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Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith named greatest All Blacks midfielders

By Sam Smith
Conrad Smith (left) and Ma'a Nonu. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith have been named as the greatest All Blacks midfielders of all-time by a panel of rugby experts and the Kiwi public.

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As part of Sky Sport’s quest to find New Zealand’s Greatest XV, a panel of leading journalists and broadcasters – Grant Nisbett, Ken Laban, Rikki Swannell and Phil Gifford – were last week asked by The Breakdown who they thought were the country’s best-ever second-five and centre.

The panel were unanimous in their verdict that Nonu, the two-time World Cup-winning veteran, was the leading candidate to fill the No 12 jersey.

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That decision that was backed by the public, who have the former 103-test star 85 percent of the vote to beat out the likes ofBill Osborne, Walter Little and Warwick Taylor to make the Greatest XV.

However, there was a split decision at centre, as although the expert panel decided on Bruce Robertson as their pick at No 13, 57 percent of the public deemed Smith as the best centre New Zealand has ever had.

The impasse led to a tie-breaker call by former All Blacks head coach Sir Graham Henry, the “convener of selectors”, who agreed with the public and confirmed Smith’s place in the team.

Nonu and Smith are widely-regarded as one of the best midfield combinations in the history of rugby, having paired with each other for the All Blacks, Hurricanes and Wellington throughout their respective careers.

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At test level, the duo were the incumbent All Blacks midfielders between 2008 and 2015, and both played key roles in New Zealand’s back-to-back World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015.

Ex-All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu was a teammate of Nonu’s at the All Blacks and the Blues, and he described the 39-year-old as one of the best players ever to take to the field for New Zealand.

“He will go down as one of our most amazing All Blacks,” Mealamu told Sky Sport. “He could do the things that Jonah [Lomu] did, as well as Cully [Christian Cullen]. Great step, and developed a pass and a kick like no other.”

Former All Blacks captain Riche McCaw spoke highly of his former test teammate’s selflessness and willingness to do the upmost for the team.

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“He always gave everything for the jersey. He was about the team being successful and what he could do to help,” McCaw said.

“The other thing that I really liked is he didn’t just tow the line. He’d speak up about things he didn’t agree with or he thought would contribute to help the team and, because of his actions, people respected that.”

Ex-All Blacks boss Sir Steve Hansen, who coached Nonu either as an assistant or head coach throughout the entirety of his test career, said his desire to become a better player after missing out on the 2007 World Cup squad heavily influenced his legacy.

“Not getting in the ’07 team hurt him. He went away and worked on his game, and his passing got better, his kicking got better, his fitness got better, so it’s allowed him to do the things that we needed him to do more often,” Hansen told Sky Sport.

“There was just a real drive to want to be in the All Blacks, and if you’ve got the real drive, then you get to use it every day. It’s not a spasmodic thing, it’s something that’s consistent. He became a more consistent player.”

Former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga, a teammate and mentor of Nonu’s in the early days of his All Blacks, Hurricanes and Wellington career, echoed Hansen’s sentiments.

“He was a blockbusting winger, outside back, that, if given the ball, he could make things happen,” Umaga said of Nonu in the infancy of his career.

“Yet, that’s all he was seen as, and he was very good at it. Then he had a couple of setbacks, and he showed that, ‘Yep, I don’t want to finish my career like that,’ and he developed into the world’s best midfielder, as a No 12.

“He developed the passing game, a kicking game, a great knowledge, defensively, of strategy.”

Smith, meanwhile, also drew praise from Umaga, who he was in direct competition with for a place in the Greatest XV.

“He’s the ultimate competitor is what I’ve learned from watching Conrad,” Umaga told Sky Sport of the 94-test veteran, who, like Nonu, he played alongside at the All Blacks, Hurricanes and Wellington in the early-to-mid 2000s.

“His courage is what really sets him apart. You add to that his quickness of thought; he might not have been the fastest player, but he was very smart around understanding that strategic part of the game and knowing where to be at the right time and seeing plays unfold and the best position to be in to support, make a tackle, get the ball back.

“Again, his growth in all those areas, I think that’s what sets him apart from a lot of other midfielders.”

McCaw noted that Smith’s intelligence allowed him to overcome his physical shortcomings and flourish as an international midfielder.

“When he started, he wasn’t that big for a centre at that time,” McCaw told Sky Sport.

“But, man, by the end, his impact, because of the way he understood the game, and defensively, even if he’s against bigger fellas, he knew where to be, how to work with others to ensure there was no gaps, all those sorts of things, and knew the right options to take. I think that’s what set him apart from most others.

“He had the ability to make people look good around him as well, and the way he directed and led a backline was really remarkable, and probably doesn’t get enough kudos for the impact he had.

“Just from a leadership point of view, he was brilliant in terms of leading our team with how we were going, but also how he helped people around him.”

All Blacks Greatest XV

1. Tony Woodcock (118 tests from 2002-2015)
2. Sean Fitzpatrick (92 tests from 1986-1997)
3. Ken Gray (24 tests from 1963-1969)
4. Colin Meads (55 tests from 1957-1971)
5. Brodie Retallick (85 tests from 2012-present)
6. Michael Jones (56 tests from 1986-1998)
7. Richie McCaw (148 tests from 2001-2015)
8. Zinzan Brooke (58 tests from 1987 to 1997)
9. Aaron Smith (101 tests from 2012-present)
10. Dan Carter (112 tests from 2003-2015)
11. N/A
12. Ma’a Nonu (103 tests from 2003-2015)
13. Conrad Smith (94 tests from 2004-2015)
14. N/A
15. N/A

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Jon 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
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john 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

28 Go to comments
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Adrian 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

28 Go to comments
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Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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