Greatest of All Time. Greatest Heavyweights. Greatest Light-Heavyweights. Greatest Middleweights. Greatest Welterweights. Greatest Lightweights. Greatest Featherweights. Greatest Bantamweights. Greatest Flyweights. Greatest Knockouts. Best of British. Weight Divisions. Rugby Union - Home. Richard Hill is arguably the most effective forward in the history of professional rugby. A stoical genius of the dark arts of forward play but blessed with power and pace alike, Eddie Jones described him as the glue that held England together.
The following season a substitution versus New Zealand created a back-row of Hill, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio, who became known collectively as the Holy Trinity and were inarguably one of the greatest loose trios in the history of the game. A cruel knee injury decimated the latter stages of his career, but for seven glorious years, the rugby world sang loudly the praises of their favourite unsung hero.
Juan Smith was a silken carrier and thunderous tackler for 11 years in the Springbok shirt. Injury woes continued to plague him, with surgery on his Achilles tendon sidelining him for much of the Super Rugby season. Despite announcing his retirement in , the lure of the Toulon sun took him to France to finish his career in the Riviera, where he quickly became a favourite of the partisan local crowd.
At his best, Smith was a master of the back-row, with no visible weakness in any aspect of his game. Jerome Kaino was one of the most durable players of the professional era. A globetrotting giant, he enjoyed 14 great years for the Blues in Super Rugby followed by a stint in Japan before bringing steel to French rugby in the shirt of Toulouse.
Massive hits and carries characterised Kaino, a brute of a man that really was almost an evolution of one of his noted predecessors in the All Black blindside berth, the late, great Collins. After the disappointing Lions series in , Kaino headed to France to bolster the fortunes of Toulouse. His impact was immediate and it was under his leadership that the club became French champions for the 20th time in George Smith AUS - Australia's most capped forward, George Smith has been a key figure in the international set-up since his debut in , a match he played before he had ever played a professional game of rugby.
He was one of just three current players to be named in the Wallabies team of the decade, after going to two World Cups, including one final with them.
A man-of-the-match performance on his international debut was a sign of things to come, and he is currently captain of the Kiwis. Despite a short international career , Gallaher became a force to be reckoned with, as he started revolutionising the role of a back-row forward. He only played six test matches for the All Blacks, but is fondly remembered as a New Zealand rugby legend, despite actually being born in Ireland.
He scored points in his 51 French caps, in ways ranging from wonderful tries to conversions. Prat also captained his French side from onwards, and is an inductee into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
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