Phillips the best?

could be, certainly up there

"I remember in the Lions SA tour the boks saying he was one player they really feared!"

Ye but he underperformed in the Lions, and has been under-performing for quite awhile until now. Certainly he has found his form again and on that kind of form is a force to be reckoned with.

But he needs more consistency to be considered the best in the world. He keeps playing as he is. Then i would certainly rank him right up there

Genia is by far the best. I disagree about Phillips having a fast pass, it is the worst aspect of his game.

Aristodemus

Agreed.
Genia #1 and Phillips pass is not all that great.

i think its fair to say that Phillips is more or less in the top five. In my top five SH's Phillips be a close 5/6th
1:Genia
2:Parra (a better SH then a FH)
3:Ruan Pienaar
4:Yachvili
5/6: Youngs or Phillips.

Seriously? Ruan Pienaar 3rd?

I'd take Youngs , Phillips , Tomas O'Leary(when fit) and Cowen above him.

He's service is pretty average and only really stars at Ulster because he kicks the goals which Ihump can't.

RugbyDriver

He was the player of the year last year in the magners league, he has it all. good service, big lad, pace and a great step, can play FH and FB if required. He was integral in the success of Ulster last year. His service is not the fastest in the world but its not slow and he is accurate! inviting players to run on to the ball at pace.

Seriously Tomas O'Leary..... he does his best job for Ireland when he in injured as hes not on the pitch. The guy cant pass. he cant even pass badly thats how bad his pass is. He is awful. Tho the rest of his game is very very good, Defences great, breaking great, pace great box kick....well its good but he does it way to often and thats because he knows he cant pass. In any given game he will pass to the feet of the FH 4 or 5 times then he will over compensate and pass over their head forcing them to readjust and get the ball away in a hurry. Its only because he plays inside O'gara in Munster that he looks good. Because O'Gara manages to save the day after one of TOL's howler passes leaves ROG high and dry.
The pass is the first and most important part of a SH skill-set. And TOL does not have it.

Cowen is a good shout but hes very inconsistent. certainly at international level he is up and down. When he turns up hes a live wire.

He ain't the best, that's for sure. Leading up to the WC most Wales fans wanted him out the team!

Surely the best should be measured on more than just a tournament where in reality, while wales upped their game, they still lost three matches and edged Samoa.

MMaaxx
Surly the best should be judged against his peers and not the performance of a team.

Thats not to disagree with you. He's not the best by any means, but he must be judged on his skill set, form and performances not the results of his team in general. Thats just silly really