McCaw, Jones, Brooke named greatest All Blacks loose forwards
Richie McCaw, Sir Michael Jones and Zinzan Brooke have been named as the greatest All Blacks loose forwards of all-time by a panel of rugby experts and the Kiwi public.
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 loose forwards.
The panel were unanimous in their verdict that McCaw, the two-time World Cup-winning former All Blacks captain, and Brooke, the 58-test veteran who played for the All Blacks between 1987 and 1997, were New Zealand’s greatest openside flanker and No 8.
Their verdict was supported by the Kiwi public, who voted McCaw (85 percent of the public vote) and Brooke (55 percent) as the best-ever All Blacks in their respective positions on social media.
In doing so, they pipped the likes of ex-All Blacks captains Kieran Read and Graham Mourie, Waka Nathan, Sir Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford, and the late Sir Brian Lochore for their places in the Greatest XV.
Things weren’t so clear-cut at blindside flanker, though, as the four panellists were split between choosing Jones or double World Cup winner Jerome Kaino for the blindside flanker spot.
The selection process became more complicated after the public cast their vote, as the late Jerry Collins received 36 percent of the vote, more than both Kaino (34 percent) and Jones (29 percent).
With three contenders vying for the No 6 jersey, Sky Sport turned to former All Blacks head coach Sir Graham Henry, the “convener of selectors”, to cast the deciding vote.
Henry opted to select Jones on the short side of the scrum, with former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick, who was named in hooker in the Greatest XV two weeks ago, describing the former 56-test star as a “special” talent.
“I think what made Michael Jones so special is that he could probably play any position on the field, even hooker. He was that good,” Fitzpatrick told Sky Sport.
“He just had that real natural ability. He was big in those days, hugely fit, athletic, and he redefined that position, without question.
“I always remember Nick Farr-Jones, the greatest Australia captain, saying to us, ‘In our day, if we could keep Michael Jones quiet, we had a chance of beating the All Blacks’.
This will be a big loss for the Blues ? #SuperRugbyhttps://t.co/8qr3hHslt7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 16, 2021
“He’s a Dan Carter, for me. Dan Carter dominated games, and he dominated games the All Blacks won. It’s the same as Michael. Michael singled-handedly could dominate a game.”
Former All Blacks coaches John Hart and Laurie Mains both shared similar views on how valuable of a player Jones was to their respective sides.
“He could play six, seven or eight. I even considered him as a back-up to being able to cover the midfield. That’s how skilful Michael Jones was at his peak,” Hart said.
“At his peak, he was the best No 7 you’d ever seen. He is the best footballer I ever saw or ever coached, and remains that way.”
Mains added: “Openside, No 8, blindside – it didn’t matter. In his time, he was probably the best in all positions. He’s your dream player. He was steely tough, incredibly skilled, and the team always came first with Michael.”
Brooke, meanwhile, was heralded by Fitzpatrick as the one teammate he would take with him into war due to his competitiveness.
“His skill factor and his competitive edge, even now he’s hugely competitive, and I often get asked – this is no disrespect to any other All Black or any other player I played with – what player would you pick to be in your team if you had to go to war?” Fitzpatrick told Sky Sport.
“It’d be Zinzan Brooke. His breadth of game, the different games he could play, his skill sets, and that love of the jersey. It was just second-to-none.”
As they did with Jones, both Hart and Mains coached Brooke during his career with the All Blacks, and both held the 58-test international in extremely high regard.
“Fitzy was lucky to have a guy like Zinny playing with him in the All Blacks because Zinny could run the game,” Hart said.
Update: Teenager charged with attempted murderhttps://t.co/bI8vYamyPh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 16, 2021
“The guy who constantly did the work and had the thinking process was Zinzan Brooke. A great thinker of the game.
“His skills were unbelievable. Hand skills, kicking skills – a really fantastic rugby player. Certainly the most skilful I’ve seen outside of Michael Jones.”
“Give me something you would like Zinzan Brooke to do in a game. Ask him to do it, he’d do it,” Mains added before revealing he had some early reservations about Brooke until Fitzpatrick convinced him of the No 8’s talents.
“I wasn’t a big fan of Zinny’s. First of all, I was really disappointed when Buck Shelford got dropped, because I really, really rated and respected Buck.
“Fitzy took me in to take Zinny to Australia in ’92, so I said, ‘Okay Fitzy, that’s a captain’s pick and I’ll go with it’. Fitzy said to me, ‘You tell Zinny what you want him to do, and he’ll do it’.
“Well, I found out over the next four years, whatever you wanted Zinny to do, including playing openside flanker, Zinny will do it.”
Brooke’s skill set wasn’t confined solely to his ability as a ball carrier, distributor or defender, though, as his unparalleled drop-kicking prowess has set him apart from every other forward in test rugby.
Ex-All Blacks wing Sir Bryn Williams recalled having a drop kick competition with Brooke in Auckland, and challenged him to prove his worth from the boot in the international arena.
“Zinny was knocking them over from everywhere, and I said to him, ‘Zinny, you’re nobody until you’ve dropped a goal in a test match’,” Williams told Sky Sport.
“I’d actually dropped one goal in a test match against England in 1973, I think it was, and, well, he ended up with three drop goals, so when he saw me, he said, ‘BG, I’m the man’.”
All Blacks legend Justin Marshall has revealed he has “regrets” after hearing that Wallabies great Toutai Kefu is fighting for his life after being stabbed during a home invasion. #AllBlacks #Wallabies https://t.co/tN4QKM5xxW
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 16, 2021
As for McCaw, the former 148-test international drew praise from ex-All Blacks teammates Aaron Smith and Keven Mealamu for his greatness, aura, leadership, and professionalism.
“It was scary. The Richie McCaw aura, the man, it is real. It is a real thing,” Smith, who played alongside McCaw between 2012 and 2015, told Sky Sport.
“Meeting the guy for the first time, he’s not intimidating, but he is scary, but then, the more you get to know him, he’s just a quiet guy.
“The aura he had when you played with him, you kind of felt like you couldn’t lose or you were going to go pretty close to winning.
“The way he went around his work, the way he operated, first off the bus, first onto the training paddock, first in the ice bath, it was just constant. He oozed greatness, he oozed professionalism.”
“I know some of the young ones [teammates], they felt a little bit uncomfortable being around him, and it was purely because they were in awe of him,” Mealamu, a teammate of McCaw’s between 2002 and 2015, added.
“The other part to that, as well, was the skipper was always on, which meant he was always thinking about the game, how we could do things better, which is what made him so amazing.”
Former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen described McCaw, who remains the only person to captain a team to two World Cup titles, and did so consecutively, as “the most driven” and “the greatest” player he has ever coached.
“It’s often been said by myself that he wasn’t our most talented athlete, but, by goodness me, he was so driven, to the point where he just wanted to be better every day,” Hansen, who coached McCaw at various stages between 2000 and 2015, said.
“He didn’t ever want to let the jersey down, he didn’t want to let other No 7s down, he didn’t want to let himself down, his family down, and I can’t remember him playing a poor game.
“To do that, you’ve got to be able to take yourself, mentally, to a place that allows you to then use all the talent and skill that you had, and that’s tough.
“That’s probably the hardest thing in sport to do, and that’s why you get fluctuations in performances, because people can’t do that. He did it, and that’s why, in my mind, he’s the greatest player in my time.”
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 (84 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. N/A
10. N/A
11. N/A
12. N/A
13. N/A
14. N/A
15. N/A
Reserves:
16. N/A
17. N/A
18. N/A
19. N/A
20. N/A
21. N/A
22. N/A
23. N/A
Coach: N/A
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments