NUMBER EIGHT: ZINZAN BROOKE (NEW ZEALAND):
All Blacks No.8 Zinzan Brooke possessed the unique talent of being both an agile forward and having an impressive kicking side to his game.
Dallaglio said: “So talented, so physical, such a great understanding of the game and so bloody competitive.”
Setting a world record for his specific era – Brooke scored 17 Test rugby tries. And the first of these tries came against Argentina in 1987 where the young back-row helped his side to a conclusive 46-15 victory. However, in front of Brooke in the All Blacks pecking order was the legendary Buck Shelford so Zinzan had to wait until after 1990 – when the All Blacks selectors deemed Shelford to be surplus to requirements- to have a regular run in the first-team.
He went onto be a vital member of the New Zealand World Cup squad in 1991 and 1995 and contributed an unforgettable moment which has gone down in rugby folklore against England during the 1995 showpiece.
With the posts lying 47 metres away from the rampaging No.8 – Brooke set his sights and nailed an outrageous field goal – and in the process propelling him into the rugby spotlight. However, Brooke’s joy proved to be short-lived as the All Blacks went down to the Springboks in the historic 1995 World Cup final.
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