Your best players of the last decade?

if Caucau could have kept his head on for more than 2 years he would potentially have been the best player EVER. The 2 years he had in super rugby he dominated as well as the 03 world cup. Extremely fast and extremely powerful. Former Blues coach sloane said that for a laugh Howlett, muliana, rockocko(?) and caucau had a 100m sprint race and despite caucau slipping at the start he still won.........enough said. Even better than Lomu perhaps. Just a shame that he struggled to adapt to life outside of fiji where he lived in a tiny village in a close knit community. he really suffered culture shock.

No ones mentioned John Eales!

liontamer
Caucau, is a disgrace. And while i see your point, and empathise somewhat. The plain fact is he is a disgrace. Sometimes there are arguments on here about wasted talent, i.e. Cipriani, Henson. But for me Caucau is the true representation of wasted talent. But while you will see alot of people in the rugby world backing Cipriani and Henson because they were silly boys and cant stay out of trouble, There are not many who will back up a drug addled A* hole like caucau who did not only disgrace himself but disgraced the game as a whole. Coming from a little village has nothing to do with it, and really should have been an advantage when it comes to "Just say no!" For his unique story of a small town boy who hit the big time and crashed, there are a hundred success stories of lads who succeeded.

i dont know what happened to the fijian winger, but your comments seem extremely harsh dingbatman. i dont know how anyone can have sufficient knowledge of the situation you described, in order to be so judgmental and so damning.

dingbatman I think if you truly understand the cultural difference the guy underwent in a matter of two years you could perhaps sympathise. He lived on an island off of fiji where a typical day involves fishing, playing sevens and sharing a 1 room house between your whole family. From what i've read and been told about caucau he was a genuinely nice bloke who just really struggled to adapt. Auckland Blues had to actually buy him a house next to eden park so he wouldn't be late for training and a few of the players took responsibilty for cooking him meals and such. the difference between henson, cips and caucau is that henson and cips are arrogant and egotistical and think they are bigger than the game itself. Caucau has never thought this and may have had issues with cannabis and difficulties with obedience but on general he is a well respected player in fiji, sevens and the game in general

Liontamer.
Sorry mate i dont agree. anyone who brings the game in to such disrepute as he has, simply has no excuse, and as i have said there are a hundred success storied to his failure, from lad who came from the same background. It was a personal thing with him, not a cultural thing. and dont sell me that BS. I have been to fiji years ago, backpacking. i stayed on the beach with those folks, and drank there crazy brew. and its a memory that will be with me forever as one of the best experiences of my life. But i am not given to excusing idiocy based on circumstance and absolutely, if what you say is true, i have even less respect because he was being babysat for so long and still failed.

The fact is if he could not handle it. Then sobeit, and a wasted talent. But probably better off back in his own environment where he felt comfortable to smoke drugs and not do a damn thing!

The main difference for him was his bad habits were publicised and i guess that was the curse of having such a great talent for rugby.

POOOR Caucau.... me ar_s_e

think you've been drinking too much kava dingbatman. How you can sympathise with likes of cips and henson who have had the opportunities handed to them since they were 16 and not caucau is beyond me. I'm not making excuses for the fact that he did drugs and failed to turn up to play for his country and I agree that he is probably the biggest waste of a talent the rugby world has ever seen. However when a rugby player falls off the rails and continues to disobey the rules I can sympathise more with a man who has been raised in poverty unaccustomed to a certain culture over spoiled egotistical 'a' holes who think they can do or say what they want. Henson got sacked from toulon because on a night out after a game he declered that he could have fooked any of the players wives and consequently got punched. Cipriani was cheering for wales when england played them at twickenham in 2010 and booed when martin johnson would come on the screen. Caucau merely enjoys a cheeky joint. But you're right, perhaps it would have been better for caucau to have never left fiji. He may not have ruined his rugby career rather his rugby career ruined him

1- Os Du Randt
2- Fizz
3- Phil Vickery
4- Martin Johnson
5- John Eales
6- Michael Jones
7- LBN Dallaglio
8- Zinzan Brooke

9- George Gregan
10- Michael Lynagh
11- Gerald Davies
12- Philippe Sella
13- BOD
14- David Campese
15- JPR / Blanco

Finally got there.

Henson got sacked from toulon because on a night out after a game he declered that he could have fooked any of the players wives and consequently got punched. Cipriani was cheering for wales when england played them at twickenham in 2010 and booed when martin johnson would come on the screen.
=====================



quality rugby behaviour.

Lion

Mate, if your going to cheapest me about drinking cava I suggest u following up with the facts. I never defended Henson is cipriani. U need to re read my post. I said some would defend them. Not me. And in my world messing with drugs is not becoming of a rugby player. You may find ways to defend it but I don't agree. Trying to wash it away or dilute the seriousness of that by sidestepping me just don't work. But I respect your opinion and certainly agree that caucau is probably the biggest wasted talent we have seen in modern times.