Your Clubs Best XV

I do this once in a while...just a bit of fun and i havent done it for ages. Always causes a bit of light hearted dispute between the fans...

Whats your club / Regions best ever side?

Newcastle Falcons / Newcastle Gosforth:

1 Nick Popplewell
2 Ross Nesdale
3 Carl Hayman
4 Doddie Weir
5 (Gareth Archer / Roger Uttley) - Tough one.
6 Mark Wilson
7 Pat Lam
8 (Aly Hogg / Dean Ryan) - Tough one

9 Gary Armstrong
10 Johnny Wilkinson
11 Vereniki Goneva
12 (John Leslie / Mark Mayerhofler) - Unsure
13 Alan Tait
14 Inga Tuigamala
15 Matt Burke

GeordieFalcon wrote:
3 Carl Hayman

Was reading about Haymans recent woes over the weekend. Real shame.


Back to the best ever team - always hard when comparing players across decades amateur v pro and how good they were at Leicester vs elsewhere (ie Josh Kronfeld - great player but crap for us. Brad Thorn good for us but well past his best) and longevity - Castro at his very best was outstanding, Dan Cole delivered slightly lower for much longer. I also do not like including players still playing as they coudl go up or down in my estimation.

Just pick the players who were great for you.

We had Owen Finegan...fantastic Aussie player...probably the worst player who has ever played for us.

I havent heard about Carl, whats up?

Wow just read about it....not good.

The demon drink eh..

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12228450

GeordieFalcon wrote:Just pick the players who were great for you.

I am struggling a little. Just choosing the front row is tearing me apart Ayerza v Rowntree, Wheeler v Cockerill v Kayser v Youngs, Castro v Cole v White. I thought the second row was easy - Johnson and Kay, but Louis Deacon was better for us than Kay was.

And therein lies the problem

Would John Wells be in the lock picture? Wasnt he a club stahlwart?

Ulster

15 Stockdale
14 Trimble
13 Payne
12 Wallace
11 Bowe
10 Humpreys
9 Pienaar
8 Wannenburg /Williams
7 N Best
6 Ferris
5 Henderson
4 Muller
3 Afoa
2 Best
1 O'Sullivan

John Wells was at 6. Definitely a club stalwart but up against Corry, Croft and Moody for starters. Deano however would make it.

Ayerza
Wheeler
Cole
Johnson
Kay
Corry
Back
Richards
Healy
Ford
Rory Underwood
Allen
Woodward
Alesana Tuilagi
Murphy

Second string:
Rowntree, Cockerill, Castro, Deacon, Parling, Croft, Moody, Crane, Ellis, Flood, Jonny May, Greenwood, Manu, Tony Underwood, Stimpson

Third String:
Genge, Youngs, White, Thorn, Cullen, Mafi, Newby, Waldrom, Youngs, Burns, Varndell, Howard, Ollie Smith, Rabeni, Tait


Apologies for any obvious names I missed

Okay, Wasps... off the top of my head, so bound to be some obvious omissions:

Lewsey, Varndell, Beale, Henderson, Wade, Cipriani, Howley
Probyn, Leota, Dowd, Shaw, Launchbury, Rees, Betsen, Dallagio

Darren Garforth misses out at TH? Wow thats some strength..

You're missing a centre

From what I remember about Wasps in their heyday, Abbott and Waters were an unbelievable centre partnership

BamBam wrote:You're missing a centre

From what I remember about Wasps in their heyday, Abbott and Waters were an unbelievable centre partnership

Haha, cheers, I spotted it. Was struggling to think of centres. Abbott and Waters were indeed excellent. I was determined to shoe-horn Kurtley Beale in, but couldn't drop Lewsey from 15. Means Charles Piatau misses out, mind you!

Rinsure wrote:Okay, Wasps... off the top of my head, so bound to be some obvious omissions:

Lewsey, Varndell, Beale, Henderson, Wade, Cipriani, Howley
Probyn, Leota, Dowd, Shaw, Launchbury, Rees, Betsen, Dallagio

No Chris Oti, or Paul Volley, Paul Sackey? James Haskell? Raphael Ibanez? Big Norm Hadley...? Joe Worsley?? Mark van Gisbergen.

