#2. Paul O’Connell
- Born October 20, 1979, Limerick
- Major teams British and Irish Lions, Munster, Ireland
- Caps 115
- Position Lock
The Irish second row was certainly blessed with special rugby powers having been one of the world’s leading tight forwards for more than a decade. A three-times Lions who captained the tour of South Africa in 2009.
Alun Wyn Jones said: “We got to know each other very well as team-mates with the Lions and opponents for our clubs and countries. You cannot shy away from how effective the guy was in his position.”
Did you know? O’Connell initially excelled at swimming and only started playing rugby at the age of 16
Source: The Rugby Paper
#1. Bakkies Botha
- Born September 22, 1979, Newcastle, Natal
- Major teams Barbarians, Blue Bulls, Bulls, South Africa A, Toulon, South Africa
- Position Lock
The second row enforcer in South Africa’s World Cup winning team of 2007, this was a man you didn’t mess around with. Rounded off his career with three European Cup wins with Toulon.
Jones said: “He revelled in it didn’t he. Physically he has to be up there. Let’s just say he was able to keep the tradition going of the hardest of South African second rows.”
Did you know? Botha is the only player in the history of rugby union to date to have won a hat trick of Super Rugby and European rugby titles
Source: Youtube