'It's mad': BT Sport rugby pundits name Premiership Immortals XV
Six current top-flight players – Dan Cole, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, Danny Care, Owen Farrell and the retiring Chris Ashton – have gained selection in the Premiership Immortals XV chosen by a BT Sport panel consisting of Lawrence Dallaglio, Austin Healey, Ugo Monye and Ben Kay.
All four pundits named their own individual XVs in recent days before the selection process culminated in a near-hour-long round-table debate that resulted in Dallaglio convincing his three colleagues he merited the No8 shirt in the XV celebrating 20 years of Premiership finals.
In total, 11 England internationals made the cut, but there were also places for Ireland’s Geordan Murphy, Samoa’s Alesana Tuilagi, Argentina’s Marcos Ayerza and South Africa’s Schalk Brits.
Monye was pleased with the firepower across the team. “You can play any way in which you want to play,” he beamed. “When you have so much quality in that forward pack and when you have got this once-in-a-generation player in Schalk Brits who is more likely to play in the backs, it just allows you so many different options because the quality of front-foot ball and the speed of ball allows these people to do what they want to do.”
Kay added: “You’d batter them [the opposition] and then you have got two generals there [Care and Farrell] who have the vision and the command of their forward pack because that is really important because when you have got a forward pack like that. If you have got a weak nine and 10, they don’t get the ball back. But if you have got people that get what they want, we have got a lot of space out wide for these guys to exploit.”
Many of the selection debates were easily settled but two positions that took quite a while to settle were tighthead and full-back. Here is how the back and forth went regarding the No3 shirt, starting with a discussion on the merits of Martin Castrogiovanni:
Kay: I went with Castro. Castro now playing how he used to then in this era this year would still have as big an impact. Very, very good scrummager. The scrummaging has become less important. It is still a factor, but it was a major part of a tighthead’s game (back then)… but he had everything else. He had hands and he became a big global superstar playing in the Premiership and great fun to be around as well.
Monye: I agree with it, not because of his rugby stuff but any lad that can survive a weekend with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Las Vegas deserves to be picked.
Kay: The other great stories are he was only allowed to take up rugby because he punched a basketball referee. He wasn’t allowed to play rugby, so he deliberately got himself banned for life by punching the basketball referee. And the cycling shorts he wore, he used to strap his legs up and told his grandmother he had bad hamstrings because he had tattoos and didn’t want her to know.
Healey: I still maintain that if he and Darren Garforth were in the same squad, Castrogiovanni would not have played on the Saturday. It is really hard, the tighthead is really tough. It depends on what your criteria is. If it is for scrummaging, you probably have to go Dan Cole. If it was ability around the park, you would probably go Castro. If it was intelligence you’d go (Will) Green. If it was outright hardness and being a psychopath, never took a backward step, you’d go Garforth.
Monye: I selected Dan Cole in my team. When you talk about longevity and consider what they have to do, it’s remarkable every one of them, but Dan Cole has been a totem for Leicester. He has straddled a couple of different spheres within that time.
Dallaglio: You have got to admire someone who has been to the top, stayed there for such a long time, got picked for England in the World Cup, it didn’t work out, gone back to his club, worked even harder and then got himself in the shape of his life, whatever shape that is.
The chat ultimately resulted in Cole getting selected, and the lengthy debate was repeated at full-back with Murphy contesting selection with Saracens’ Alex Goode. Here is how this particular debate played out:
Kay: The great thing about Geordie is that we see so many players come into the Premiership with a box of tricks, so much talent but they overuse it. He was a brilliant tactical player, aerially fantastic, but he would only pull out those moments of brilliance when it was on and when there was an opportunity. He still did stuff that I haven’t seen replicated since like that time against Northampton when he chipped it to himself. Alex Goode has been an unbelievable servant for Saracens as well.
Healey: A big decision here. That is too difficult a call at 15 because they are both sensational and very, very similar. But what could be a different conversation is if you took Ashton out and put Murphy in (on the wing), you might have a better balance in your back three. It’s not easy.
Monye: Mike Brown for me would be part of the conversation but when you look at records and tries and when you look at trophies that are won, that for me was the difference. Mike Brown was one of the best players I played with, but I went for Alex Goode because he is someone that can connect the dots in the backline and improve the ability of every single player because of his vision. You have effectively got an international 10 playing from the back, so his kick, pass, run options are phenomenal, his longevity, the amount of trophies that he has won, he is the type of player through his actions just made everyone better.
Dallaglio: It’s so hard. I chose Geordie because emotionally I played against him. He would be there. Alex Goode is not necessarily the same.
Monye: I selected Alex Goode in my team but it’s mad, everything I said about Alex Goode I could have said about Geordan Murphy. I truly could have. That is what makes it so difficult. It would be easier if they were both that exceptional but different style players.
In the end, Key and Dallaglio voted first for Murphy, Monye plumped for Goode and this left Healey with the final say. “I’ll pick Geordie.”
BT Sport Premiership Immortals XV: 15. Geordan Murphy; 14. Chris Ashton, 13. Fraser Waters, 12. Brad Barritt, 11. Alesana Tuilagi; 10. Owen Farrell, 9. Danny Care; 1. Marcos Ayerza, 2. Schalk Brits, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Martin Johnson (capt), 5. Maro Itoje, 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Neil Back, 8. Lawrence Dallaglio.
- Watch BT Sport’s Premiership Immortals on BT Sport 1 from 1pm on Saturday, May 27, to see who makes the greatest Premiership XV of all time. The final episode will be followed by BT Sport’s exclusive live coverage of the Gallagher Premiership final from 2pm on BT Sport 1 btsport.com/immortals
Comments on RugbyPass
I think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to comments