Some good players missing out there...

GeordieFalcon wrote:

Rinsure wrote:Okay, Wasps... off the top of my head, so bound to be some obvious omissions:

Lewsey, Varndell, Beale, Henderson, Wade, Cipriani, Howley
Probyn, Leota, Dowd, Shaw, Launchbury, Rees, Betsen, Dallagio

No Chris Oti, or Paul Volley, Paul Sackey? James Haskell? Raphael Ibanez? Big Norm Hadley...? Joe Worsley?? Mark van Gisbergen.

Some good players missing out there...

Rob Andrew?

GeordieFalcon wrote:

Rinsure wrote:Okay, Wasps... off the top of my head, so bound to be some obvious omissions:

Lewsey, Varndell, Beale, Henderson, Wade, Cipriani, Howley
Probyn, Leota, Dowd, Shaw, Launchbury, Rees, Betsen, Dallagio

No Chris Oti, or Paul Volley, Paul Sackey? James Haskell? Raphael Ibanez? Big Norm Hadley...? Joe Worsley?? Mark van Gisbergen.

Some good players missing out there...

I'm sure there will be at least two competitive sides out of players I haven't picked! Hell, at stand-off alone there's Alex King, Rob Andrew, Andy Goode and Cips. At least!

Edinburgh

1 Allan Jacobson
2 Stuart McInally
3 WP Nel
4 Nathan Hines
5 Scott Murray
6 Todd Blackadder
7 Hamish Watson
8 Simon Taylor

9 Mike Blair
10 Greig Laidlaw (he played at 10 during our run to the HK semi)
11 Tim Visser
12 Matt Scott
13 Nick De Luca (rubbish for Scotland, really good for Edinburgh)
14 Simon Webster
15 Chris Paterson

If we did this again in 5 years time I would fully expect the likes of Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn to have made their mark on the club.

Irish (during the period I have watched them - roughly 11-12 years).

1. Dermody
2. Paice
3. Rautenbach
4. Kennedy
5. Casey
6. Danaher
7. Armitage
8. Hala'Ufia

9. Hodgson
10. Catt
11. Tagicakibau
12. Mapusua
13. Joseph
14. Ojo
15. Armitage

Bench: Coetzee, Court, Aulika, Skivington, Treviranus, Richards, Hewat, Lewington

LondonTiger wrote:Ayerza
Wheeler
Cole
Johnson
Kay
Corry
Back
Richards
Healy
Ford
Rory Underwood
Allen
Woodward
Alesana Tuilagi
Murphy

Second string:
Rowntree, Cockerill, Castro, Deacon, Parling, Croft, Moody, Crane, Ellis, Flood, Jonny May, Greenwood, Manu, Tony Underwood, Stimpson

Third String:
Genge, Youngs, White, Thorn, Cullen, Mafi, Newby, Waldrom, Youngs, Burns, Varndell, Howard, Ollie Smith, Rabeni, Tait

Apologies for any obvious names I missed

Joel Stransky and Leon Lloyd. I'd also have Ed Slater in over Thorn as there were a couple of seasons he really dragged us into the playoffs.

A little bias towards players I loved watching over those that were the best (also age means I missed out on watching the likes of Les Cusworth, Dean Richards and Dosser Smith);

1. Ayerza
2. Kayser
3. Castro
4. Johnson
5. Kay
6. Croft
7. Moody
8. Corry
9. Ellis
10. Ford (having been watching him for nearly 10 years)
11. Tuilagi
12. Ollie Smith
13. Manu
14. Rabeni
15. Murphy

Leon Lloyd was one I wanted to include. Slater I purely forgot, Stransky one of those I feel never lived up to his reputation while with us.

