Gregan would definately be my scrum-half. I know he quit 5 years ago, but he's far and away the best scrum half I've ever seen play.

off the top of my head

BEST

-that fijian winger with the long name
-rockothoko
-nonu
-spies
-tom rees
-the irish openside who couldnt quite get in the team
-betsen
-the french winger with loads of caps
-odriscoll
-bowe
-simon shaw
-parisse

WORST

-stringer
-banahan
-the gloucester centre who played for england
-the aussie lock who played for wales
-the leincester captain/lock
-all of england's scrum halfs
-corry

califano fitzpatrick loe

jones johnson

hill brooke back

bachop
lynagh
greenwood
guscott
innis
campese
robinson

JPB - If that second team is your best of all time, then you really need to watch more (or better) rugby.

yes, it was.

Oh. Fair enough. Each to his own. I'm guessing you're quite young, like under 25 yeah?

maybe lomu for innis then. maye ella or davies for lynagh. i was also concisous that i'd left out michael jones, cos i didnt really see him.

no. you can add a decade on to that unfortunately.

i wouldnt have seen some of the players i have mentioned if i was 25 i wouldnt have thought.

I'm trying to form my all time 15, but it's so hard. Want to include Naas Botha, but they would have to drop Barry John. Want to put JPR in, but then would have to drop Serge Blanco. So hard...

yeah, i thought about blanco. barry john was before my time. it's just out of players ive watched my team

My dad used to play for Cardiff RFC (not Blues) so a few off my players would be on word of mouth. Also, I downloaded a LOT of b/w rugby matches from the 70's

califano
smit
jenkins
sharpe
matfield
berger
mccaw
spies

kelleher
carter
nonu
odriscoll
rockothocko
fijian winger
kearney

This is a good one!

Here's a surprise for people, my favourite player is ...

.... Freddie Burns of Gloucester!

What? Why? I hear you ask!!!

In this day of machine like players I like a player who still has foibles, whereas O'Driscoll, Johnson, Carter, Rokocoko, Lynagh etc couldn't spell crap let alone be it I like a player who has a fundamentally human touch to him.

Burns from game to game even minute to minute is the proverbial mystery, in a riddle in an enigma, you never quite know whats coming next. Missing a desperatley easy penalty then a sensational cross field kick that no other fly half would even try yet attempt - and that was in just 5 minutes against Harlequins.

Burns is Gloucester in micro-cosm, sensational one minute, dire the next - utterly annihilating Toulouse yet unable to get in the top 4. There's no rhyme or reason to it,it is what it is and you just have to live with it and enjoy it, and in what can be a soulless modern day game I find thoroughly enjoyable - and infuriating too.

The French always like their heroes with a degree of pathos - why Raymond Poulidor who never won Le Tour de France is more like than his mortal rival Jacques Anquetil who won it five times - Poulidor's nickname is "L'eternal deuxieme" (the eternal second) and there's a touch of that in rugby in France. Not whether you win but how you play the game and that's why I like Burns - play up, play up and play the game as they used to say.

You can have your Carter's, O'Driscoll's, Wilkinson's etc but for me Freddie Burns is the man of the hour.

Ha! SARS u crazy man But i like it!

In the same vain i will say my favorite player of the decade was Peter Stringer. So utterly inept in defense, perennially punching above his weight and forever getting absolutely mulled but opposition centers and flankers. Yet still always got back up, and had moments of brilliance, game changing moments ala 2006 HC final. When he sniped from the base of the scrum rounded Serge Betsen and scored the Championship winning try for Munster! The most unlikely hero on the field!

Well with him and O'Gara partnered for so many years, its no wonder O'Gara developed in to such a good "from hand" tactical kicker. The pair of them were hands down the most defensively inept half back pairing in the world!

Anyway, Strings was my Fav of the past decade.

Now on to the best and time for a little logic!
Brian Gerald O'Driscoll was voted the "Players Player of the decade"

And im sorry gents. But that was both Southern and northern hemisphere, and the players made the decision so i doff my hat to their wisdom and add this.
O'Driscoll in not just the best player of the past decade, but the best 13 ever to step on a rugby pitch.

I can understand that with Stringer, there were two sides to him that made me really like him, the first was his sheer will to win and get more points. His side could be 80 up or 80 down with 30 seconds left and he still kept going like his very life depended on it. Now usually this could turn a player into someone or something unpleasant - a cheat, a dirty or arrogant player but Stringer was none of these, he just wanted to win and keep scoring and when that was done he'd be on his way quietly

Thats a nice way to pay homage to Strings. And you know im a leinster man to the core but i have no problem giving respect where its due.

I remember going to an Ireland v NZ summer your game in dublin. Oh they hammered us 43 - 6. 2005 i think
Nonu ran in a try, and let me set the seen. Nonu crashes through the midfield like it wasn't there, hits full tilt and then 20 meters infront of him the last man in defense is Strings.

Nonu went over him as tho he wasn't there, I cant stress how little impact the Strings tackle had. He planted himself perfect and set himself for the tackle and Nonu when straight over him without breaking step! Strings was like a flat football under a 4x4 range rover.

But he got up, dusted himself off and gave 100% as always.

scene*

it takes more than giving 100% to being a world class performer.

stringer was not a world class performer.

no he was not, he was just a classy guy. but a world class player. No

That migth be a bit harsh, he played 9 for an Irish side that was probably the best irish side ever, and played 9 for probably the greatest Munster side ever.

In my view he wasn't the best in the world, but I would say he was World class, as well as being a thoroughly decent chap, still when its all over he still has his looks to fall back on

hahah SARS. Well he had his merits, As a passing scrum half he was probably the best around for much of his time, for most that would be enough to rank as world class, but his failings were so obvious that it always takes away from his positives.

There are other factors, If he played with a Fly Half like sexton, it might have been different, but the pairing of O'Gara and Strings was so bad in defense. It was by blind Irish luck that we had BOD to cover that massive deficiency in defense. And for so many years. Every time we played without BOD in those day we lost.

I dont know enough to do this article justice. Yet would say that Wilko is the reason I watched and played rugby. A bloody legend!

Honourable mentions:
Gethin Jenkins
Jason Robinson
Dan Carter
Richie Mccaw
Martin Johnson
Shane Williams
O'gara and O'Driscoll.

I will admit that I am only 20 so never really watched much rugby that wasn't the home nations till 2 years ago. Also never watched Lomu in his prime

good selections edin. i think johnson was really a bit too early for this period though.

i was in ireland for mccaw's debut. had a big game that day saving the blacks from defeat.

as for lomu - he has been so unlucky, and of course is dreadfullly ill now sadly. a decent candidate for the most outstanding sportsman of all time though i'd say.

i tell you who i missed off the list of the last decade, and that's the welsh openside martyn williams. damn good player.

1. G Jenkins
2. J Smit
3. A Jones
4. P O'Connell
5. V Matfield
6. S Burger
7. R McCaw
8. L Dallaglio
9. G Gregan
10. D Carter
11. S Williams
12. M Giteau
13. B O'Driscoll
14. J Rokocoko
15. M Muliaina

What do you all think?

I did mine 1 day and 11 hours ago