspirational force as a player, he has inspired people once again in recent years with his fight against motor neuron disease
4). Brian O’Driscoll – IRELAND
One of the most feared players in the game, O’Driscoll was also one of the most consistent. His 141 Test caps, including eight for the Lions, place him second on the all-time list behind Richie McCaw.
Ireland’s record tries scorer with 46 touchdowns, O’Driscoll also led his country more times than any other player, and his brilliant defensive qualities and dazzling attacking skills made him a threat all over the field.
Provided some magical memories with his hat-trick against France in Paris in 2000 and his wonderful solo tries for the Lions against Australia in Brisbane the following year which evokes memories of the ‘Waltzing O’Driscoll’ song that epitomized the 2001 tour.
Holds the Six Nations record for most tries with 26 and was chosen Player of the Tournament in 2006, 2007, and 2009, leading Ireland to one Grand Slam and three Triple Crowns. Europe’s finest.
3). Jonah Lomu – NEW ZEALAND
Has one man ever done more to popularise the game of rugby than Jonah? When he burst onto the scene at the 1995 World Cup, it was like a meteor landing from outer space. We had never seen anything like him before and his incredible feats grabbed the attention of folk who had never previously been interested in the sport.
The physical impact Lomu had on the 1995 World Cup was beyond the effect of any other player in the history of the game. He scored seven tries in 1995, including four in an unforgettable one-man demolition job of England in the semi. Lomu went one better in 1999 to finish with a record 15 tournament tries
2). Dan Carter – NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand rugby union player Dan Carter is the highest points scorer in Test match rugby and is widely regarded as the greatest ever first-five eighth.
Dan Carter earned 100 caps for New Zealand’s national team the All Blacks and scored 1,442 points. He played for Crusaders in Super Rugby where he earned 128 caps and 1,581 points. Dan Carter also played for Canterbury provincial team and scored 289 for them.
Carter won six Tri-Nations and Rugby Championships with the New Zealand national team and four Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders. He also led his national team to victory in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
He was named the player of the year by the International Rugby Board in 2005 and 2012 and was also named Super Rugby player of the year by Rebel Sport in 2004 and 2006.
1). Richie McCaw – NEW ZEALAND
Richie McCaw is on this list to recognize what a legend the Kiwi flanker has proved over the last 15 years. His stats are quite remarkable.
Two-time World Cup-winning captain,2011 and 2015, and played in 2003, and 2007. Named world rugby player of the year three times, in 2006, 2009, and 2010. A breakdown master, super athlete, inspirational leader, with a remarkable ability to talk referees onto his side, and one of the most durable Black players ever, McCaw had everything.
He earned a world-record 148 caps for the All Blacks, winning 131 of those games and captaining his country 111 times. Perhaps my favorite stat is he’d have played in 32% of New Zealand’s Test match victories since 1903 at the time of retirement. He holds the record of the most capped test rugby player of all time.