1 Tonga'uiha
2 Thompson
3 Mujati
4 Rodber
5 Lawes
6 Picamoles
7 Lam
8 Manoa
9 Dawson
10 Grayson
11 Cohen
12 Francis
13 Horne
14 Ashton
15 Beal

16 Hartley
17 Corbisiero
18 Murray
19 Day
20 Poutney
21 Reinach
22 Bigger
23 North

and that does not include the likes of:

Dickson
Burrell
Dowson
Fotuali'i
Myler
Lamont
Foden

most of which would get into a lot of the teams.

Gone for a power pack, just like England in the late 90s, there 8s in the back row but all mobile and two locks who can play at international level at 6. I would not want to meet that front row either.

Is Piers Francis really the best 12 you have ever had?

not always followed sale religiously so was a bit tough for me. but being the most local "big club" i'll give it a bash

1. Sheridan
2. diamond
3?
4. beaumont?
5. white
6. lobbe
7. curry
8. chabal
9. faf/redpath
10. hodgson
11. cueto
12. mcallister
13. james?
14. denny/hanley
15. robinson

few question marks on some as i was really struggling for those positions. anyone feel free to fill some players i might have forgotten. have to say the back row looks pretty tasty

SirBurger wrote:Is Piers Francis really the best 12 you have ever had?

Possibly not, but I could not think of another, Prince Harry may have had the spot by now if he had kept injury free and of course Burrell played at 12 initially. Horne could play 12 and if you go back a lot of years there were a few but I have kept it to the professional era.

Francis is a lot better player than a lot think, that is why he keeps making the England training camps, 15+ stoneish, quicker than he looks, distribution and a good offload aligned with a very good defence make him a very good player, just not quite good enough to be a consistent international.

Having said that if you can only pick on one player who has a handful of England caps as being a weakness the overall side must be pretty good.

I would back that Saints side, especially with the quality of the bench against most, the Tigers and Wasps sides may have been as good, but on one else has the brute power that that scrum has to go along with mobility. 60+ stone on the very mobile hoof in the front row alone, another 38 at lock and then a back row that comprises some of the greatest eights that have graced the premiership and only weigh in at another 58 stones. All mobile.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:

SirBurger wrote:Is Piers Francis really the best 12 you have ever had?

Possibly not, but I could not think of another, Prince Harry may have had the spot by now if he had kept injury free and of course Burrell played at 12 initially. Horne could play 12 and if you go back a lot of years there were a few but I have kept it to the professional era.

Francis is a lot better player than a lot think, that is why he keeps making the England training camps, 15+ stoneish, quicker than he looks, distribution and a good offload aligned with a very good defence make him a very good player, just not quite good enough to be a consistent international.

Having said that if you can only pick on one player who has a handful of England caps as being a weakness the overall side must be pretty good.

Interesting. I don't watch enough Saints games, but have often wondered if from the outside he is underrated.

Had totally forgotten about Mallinder. Really think he should focus on 12, but it sounds like he sees himself as a 15.

1. Healy
2. Cronin
3. Furlong
4. Cullen
5. Ryan
6. SOB
7. Jennings
8. Heaslip
9. Reddan
10. Sexton
11. Hickey
12. Darcy.
13. BOD.
14. Nacewa
15. Kearney.

1. Duncan Jones
2. Barry Williams
3. Adam Jones
4. Ian Evans
5. AWJ
6. Jerry Collins
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Tia Tia
9. Rhys Webb
10. Dan Biggar
11. Shane Williams
12. Gavin Henson
13. Mark Taylor
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Leigh Byrne

maestegmafia wrote:1. Duncan Jones
2. Barry Williams
3. Adam Jones
4. Ian Evans
5. AWJ
6. Jerry Collins
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Tia Tia
9. Rhys Webb
10. Dan Biggar
11. Shane Williams
12. Gavin Henson
13. Mark Taylor
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Leigh Byrne

Thats quite a lineup!

LeinsterFan4life wrote:1. Healy
2. Cronin
3. Furlong
4. Cullen
5. Ryan
6. SOB
7. Jennings
8. Heaslip
9. Reddan
10. Sexton
11. Hickey
12. Darcy.
13. BOD.
14. Nacewa
15. Kearney.

