Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years
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@junior said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
@mariner4life said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
McCaw is a given, so i think we are looking for four.
Carter is arguably the greatest 10 ever, a freaky talent. Averaged nearly 15 points a test!!
Lomu was rugby's first global super star. Surely in.
It's gonna get real murky after that (and I'm not yet sold on Carter).
Michael Jones. Zinny. Fitzy. JK. Cullen. Wilson. All amazing players.
And in the category, but before my time are some absolute legends.
How are we running it? Nominations and then a poll?
Sorry, can't let that slide - 3x World Player of the Year; world's best ever player in arguably the most important position on the rugby pitch; match-winning performances in a RWC final and semi-final as his swansong; 100+ tests for the ABs; most complete individual performance by a 10 in AB an probably world rugby history (Lions 2005); and the resilience to come back after many, many injuries (including the devastation of 2011) and be the world's best player again. That's not even accounting for the fact that he also looked great in a pair of undies.
The post would have resonated more without the last sentence.
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Top five in no particular order: McCaw, Jonah, Cullen, Carter, MJ
Notable mentions for me: Rettalick, JK, Fitzpatrick, A Smith, B Barrett, K Read, S Whitelock, M Nonu, Wilson, Zinny, C Smith
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@nzzp said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
I suspect Meads is in the chat for that as well, but before my time.
He was around in my early teens. Really was harder than Fitzy or BBBT, as big a motor as McCaw and with Zinny's skill-set. Not as good a captain as Ritchie but poss. a slightly better player.
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In no particular order:
Meads
McCaw
Carter
Fitzy
MJBubbling away underneath:
Jonah
Zinny
Sid Going
Cullen
BruceRobinsonRobertson -
@Victor-Meldrew said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
In no particular order:
Bruce Rob
inertson - but, yes!!!!
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@Chris-B said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
think the late 70s early -80s will be badly under-represented.
We were a bit crap then, but starting to come right.
Mourie is vastly underrated as player & captain IMHO - along with Jean-Pierre Rives he almost invented modern loose forward play. Ian Kirkpatrick & B G Williams almost made my bubbling under list.
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@mariner4life said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
Lomu was rugby's first global super star. Surely in.
First global superstar, certainly. Apart from 1995 RWC and 99 against France I'm not sure he did enough consistently to be among the top five. If only he hadn't had got sick.
Fitzy makes the list because there's been no better captain. And that's high praise considering the august nature of that club.
GOAT, obviously.
DC because there's been no more complete five-eighth.
I have to think harder about the remaining two.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
@nzzp said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
I suspect Meads is in the chat for that as well, but before my time.
He was around in my early teens. Really was harder than Fitzy or BBBT, as big a motor as McCaw and with Zinny's skill-set. Not as good a captain as Ritchie but poss. a slightly better player.
Did he leap over buildings in a single bound too...
There’s really only two players that my old man refers to from bygone eras - Meads and Going.
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@junior said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
@mariner4life said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
McCaw is a given, so i think we are looking for four.
Carter is arguably the greatest 10 ever, a freaky talent. Averaged nearly 15 points a test!!
Lomu was rugby's first global super star. Surely in.
It's gonna get real murky after that (and I'm not yet sold on Carter).
Michael Jones. Zinny. Fitzy. JK. Cullen. Wilson. All amazing players.
And in the category, but before my time are some absolute legends.
How are we running it? Nominations and then a poll?
Sorry, can't let that slide - 3x World Player of the Year; world's best ever player in arguably the most important position on the rugby pitch; match-winning performances in a RWC final and semi-final as his swansong; 100+ tests for the ABs; most complete individual performance by a 10 in AB an probably world rugby history (Lions 2005); and the resilience to come back after many, many injuries (including the devastation of 2011) and be the world's best player again. That's not even accounting for the fact that he also looked great in a pair of undies.
Even I can't avoid using it this time.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
Did he leap over buildings in a single bound too...
He really was uber-skilful Can recall him coming away from a line-out crashing into the opposition midfield and then throwing a american football-style pass to the AB winger. The sort of thing that kept SBW in the AB's for years. Dropped goals too. Probably be a No. 6 in today's game.
There’s really only two players that my old man refers to from bygone eras - Meads and Going.
Going would be the best I've seen - if his passing game wasn't so crap.
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@bayimports said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
Since Meads was voted player of last century from NZ rugby he is in.
The criteria is from Lions 71 Tour on. You cannot pick Meads on that basis. He played four tests, captained poorly (not his forte) to our only series defeat against the Lions and was dropped.
@nzzp said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
In this thread: internet users tend to be under the age of 60
ahem
McCaw and Carter for me are certs. Probably Fitzy although I think his captaincy skills are well over-rated, probably Lomu because of his impact on the game. 5th one I have to ponder. I can make an argument for most of the names put forward (some of them are in jest surely) but I can also make an argument against the same players.
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Wrong thread for it, but I can't remember where the discussion of our best 9's was. But I'm intrigued by the lack of mention of David Kirk anywhere. Now I didn't really start watching rugby until 1990, so have no memory of him playing, other than footage of him lifting the trophy in 87.
Where do you guys have him in the ranking of our 9's throughout history?
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@dogmeat said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
@bayimports said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
Since Meads was voted player of last century from NZ rugby he is in.
The criteria is from Lions 71 Tour on. You cannot pick Meads on that basis. He played four tests, captained poorly (not his forte) to our only series defeat against the Lions and was dropped.
Actually, my intention was that anyone who played in those tests can be considered for the entirety of their careers.
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@dogmeat cheers,
For me, the more I think about it, it's the 'who won us a game we wouldn't otherwise, adn did it consistently'
So, Carter and McCaw are easily there. Arguably Aaron Smith - his passing is nek level, and I don't think we have the success over the last 6 years without him.
Cully and Jonah by that measurement are weaker. They are incredible with the highlight reels - but their ability to pull out a try from nowhere in a tight game is limited. Jeff Wilson may be in the chat, much as it pains me to say it.
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@nzzp said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
@dogmeat cheers,
For me, the more I think about it, it's the 'who won us a game we wouldn't otherwise, adn did it consistently'
So, Carter and McCaw are easily there. Arguably Aaron Smith - his passing is nek level, and I don't think we have the success over the last 6 years without him.
Cully and Jonah by that measurement are weaker. They are incredible with the highlight reels - but their ability to pull out a try from nowhere in a tight game is limited. Jeff Wilson may be in the chat, much as it pains me to say it.
Are you serious? Both scored and set up tries that we had no right to score otherwise, and did so in tight games. I recall one particular instance in BA against the Argies where we were facing our first ever loss and totally against the run of play Jonah takes things on single handed from our 22, fending, busting, swerving and basically leading us back into the game. I can never find it on highlights videos as the try eventuated a few phases later and was unspectacular in itself
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@Crucial said in Five Greatest ABs of the past 50 years:
Are you serious?
Yep, just musing. Limited - but absolutely not nonexistent. It's tough - kind of like those moments in Tests where a dominant tackle or turnover changes the momentum... or a defensive lapse lets the opposition get easy metres.
I guess I was comparing them to something like Carter in 2015 Semi and Final singlehandedly taking the clutch moment to swing us those games. It's fresh, but the Whitelock steal on the Bokke in 15SF was up there too, in terms of 'moments'.
post more when I don't have work to do
