Winning the Rugby World Cup may seem like a tall order for some sides but what if “tall” was the order of the day?
These guys are giants would be standing head and shoulders above all opponents if they were all still playing .
5. Rory Arnold (208cm, 6ft 8in)
John Eales, Nathan Sharpe, Rob Simmons. Australia tend to encourage height as much as mobility when it comes to their second row, but the three players listed don’t quite reach the heights of Arnold despite topping over 200cm.
4. Luke Charteris (209cm, 6ft 9in)
The Wales team-mate Shane Williams rarely liked standing next to. Charteris’ huge engine has seen his international career amass 74 Test caps since his debut in South Africa back in 2004. He's now playing for Bath in the Gallagher Premiership.
2=. Martin Bayfield (210cm, 6ft 9in)
The 208 cm (6 ft 10in) tall Bayfield made his England debut in 1991, and would accumulate 34 caps along with three for the British & Irish Lions. Following his retirement, the lock dabbled in acting before becoming a well respected presenter on BT Sport and ITV.
2=. Devin Toner (210cm, 6ft 9in)
The tallest player currently playing and one who Ireland coach Joe Schmidt relied on to ease the burden of Paul O’Connell’s retirement from international rugby. 6’10” Toner has been a consistent performer for Ireland and for Leinster over the span of his career..
1. Richard Metcalfe (213cm, 7ft 00in)
The only player on this list to be 7’0″ or taller, Scotland’s Richie Metcalfe really was a giant of rugby and will be familiar to supporters of Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints.
The Leeds-born lock played 13 times for Scotland and is not only known for being rugby’s tallest player but also the player who was dropped to the replacements bench for Northampton’s victorious Heineken Cup final win in 2000.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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