Healy
Mullen
Furlong
Cullen
Hines
Elsom
SOB
Heaslip
Whittaker
Sexton
Nacewa
Maggs
O'Driscoll
Horgan
Kearney

Strauss, van dr Merwe, Ross, Thorn, Slattery, Robbie, Campbell, O'Reilly

If you are going that far back I would have Slattery over SOB. Had not realised anyone was old enough on here to have seen Tony O'Reilly play!

LondonTiger wrote:If you are going that far back I would have Slattery over SOB. Had not realised anyone was old enough on here to have seen Tony O'Reilly play!

I didn't see him play in the flesh.  A bit of artistic licence on my part since it was just nominal part of the province with UCD.  

Ditto Mullen at Old Belvo and Slattery and playing for Blackrock, but if he gets to start, then I'd shift SOB to 6 and Elsom to bench.

Pot Hale wrote:

LeinsterFan4life wrote:1. Healy
2. Cronin
3. Furlong
4. Cullen
5. Ryan
6. SOB
7. Jennings
8. Heaslip
9. Reddan
10. Sexton
11. Hickey
12. Darcy.
13. BOD.
14. Nacewa
15. Kearney.

Healy
Mullen
Furlong
Cullen
Hines
Elsom
SOB
Heaslip
Whittaker
Sexton
Nacewa
Maggs
O'Driscoll
Horgan
Kearney

Strauss, van dr Merwe, Ross, Thorn, Slattery, Robbie, Campbell, O'Reilly

Kevin Maggs?

If so, did he ever play in Ireland? I remember him at Bristol as a young man then at Bath.

SirBurger wrote:

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:

SirBurger wrote:Is Piers Francis really the best 12 you have ever had?

Possibly not, but I could not think of another, Prince Harry may have had the spot by now if he had kept injury free and of course Burrell played at 12 initially. Horne could play 12 and if you go back a lot of years there were a few but I have kept it to the professional era.

Francis is a lot better player than a lot think, that is why he keeps making the England training camps, 15+ stoneish, quicker than he looks, distribution and a good offload aligned with a very good defence make him a very good player, just not quite good enough to be a consistent international.

Having said that if you can only pick on one player who has a handful of England caps as being a weakness the overall side must be pretty good.

Interesting. I don't watch enough Saints games, but have often wondered if from the outside he is underrated.

Had totally forgotten about Mallinder. Really think he should focus on 12, but it sounds like he sees himself as a 15.

For such a big guy he has some silky skills and as he gets a bit older an hardens up he will probably put on a bit of weight (already 17.5st), awesome potential for a 12 with his size, distribution and kicking, especially inside someone like Grayson for is so adept at putting people into that half gap he should able to hit and if not through, get the ball away to say Francis or Dingwall. He needs a season without injury to develop his game fully and in one position, not covering the whole of the back line, he might then get into the dream squad.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:1 Tonga'uiha
2 Thompson
3 Mujati
4 Rodber
5 Lawes
6 Picamoles
7 Lam
8 Manoa
9 Dawson
10 Grayson
11 Cohen
12 Francis
13 Horne
14 Ashton
15 Beal

16 Hartley
17 Corbisiero
18 Murray
19 Day
20 Poutney
21 Reinach
22 Bigger
23 North

and that does not include the likes of:

Dickson
Burrell
Dowson
Fotuali'i
Myler
Lamont
Foden

most of which would get into a lot of the teams.

Gone for a power pack, just like England in the late 90s, there 8s in the back row but all mobile and two locks who can play at international level at 6. I would not want to meet that front row either.

Surely switch Manoa and Picamoles? Either way I reckon there are issues in that back row that others could build on. I would have George Pisi and Bruce Reihana ahead of Ashton. The Splash did his best stuff while employed by you either in the Championship or in an England shirt. His premiership form was better for Sarries I feel. I would also have Bayfield at least on the bench.

