World Power XXIII

Just for some lockdown fun.

Pick your world XXIII based on the most powerful players in the game today.

You may pick a historical team as well if you prefer (any player from any period of rugby history).

Let's see what we get!

1. Ben Tameifuna
2. Camille Chat
3. Ramiro Herrera
4. Eben Etzebeth
5. Will Skelton
6. Marcell Coetzee
7. Steph Du Toit
8. Billy Vunipola
9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
10. Beauden Barrett
11. Duhan van der Merwe
12. Damian de Allende
13. Manu Tuilagi
14. Caleb Clarke
15. Ahsee Tuala

16. Taniela Tupou
17. Mako Vunipola
18. Tadhg Furlong
19. RG Snyman
20. Bill Mata
21. Connor Murray
22. Levani Botia
23. Nemani Nadolo

Most Powerful, rather than Toughest / Most Lunatic Xv?

Inga Tuigamala or Alessana Tuilagi @ 11 - All insanely powerful and class
Henry Tuilagi @ 8
Gareth Rees (Former Canada Fly half) at 10. He was a big unit
Skelton should be nowhere near that...when you consider all the power locks through history
Os du Rant @ 1
Jerry Collins
Jonah Lomu
Carl Hayman
Bsimark Du Plessis?

Some of the old boys...
The french team of the 70s etc. Gerrard Cholley the loosehead was insane...

Shall i continue

GeordieFalcon wrote:Most Powerful, rather than Toughest / Most Lunatic Xv?

Inga Tuigamala or Alessana Tuilagi @ 11 - All insanely powerful and class
Henry Tuilagi @ 8
Gareth Rees (Former Canada Fly half) at 10. He was a big unit
Skelton should be nowhere near that...when you consider all the power locks through history
Os du Rant @ 1
Jerry Collins
Jonah Lomu
Carl Hayman
Bsimark Du Plessis?

Some of the old boys...
The french team of the 70s etc. Gerrard Cholley the loosehead was insane...

Shall i continue

If you are going that far back then from England you could at least consider Dean Richards, Maurice Colclough, Mike Teague. From more recent times Simon Shaw would not be far away

GeordieFalcon wrote:Most Powerful, rather than Toughest / Most Lunatic Xv?

Inga Tuigamala or Alessana Tuilagi @ 11 - All insanely powerful and class
Henry Tuilagi @ 8
Gareth Rees (Former Canada Fly half) at 10. He was a big unit
Skelton should be nowhere near that...when you consider all the power locks through history
Os du Rant @ 1
Jerry Collins
Jonah Lomu
Carl Hayman
Bsimark Du Plessis?

Some of the old boys...
The french team of the 70s etc. Gerrard Cholley the loosehead was insane...

Shall i continue

Please do! I feel like there are so many powerful players that have almost been forgotten because they were not as well rounded as others in their position. The Pacific Islanders have a long list of massively destructive players. It would be interesting to resurface some of the legends of the game who may have only featured in an old rugby dump video once in their career.

I'd be putting Mike Phillips ahead of Connor Murray! He was like an extra flanker for us back in the day.

Definitely! He was a very physical scrum half.

I made my side with current players rather than historical ones but I might think of a historical one to post later when I have time.

Obviously any list like this is going to be biased to the modern era - say post Lomu. However, for the old timers, surely Bill Beaumont and Fran Cotton would have to be there, along with Gareth Edwards as SH.

SA have had a few big units play 10 - pretty sure Frans Steyn played a few games there, and Henry Honiball was a big and physical player of his generation.

Can we have Bergomasco as scrum half - really played like a flanker

Another name to throw into the mix - Andy Sheridan. Was huge and shifted enormous weights in the gym, although only sometimes seemed able to harness that power on the field.

dummy_half wrote:Obviously any list like this is going to be biased to the modern era - say post Lomu. However, for the old timers, surely Bill Beaumont and Fran Cotton would have to be there, along with Gareth Edwards as SH.

SA have had a few big units play 10  - pretty sure Frans Steyn played a few games there, and Henry Honiball was a big and physical player of his generation.

Can we have Bergomasco as scrum half - really played like a flanker

Another name to throw into the mix - Andy Sheridan. Was huge and shifted enormous weights in the gym, although only sometimes seemed able to harness that power on the field.

Rumour has it that Chabal lifted bigger weights when they were both at Sale, but yes Sheridan is another that could be considered.

I actually thought Sheridan was overated however his strength was very much in the professional powerlifting level i believe.

LiW definitely go back as long as needed. Theres been some physical colossus throigh the years.

I would have Fran cotton in the lumatic XV