Rugby is one of the most popular sports around the world. Rugby is also called Rugby Union, this sport originated with Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century.
So, it is based you have to escape from others and reach your target with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a match is played with 15 players between two teams.
Without further ado, here’s our countdown of the best rugby players to ever grace the game, along with some of the current generation’s standout players.
10. Zinzan Brooke:
Zinzan Brooke is one of the best legendary players in rugby union history. He earned 58 caps for the All-Black New Zealand national rugby team, in which he scored 89 points, and also played 42 non-international matches for them. All black.
At the time All-Black of his retirement, he held the world record of scoring 17 tries in Test matches and was ranked as the eighth greatest player of all time in the 2007 list of “50 Greatest Rugby Players” compiled by The Telegraph.
9. Sergio Parisse:
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Italian rugby players of all time, Sergio Parisse is one of the game’s most influential modern greats.
The 6-foot-5 back possesses the form and skill of a towering back, his strength and leadership have long put him in contention as one of the greatest No. 8s.
With a career spanning 20 years and five Rugby World Cups, the 39-year-old Italian giant is the most capped player in Guinness Six Nations history – and still plays for Top 14 side Toulon today.
8. Jonny Wilkinson:
Wilkinson’s CV includes playing for Newcastle Falcons and Toulon and representing England and the British and Irish Lions. Wilkinson won 91 caps for England and his country won 61 of those caps while he played.
Wilkinson holds the record for Rugby World Cup points with 277 and is the only player to score points in two Rugby World Cup finals.
He is perhaps best remembered for scoring the winning drop goal in the last minute of extra time against Australia in the 2003 World Cup final. They were ranked tenth in attack, kicking, and defense, with injury being their only weakness.
7. Gareth Edwards:
A legendary player in Welsh rugby history, Edwards led a formidable national team that largely dominated the Northern Hemisphere.
The highly talented scrum-half was a gifted playmaker and all-around sportsman. He scored one of rugby’s greatest tries for the Barbarians against New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park in 1973.
Sir Gareth Edwards has an enviable record, winning an incredible 11 Five Nations Championships between 1967-1978 and scoring 20 tries in his 53 Tests for Wales.
6. Willy John McBride:
View this post on Instagram
Willy John McBride is the oldest in the list of Top 10 Best Rugby Players of All Time but is a great player. Ireland’s rugby legend scored a record seventeen Test matches in five tours for the British and Irish Lions.
Known as one of the toughest men in rugby history, McBride instigated the “one in, all in” policy during his 1974 tour of South Africa. The idea was that when one lion fought in the field. So, all the other lions were expected to fight the nearest springbok.
5. Brian O’Driscoll:
View this post on Instagram
Former Irish professional rugby union player Brian O’Driscoll is considered the greatest outside center in rugby history. His popularity and fan support were so extensive that his fans attended his matches wearing t-shirts that read “BOD We Trust”.
He captained the Ireland national rugby team from 2003 to 2012 and also captained the British and Irish Lions during the 2005 tour of New Zealand.
In addition to international appearances, Brian also played for the Irish provincial team Leinster. Which began its run as one of Europe’s most successful rugby clubs.
He played 141 Tests for Ireland, including 83 as captain. And 8 for the British and Irish Lions, making him the most capped player in Irish rugby union to date.
4. Rory Underwood:
View this post on Instagram
He is an English former rugby union player. Underwood is England’s record international try scorer with 49 tries in 85 international matches between 1984 and 1996.
Underwood was born in Middlesbrough, England to Chinese-English parents. Underwood’s beloved father worked in Malaysia as a Yorkshire engineer, where his father met and married his mother.
He held a role as a non-executive director on the board of Leicester Tigers. But left that role in November 2020. The name of his new company is Wingman Limited.
3. Michael Jones:
View this post on Instagram
From 2004 to 2007 after his retirement from professional rugby Michael Jones New Zealand rugby union player also worked as coach of the Samoa rugby team.
He was one of the most aggressive players during his career and was nicknamed the Iceman for needing ice packs for injuries during gameplay. He is “nearly the top 10 best rugby players of all time” referring to his initial coach John Hart.
In addition to his sporting career, he is win the New Zealand Medal in 1990 for service to the Pacific Island community.
2. Dan Carter:
New Zealand rugby union player Dean Carter is the highest points-scorer in Test match rugby and is widely regarded as one of the top five-eighths.
So, Carter earned 100 caps for the New Zealand national team All Blacks and scored 1,442 points. He played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby where he amassed 128 caps and 1,581 points.
He is the winning International Rugby Board Player of the Year in 2005 and 2012. And Rebel Sport Rugby Player of the Year in 2004 and 2006.
1. Richie McCaw:
A breakdown master, a two-time World Cup-winning captain in 2011 and 2015, and played in 2003, and 2007, a super-athlete, and an inspirational leader, with a remarkable ability to get referees talking on his behalf. And one of the most durable All Blacks players of all time, McCaw had it all.
He represented the All Blacks in 110 of his 148 Test matches and he has the record of being the top 10 best rugby players of all time.
