Top 10 Rugby Union Players

Richie McCaw - Mr Indestructible, Mr Noble, Mr Success – you can hang any number of complimentary monikers on the New Zealand captain and all would be appropriate. And still delivering. Greatest flanker of all time? Yes.

Kieran Read - Read has yet to achieve the immortal status of his back-row partner-in-arms but is on the way to be considered one of the finest no.8s in All Black history. The intelligence of his play, his support lines and athleticism, is what marks him out.

Brodie Retallick - Like former All Black lock, Ian Jones, before him, Retallick does not look the most awesome specimen. Lean but mean in what he does, with a fabulous work-rate and involvement, Retallick has been the mainstay of New Zealand’s forward play.

Julian Savea - The fact that there was even cause for debate as to who was the greatest wing, Savea or Jonah Lomu, shows just what Savea has achieved in such a short space of time. Lomu transcended his sport while Savea has to be content with merely dominating it as the most potent try-scorer of his era with 30 tries in 33 Tests

Duane Vermeulen - Move over Kieran Read, there is another no.8 on the block, South African Duane Vermeulen, a different type of player, more direct, very much in the Springbok mould. Vermeulen offers more than mere strength, however, a link man as much as a battering ram.

Israel Folau - A triple-code superstar, Folau has not had quite the impact of his initial switch-over year but nonetheless is a constant menace from the rear, forever on the look-out for openings and with the multi-layered ability to take full advantage.

Dan Carter Has the mighty one fallen, the once sure-fire bet to top any list of greatest players, a man regarded by most as the finest fly-half of all time? No, Carter has been rehabilitating for long stretches and there is no doubt that if he stays fit, he will be a star-turn of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Picture: GETTY

Jonathan Sexton : The coming man in the fly-half stakes, Sexton has shown for Ireland as well as the Lions that he has fully matured as an influential playmaker, helping his country in 2014 to one of their best ever years.

Conrad Smith - Does this man ever make a mistake, ever fluff a pass, miss a tackle, take the wrong option, put his teammates into trouble? Smith rates alongside the likes of Tim Horan or Philippe Sella as one of the best centre three-quarters of all time.

Willie le Roux - The bit of magic in the Springbok machine, a player with light feet and searing vision, le Roux can create trouble all over the field, as he showed at Twickenham in November when reading the delicate chip kick from Pat Lambie to put Cobus Reinach in for a try.