Other players who could have been in contention:

Gary Pearce, Gregor Townsend, Ian Hunter & Jon Sleightholme

LondonTiger wrote:

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:1 Tonga'uiha
2 Thompson
3 Mujati
4 Rodber
5 Lawes
6 Picamoles
7 Lam
8 Manoa
9 Dawson
10 Grayson
11 Cohen
12 Francis
13 Horne
14 Ashton
15 Beal

16 Hartley
17 Corbisiero
18 Murray
19 Day
20 Poutney
21 Reinach
22 Bigger
23 North

and that does not include the likes of:

Dickson
Burrell
Dowson
Fotuali'i
Myler
Lamont
Foden

most of which would get into a lot of the teams.

Gone for a power pack, just like England in the late 90s, there 8s in the back row but all mobile and two locks who can play at international level at 6. I would not want to meet that front row either.

Surely switch Manoa and Picamoles? Either way I reckon there are issues in that back row that others could build on. I would have George Pisi and Bruce Reihana ahead of Ashton. The Splash did his best stuff while employed by you either in the Championship or in an England shirt. His premiership form was better for Sarries I feel. I would also have Bayfield at least on the bench.

Other players who could have been in contention:

Gary Pearce, Gregor Townsend, Ian Hunter & Jon Sleightholme

I was trying to keep it in the pro era, Jon Sleightholme was there at the start and was a great club player (as we all hope Ollie will become), the others all before or past their best when it came in.

the back row is made up of 3 eights, so what does it matter who plays 6 and 8, they are all interchangeable depending on if you are attacking or defending. Manoa was one of my favourite players, especially when it came to breaking off the back of the scrum, quicker than Picamoles but not necessarily better. Three great eights, but I struggled with open sides so went for the power game aka Jack Rowell.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Ayerza
Wheeler
Cole
Johnson
Kay
Corry
Back
Richards
Healy
Ford
Rory Underwood
Allen
Woodward
Alesana Tuilagi
Murphy

Second string:
Rowntree, Cockerill, Castro, Deacon, Parling, Croft, Moody, Crane, Ellis, Flood, Jonny May, Greenwood, Manu, Tony Underwood, Stimpson

Third String:
Genge, Youngs, White, Thorn, Cullen, Mafi, Newby, Waldrom, Youngs, Burns, Varndell, Howard, Ollie Smith, Rabeni, Tait

Apologies for any obvious names I missed

Joel Stransky and Leon Lloyd. I'd also have Ed Slater in over Thorn as there were a couple of seasons he really dragged us into the playoffs.

A little bias towards players I loved watching over those that were the best (also age means I missed out on watching the likes of Les Cusworth, Dean Richards and Dosser Smith);

1. Ayerza
2. Kayser
3. Castro
4. Johnson
5. Kay
6. Croft
7. Moody
8. Corry
9. Ellis
10. Ford (having been watching him for nearly 10 years)
11. Tuilagi
12. Ollie Smith
13. Manu
14. Rabeni
15. Murphy

No Will Greenwood?

GeordieFalcon wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:1. Duncan Jones
2. Barry Williams
3. Adam Jones
4. Ian Evans
5. AWJ
6. Jerry Collins
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Tia Tia
9. Rhys Webb
10. Dan Biggar
11. Shane Williams
12. Gavin Henson
13. Mark Taylor
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Leigh Byrne

Thats quite a lineup!

If it was the clubs that made up the osprey region there would likely have been a few older players, Neath, Swansea and Bridgend clubs

maestegmafia wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Ayerza
Wheeler
Cole
Johnson
Kay
Corry
Back
Richards
Healy
Ford
Rory Underwood
Allen
Woodward
Alesana Tuilagi
Murphy

Second string:
Rowntree, Cockerill, Castro, Deacon, Parling, Croft, Moody, Crane, Ellis, Flood, Jonny May, Greenwood, Manu, Tony Underwood, Stimpson

Third String:
Genge, Youngs, White, Thorn, Cullen, Mafi, Newby, Waldrom, Youngs, Burns, Varndell, Howard, Ollie Smith, Rabeni, Tait

Apologies for any obvious names I missed

Joel Stransky and Leon Lloyd. I'd also have Ed Slater in over Thorn as there were a couple of seasons he really dragged us into the playoffs.

