Only one England star named in stunning team of the decade

by Rugby Rucker

Wednesday, 16 December 2020 at 17:40

brits

byRugby Rucker

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Not Another Rugby Podcast presenters Steve Smith and Todd Dudley have selected their stunning team of the decade (2010-2020) with one England star included in the XV.

BACK-THREE:

15. Ben Smith (New Zealand)
14. Bryan Habana (South Africa)
11. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)

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CENTRE:

13. Jonathan Davies (Wales)
12. Ma'a Nonu (New Zealand)

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HALFBACKS:

10. Dan Carter (New Zealand)
9. Aaron Smith (New Zealand)

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FRONT-ROW:

1. Mako Vunipola (England)
2. Schalk Brits (South Africa)
3. Owen Franks (New Zealand)

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SECOND-ROW:

4. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)

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BACK-ROW:

6. David Pocock (Australia)
7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
8. Sergio Parisse (Italy)

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LATEST COMMENTS

Exhooker29-10-2026
Typical discrimination against the girls.
Exhooker26-10-2026
How many carries did Pollock have, seem to stand off a lot.
Mayben55426-10-2026
ban him! The URC fans were up in arms about Jan Hendrik Wessels "nut grab". With the same amount of evidence more aor less. He should be banned
Exhooker22-10-2026
LPM is the way to go for the future. Too much crash ball, slowing the game down and causing penalties to be awarded. Let's see trhe game opening up
RRfan1022-10-2026
The decision to bench Kildunne makes sense as she is fast,quick thinking, but and could easily make a difference in the second half having watched the team play without her.. Molony-Macdonald has probably cost them 2 games with her disallowed try attempts and wasted team efforts to get her there.
KiwiRooster18-10-2026
Phil Vickery certainly did not make a healthy decision at 50+yo. To get shredded like this, one has to get all the water out of his system. Typically, people who achieve this to the extreme like he did use chemically or pharmaceutically induced diuretic which carries severe medical risks such as kidney failure. If I recall, Jonah Lomu himself transitioned into an amateur bodybuilding career after quiting professional rugby and I suspect he would have used diuretics himself. If you have ever had kidney stones past your 40s which is quite frequent with the lesser calcium absorption that comes with age, you would know the last thing you want to do to your body is starve it of water. Hydration is key if you want to last and kidney disease are no joke, they will kill you in one of the most unpleasant, nastiest ways possible. "Looking good" does not mean you are healthy and in this case I would say it does not even look good. To me the example to follow is Ritchie McCaw. He lost weight via a more natural process of cycling and preparing for a run across the South Island of New Zealand. Running marathons just like body building is not a great idea for longevity but preparing for the occasional cross country run is a great idea. McCaw looks sharp, he has lost the weight that was necessary for his rugby career but unecessary for his joints and his new career as an helicopter pilot. To me, he made the right move, the healthiest move. Body building is to be avoided at all ages. Never mind those who tell you it is natural, it never ever is.
s1john17-10-2026
Well I am at it, when you list tallest players you also exclude 6ft 10 Derwyn Jones.
s1john17-10-2026
How on earth have you left out 110m olympic hurdler Nigel Walker from the list. I guarantee he was faster than Christian Wade
APJones15-10-2026
It's only a song , more of a chant I suppose always associated with English rugby . No problem .
Whelker13-10-2026
What a horrible sight

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