Gareth Edwards has been voted the greatest ever player to come from the United Kingdom.
In a 2003 poll conducted by Rugby World magazine, Edwards was named the greatest rugby player of all time by international players.
Will Carling, a former England captain, ranked Edwards as the top player in his list of the ’50 Greatest Rugby players’ published in The Daily Telegraph in 2007.
Carling stated “He was a supreme athlete with supreme skills, the complete package. He played in the 1970s, but, if he played now, he would still be the best. He was outstanding at running, passing, kicking and reading the game. He sits astride the whole of rugby as the ultimate athlete on the pitch.”
etween 1967 and 1978 Edwards won 53 caps for Wales, including 13 as captain. All his caps were won in succession; he never had a dip in form or an injury that would allow anybody else to take his place. He scored twenty tries in internationals.
Edwards also played ten times for the British & Irish Lions, playing for the 1971 Lions team that was the only such team to win a series in New Zealand, and for the unbeaten 1974 side in South Africa.
The 50 Greatest British Rugby Players Of All-Time Have Been Ranked By Fans
#50. Mike Tindall (England)
#49. Scott Quinnell (Wales)
#48. Matt Dawson (England)
#47. Will Carling (England)
#46. Scott Hastings (Scotland)
#45. Jonny May (England)
#44. Finlay Calder (Scotland)
#43. Maro Itoje (England)
#42. Rob Howley (Wales)
#41. Adam Jones (Wales)