A little bias towards players I loved watching over those that were the best (also age means I missed out on watching the likes of Les Cusworth, Dean Richards and Dosser Smith);

1. Ayerza
2. Kayser
3. Castro
4. Johnson
5. Kay
6. Croft
7. Moody
8. Corry
9. Ellis
10. Ford (having been watching him for nearly 10 years)
11. Tuilagi
12. Ollie Smith
13. Manu
14. Rabeni
15. Murphy

No Will Greenwood?

He left Tigers in 2000 when I was 13/14. As such I don't remember a lot of him playing for Tigers (good memories of him in an England shirt). Whereas Ollie Smith came through at that time and was the boy wonder just four or five years older than me in my position so was a player I used to watch out for and so he had to be in.

Dragons.

15 Kevin Morgan
14 Gareth Wyatt
13 Percy Montgomery
12 Andy Marinos
11 Aled Breeeeeeeeeeeewww.
10 Jason Tovey
9 Gareth Cooper
1 Adam Black
2 Steve Jones
3 Chris Anthony
4 Ian Gough
5 Luke Charteris
6 Colin Charvis
7 Jason Forster
8 Taulupe Faletau

16 Lloyd Burns
17 Rod Snow
18 Rhys Thomas
19 Rob Sidoli
20 Michael Owen
21 Wayne Evans
22 Craig Warlow
23 Hal Luscombe

I really wanted to have Ashley Smith in there at 12. I also wanted to have Duncan Bell in, with the way he shored up our scrum with no fitness etc and I was never really Rhys Thomas’ biggest fan. In the end, I went for Anthony to start as he was around for our best era.

Warlow and Tovey tends to split supporters and you could also make a case for Sweeney.

rodders wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:

LeinsterFan4life wrote:1. Healy
2. Cronin
3. Furlong
4. Cullen
5. Ryan
6. SOB
7. Jennings
8. Heaslip
9. Reddan
10. Sexton
11. Hickey
12. Darcy.
13. BOD.
14. Nacewa
15. Kearney.

Healy
Mullen
Furlong
Cullen
Hines
Elsom
SOB
Heaslip
Whittaker
Sexton
Nacewa
Maggs
O'Driscoll
Horgan
Kearney

Strauss, van dr Merwe, Ross, Thorn, Slattery, Robbie, Campbell, O'Reilly

Kevin Maggs?

You're quite right Rodders, mixing up test line-ups with club ones. Maggs played for Ulster, Doh!. Think I'll just go back to the ward now and ask for nurse.

Joe Marler
Keith Wood
Jason Leonard
Ackford
Kohn
Vos
Robshaw
Zinzan Brookes
Care
NEV
Strettle
Greenwood
Carling
Monye
Brown

Noteable mentions -
Mike Ross, Sinkler, Mehertens, Dan Luger, Paul Volley, Tani Fuga

RDW wrote:Edinburgh

1 Allan Jacobson
2 Stuart McInally
3 WP Nel
4 Nathan Hines
5 Scott Murray
6 Todd Blackadder
7 Hamish Watson
8 Simon Taylor

9 Mike Blair
10 Greig Laidlaw (he played at 10 during our run to the HK semi)
11 Tim Visser
12 Matt Scott
13 Nick De Luca (rubbish for Scotland, really good for Edinburgh)
14 Simon Webster
15 Chris Paterson

If we did this again in 5 years time I would fully expect the likes of Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn to have made their mark on the club.

You been drinking boss?

I know we both rate McInally, but you can't have him over Ford (when Ford was in his prime)
Surely we've got better options than Webster too?

tigertattie wrote:

RDW wrote:Edinburgh

1 Allan Jacobson
2 Stuart McInally
3 WP Nel
4 Nathan Hines
5 Scott Murray
6 Todd Blackadder
7 Hamish Watson
8 Simon Taylor

9 Mike Blair
10 Greig Laidlaw (he played at 10 during our run to the HK semi)
11 Tim Visser
12 Matt Scott
13 Nick De Luca (rubbish for Scotland, really good for Edinburgh)
14 Simon Webster
15 Chris Paterson

If we did this again in 5 years time I would fully expect the likes of Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn to have made their mark on the club.

