Ranking the 10 Greatest Back-Three Trios in Rugby History

Throughout the decorated history of the sport we know and love, some truly terrific triumvirates have taken to the pitch in the 11, 14 and 15 jerseys. The high-flyers of the back-line, the wings and full-back are pivotal to finishing off the attacking flourishes and taking all the glory with their names in lights.

From the gritty days of the old-school amateur era, to the pristine high-performance centres of today, we've taken a look at the best back-three groupings to ever take to the pitch. In the latest edition of RUCK's 'Rugby Ranked' series, lets break down the rugby equivalent of a prime Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, as these three rugby musketeers ran riot across their respective eras.

Just as a matter of house-keeping to begin with, we are not including British & Irish Lions touring sides upon this list, due to the selection process of 'picking the current best players' for the red jersey. Had we allowed the Lions onto this list, then they would have taken up at least half of the spots.

So we hand honourable mentions to the back-field trios that graced the Lions tours in 1971 (Gerald Davies, JPR Williams, David Duckham), 1974 (JJ Williams, Andy Irivine, Gerald Davies), 2001 (Jason Robinson, Matt Perry, Dafydd James) and 2013 (George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Tommy Bowe).

We kick off this list with one of the all-time rugby greats in the 15 jersey, supported by two of the most lethal finishers of there time. The French back-three of the 1980s was the early embodiment of the expressive 'jouer' style that Fabien Galthie's side have become renowned for today. Spear-headed by the man known as 'the Pele of Rugby' in Serge Blanco, and partnered up out wide by Patrice Lagisque and Jean-Baptiste Lafond, the French flyers packed a punch in the amateur heyday.

Like the modern day dynamos that light up the Parisian nights, the French team of the 1980s were one of the top sides in the Northern Hemisphere. France claimed the Five Nations Championship six times in this decade, with the 1981 and 1987 Grand Slam's being peaks of this era. Whilst Lagisque and Lafond were both attacking threats, Blanco was the man in the spotlight. The full-back oozed class upon every touch of the ball, turned defenders inside out with the slightest change of pace and stole the show in 'bleu'.

From the international stage in the amateur era, we make the jump forward in time to the professional club game. One of English rugby's most instantly recogniseable teams, Saracens have enjoyed their fair share of success throughout the past decade or so. Whilst the footballing brains of Owen Farrell and the unrelenting heart of Maro Itoje are often accredited to the success, the Sarries back-three of Chris Ashton, Chris Wyles and Alex Goode delivered a fearsome triple threat that few teams could handle.

The trio in focus enjoyed an abundance of silverware, with three Premiership winners medals and two Champions Cup titles collected from 2014 to 2018. Ashton, Wyles and Goode formed the back-field for the most-part, with the iconic 'Ashton Splash' witnessed time and again over the whitewash of the top stadiums. Wyles brought uncontrollable speed to the Sarries back-line, through his USA Sevens rise coupled well with Ashton's England peak and Alex Goode's educated kicking.

We travel back in time to the late 1990s when the Wallabies were at the peak of their powers. Australia claimed the 1999 Rugby World Cup, as John 'Nobody' Eales (because Nobody's perfect), lifted the Web Ellis trophy aloft at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Supporting this iconic cast of gold jerseys was a formidable back-three, as Ben Tune, Joe Roff and Matthew Burke ran rings around their opponents and finished off the slick team moves in the corners.

Burke is often considered to be one of the Wallabies greatest ever full-backs, and was the star attraction in this back-three, alongside two exhilarating wingers. Joe Roff was certainly not a journeyman by any means, with a stunning strike rate as 30-try dynamo along the right touch-line. Then throw in Queensland legend Ben Tune, who's try in the 1999 final helped turn the tide against France, and you have a solid ensemble of Australian all-stars that enjoyed a dominant run at the top of the rugby world.

Our next entrant comes from the middle of the 1990s, as the back-three of Chester Williams, James Small and Andre Joubert rounded off one of the most historically significant teams that rugby - or sport - has ever bared witness to. The Springboks 1995 Rugby World Cup win came at a pivotal time of change for the nation of South Africa, that was re-building away from the end of Apartheid. This era of change was punctuated by President Nelson Mandela, who dressed in the famous green and gold jersey, handed the Web Ellis trophy to the triumphant Springboks captain Francois Pienaar.

Joubert was known as the 'Rolls-Royce' of rugby, such was the sheer style and class upon how he handled his business on the pitch. The full-back was capable of turning the momentum of a match with a single kick, and was blessed with the fiery and tenacious James Small as his right hand man. His never-say-die attitude defined the Springboks' culture, whilst Chester Williams was the celebrated 'poster-boy' of the 1995 home-hosted competition. With flashy footwork and a keen eye for the try-scoring cameras, the left winger bagged four tries in the quarter-final against Western Samoa, along the eventual road to glory.

Our next entrant comes from England's one and only time at the global mountain top, when Sir Clive Woodward's men triumphed in the land down under to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Whilst that fabled day in Sydney is best remembered for that Jonny Wilkinson drop goal that clinched the extra-time winner, the back-three of the so-called 'Dad's Army' was a stunning assortment of the nations' high-flyers in Ben Cohen, Jason Robinson and Josh Lewsey.

Whilst there's no denying the attacking strengths of the three, the defensive capabilities were a cut above the rest at the time. With Cohen's powerhouse frame, Robinson's rugby-league background and Lewsey's affinity for a thunderous 'man-and-ball' collision, England's 2003 back-field trio laid a compact defensive frame with the wide channels under lock and key. Now, the three were also explosive on the front foot, as Cohen ended the tournament as the top try-scorer, Robinson is remembered for his famous 'Billy Whizz' pace, and it always took more than one man to bring down Josh Lewsey at top gear.

