Rugby World Cup Greatest Players: Our top 20 - Page 3 of 4 - Ruck

Rugby World Cup Greatest Players: Our top 20 ranked

10. Tim Horan (Australia)

He was immense at the 1991 tournament, although had to take a back seat to Campese, but was able to fully flourish and was the best player at 1999. Capable of cutting teams to bits on attack, putting in solid hits on defence and creating chances for others, Horan was the complete player and World Cups, it seemed, brought out the best in him..

9. Serge Blanco (France)

In 1987 he was in his pomp, even though he was getting through a couple of packets of cigarettes a day, and got France to the final. In the semi-final against Australia Blanco finished off the move, in injury time, that condemned the Wallabies to a 30-24 defeat in Sydney.

8. Joost van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

A powerful player, standing 6ft 2in, the South African had an eye for a gap, a bullet pass and an appetite for defending. The scrum-half pulled off one of the tackles of the 1995 World Cup final when he hauled down Jonah Lomu as the Springboks edged to a 15-12 extra-time win over New Zealand.
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South African captain Joost van der Westhuizen (L) clears a kick around the tackle of Australian scrumhalf George Gregan during their Tri-Nations Test match August 14. South Africa, who had lost their last four internationals, won the game 10-9. MH/KM – RTR125HP

7. Bryan Habana (South Africa)

He finished up with 67 tries in 124 Tests for South Africa and was part of the Bok team, in 2009, which held every trophy they could win.

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 07: (Re-transmission of #491690038 with alternative crop) Bryan Habana of South Africa goes over for their third try during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between South Africa and USA at Olympic Stadium on October 7, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

6. Martin Johnson (England)

If Jonny Wilkinson was the driver of the 2003 England team, Martin Johnson was the brains and the grunt. He wasn’t a flash player by any sense of the word. What he was, was a tough, reliable worker. After the final, John Eales exclaimed that he thought Martin Johnson’s performance was the best ever by a lock.6

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