You been drinking boss?

I know we both rate McInally, but you can't have him over Ford (when Ford was in his prime)
Surely we've got better options than Webster too?

McInally is a far superior hooker than Ford ever was - he actually hooks the ball for one! Also far more dynamic and I recall more matches where Ford had lineout yips in comparison to McInally.

Surely VDM is already considered a better winger than Webster ever was?

Could also argue later years Dickinson was a better loosehead than Jacobson but Chunk has cult status so wins that one

RiscaGame wrote:Dragons.

15 Kevin Morgan
14 Gareth Wyatt
13 Percy Montgomery
12 Andy Marinos
11 Aled Breeeeeeeeeeeewww.
10 Jason Tovey
9 Gareth Cooper
1 Adam Black
2 Steve Jones
3 Chris Anthony
4 Ian Gough
5 Luke Charteris
6 Colin Charvis
7 Jason Forster
8 Taulupe Faletau

16 Lloyd Burns
17 Rod Snow
18 Rhys Thomas
19 Rob Sidoli
20 Michael Owen
21 Wayne Evans
22 Craig Warlow
23 Hal Luscombe

I really wanted to have Ashley Smith in there at 12. I also wanted to have Duncan Bell in, with the way he shored up our scrum with no fitness etc and I was never really Rhys Thomas’ biggest fan. In the end, I went for Anthony to start as he was around for our best era.

Warlow and Tovey tends to split supporters and you could also make a case for Sweeney.

You missed out Wayne Evans middle name.

Hard to rationalise when we've been so collectively poor for so long, but I'd say one or two of the current crop have outstripped some of their forebears there. Hill over Sidoli, and fairy tale aside Dee over Burner definitely. One of Warren and Morgan probably over Luscombe too.

Edit: think we've had more out of Lydiate than Owen too, the traitor.

Hill over Sid is probably fair. I didn’t think Lydiate did as much for Dragons, but then again neither did Owen I guess. To be honest, I didn’t consider present players really, but you’re right on Dee.

Tramptastic wrote:

tigertattie wrote:

RDW wrote:Edinburgh

1 Allan Jacobson
2 Stuart McInally
3 WP Nel
4 Nathan Hines
5 Scott Murray
6 Todd Blackadder
7 Hamish Watson
8 Simon Taylor

9 Mike Blair
10 Greig Laidlaw (he played at 10 during our run to the HK semi)
11 Tim Visser
12 Matt Scott
13 Nick De Luca (rubbish for Scotland, really good for Edinburgh)
14 Simon Webster
15 Chris Paterson

If we did this again in 5 years time I would fully expect the likes of Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn to have made their mark on the club.

You been drinking boss?

I know we both rate McInally, but you can't have him over Ford (when Ford was in his prime)
Surely we've got better options than Webster too?

McInally is a far superior hooker than Ford ever was - he actually hooks the ball for one! Also far more dynamic and I recall more matches where Ford had lineout yips in comparison to McInally.

Surely VDM is already considered a better winger than Webster ever was?

Could also argue later years Dickinson was a better loosehead than Jacobson but Chunk has cult status so wins that one

Can see the argument for Dickinson but chunk is an all time club legend. Schoeman is on track to take the crown if he stays at Edinburgh for the next few years. Ford is a great club stalwart but McInally has been one of the best hookers in the NH consistently for the last 3 years or so.

No doubt that VDM is a much more dangerous attacking threat than Webster but Webster spent 10 years at the club where was he was a stallwart for both club and country.

VDM had a quiet season this year - he needs to show he's not another show pony before he can be put in a best ever XV for Edinburgh.

LondonTiger wrote:If so, did he ever play in Ireland? I remember him at Bristol as a young man then at Bath.

Played for Ulster at the latter end of his career, but yeah played most of his club rugby in England.