Now we come to arguably the most star-studded club team that has ever been assembled. The RC Toulon 'Galacticos' of the mid 2010s brought together a group of the world's superstars, when Toulon club owner Mourad Boudjellal decided to play real-life Rugby Challenge and sign the globe's greatest talents with his seemingly bottomless pockets. It began when the World Player of the Year Tana Umaga arrived at a D2 Toulon in 2006, before the likes of George Gregan and Andrew Mehrtens helped secure the Top 14 place.

The project reached it's culmination with three consecutive Champions Cup titles, as Toulon ruled over Europe from 2013 to 2015. The back-three of Springboks sensation Bryan Habana, All Blacks legend Drew Mitchell and Wales' finest fullback of the modern era Leigh Halfpenny, secured the third straight title and brought an end to the era. The Galacticos began to retire or depart Toulon from 2015 onward, yet this trio can safely go down as the greatest club-level back-three of all-time.

So, with four spots left on our list, we have a quartet of international back-threes left to discuss. Just missing out on the podium places is the trio from the incredible All Blacks team of 2015. New Zealand were a special sort of dominant force in the mid 2010s, as a true team of legends banded together for one last ride. Like a rock band upon their farewell tour, the likes of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Ma'a Nonu played the hits, before they rode off into the sunset as back-to-back world champions.

The back-three were just as dangerous, as Ben Smith was the architect who pulled the strings behind the bulldozing Julian Savea and the hot-stepping Nehe Milner-Skudder. Whilst the 2011 All Blacks' Rugby World Cup triumph was a long awaited sigh of relief, the 2015 victory was a celebration of domination, and gets our pick for a place on this list.

So, with an honourable mention to Israel Dagg, Corey Jane and Richard Kahui from the class of '11, it's the thunderous trio of Smith, Savea and Milner-Skudder that gets our pick, thanks to the perfect blend of technical prowess, brute force and electric feet... all before we even mention Beauden Barrett!

Taking the bronze upon this list, is the side that claimed gold at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. The following may be tough reading for England fans, but there is no denying how the 2019 Springboks ran riot against Eddie Jones' men upon the grandest stage in Tokyo. Opitmised by the image of Cheslin Kolbe skipping free from multiple tackles, as he darted along the touch-line for a stunning solo try, the trio of Kolbe, Makazole Mapimpi and Wille le Roux stuck the nails into England's coffin.

The two wings brought an abundance of pace to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with Kolbe and Mapimpi forming an electric partnership along with le Roux as the on-field conductor. The full-back was inch-perfect with the boot as peppered his the back-fields, and unleashed his two speedsters to regain possession. The trio worked like a well-oiled green and gold machine, with both Mapimpi and Kolbe on hand to both score tries in the final, as South Africa claimed their first of two consecutive world titles.

Our penultimate back-field trio comes from the legendary All Blacks, with the man considered by many to be the best to ever play the game taking the spot upon the left wing. Jonah Lomu was an undeniable force of nature back in the mid 1990s, and took the game to new heights as the sport's first superstar.

At 6ft 5" tall and weighing in at over 120kgs of pure muscle, Lomu was pace and power personified, as he re-wrote the record books, with seven tries in five matches at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Accompanying him on the touchlines was Jeff Wilson, who's cunning and on-field craftsmanship had him known as 'The Fox'. Wilson was a clinical finisher with fantastic footwork, who coupled the out-right attrition of Lomu.

Then rounding off the back-field was Christian Cullen, a man regarded as the greatest ever to take the number 15 jersey. After being left out of the 1995 World Cup squad despite stunning form for Manawatu, Cullen took the reins from 1996 to the end of the millennium, and masterminded the All Blacks' first ever series win on tour against the Springboks and an astonishing run across the Northern Hemisphere sides. Whilst the trio were short-lived, the 1996 to 1998 cohort of Lomu, Wilson and Cullen certainly stakes a claim to be the finest All Blacks ensemble of all time.

We close out our picks for the best back-field trios, with the flying wings and mercurial fullback from one of - if not the greatest - international test teams of all time. Whilst England are credited for inventing the sport of rugby union, Wales took the game to another level throughout the heralded 'Golden Era' in the 1970s. We are specifically focussed in on 1975 to 1978 for this final entrant, as Gerald Davies, JJ Williams and the legendary J.P.R Williams formed a simply devastating back-three.

Davies was an artist on the pitch, who who is considered one of the most intelligent wingers of an era defined by free-flowing attack. He scored 20 tries in 46 Wales Tests, which equaled the previous record, given how caps were harder to come by than in today's professional calendar. JJ Williams ran out with him, and brought devastating speed from a track athletics back-ground, as a former Commonwealth Games athlete. The 'Welsh Whippet' was an elite sprinter, and excelled in the 1976 & 1978 Grand Slams.

Then there was the one and only J.P.R Williams, who rivals the aforementioned Christian Cullen to the title of 'Greatest Ever Fullback'. His defensive effort was unrelenting, with bone-crunching tackles along side his ultra-reliable presence in the air. Then Williams would get on the attack and set the game alight, the folklore of the Welshman tearing through defenses is the stuff of rugby legend, as his famous side-burns blew in the wind. Capable of delivering a moment of magic from nothing, Williams caps off our picks for rugby's best ever back-field trios.