This dream team line-up of superstars from years gone by really is the best of the best, according to rugby legend Sir Ian McGeechan.
Four Lions tours as head coach, a Grand Slam with Scotland and a Heineken Cup with Wasps. It is little wonder that when we think of McGeechan, the word that immediately comes to mind is ‘legend’.
He has used that knowledge to pick what he feels is rugby’s ultimate dream team – a truly star-studded XV made up of the greatest players he has come across.
The side, which he picked for The Telegraph, is made up of six New Zealanders, three Englishmen, two Welshmen, one Irishman, a Scot, an Aussie and a Frenchman.
DID YOU KNOW? Despite plating internationally for Scotland, Sir Ian McGeechan was born in Leeds
Sir Ian McGeechan: My Rugby Dream Team
FULLBACK:
Fullback: JPR Williams (Wales) – “Not a staggeringly original choice, I’ll admit. But to my mind the only one. If I’m going to be picking a dream XV over the next few days then I want JPR at the back. No question.”
WINGERS:
Left-wing: Jonah Lomu (New Zealand) – “Illness and injury ultimately slowed him down. But his performances at the 1995 World Cup, just as the game was turning professional, will never be forgotten. The game needed a superstar, and it got one in Lomu. He was brilliant for rugby.”
Right-wing: John Kirwan (New Zealand) – “He had an all round game; he could carry the ball through heavy traffic, he could offload, he was like an extra back-rower at times. Plus, he had natural effortless pace. He ended up scoring 35 tries for the All Blacks and was instrumental as they went through their unbeaten spell of games between 1987 and 1990.”