HALFBACKS
Fly-half: Jonny Wilkinson (England) – He will forever be remembered as the man who kicked England to Rugby World Cup glory in Australia in 2003 – slotting a last-gasp drop goal in extra-time to edge out the hosts in a thrilling tournament finale. That moment is just one highlight of a record-breaking career that has seen Wilkinson rise to one of the sport’s all-time greats. He won 91 caps for England between 1998 and 2011, scoring over 1,100 points during that time. He spent 12 seasons with the Newcastle Falcons, where he won the Premiership in 1998, before moving to Toulon. During his five year spell at the French club he won the Champions Cup on two occasions and the Top14 title. Named both World Rugby Player of the Year and BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2003.
Scrum-half: Gareth Edwards (Wales) – Combining both pace and strength to devastating effect, add to that near-perfect kicking, passing and defensive games, as well as a keen eye for the try line, and you can see why Edwards invariably tops the polls in any vote for the greatest player of all time. Edwards played for his country on 53 occasions between 1967 and 1978, scoring 88 points. Edwards also captained his country 13 times. Wales’ domination of the Five Nations was complete during Edwards’s career, when he helped them to win the title seven times, with three Grand Slam seasons. In addition to his 53 Wales caps he made 10 appearances for the British & Irish Lions, featuring on the 1968, 1971 and 1974 tours.
FRONT-ROW
Loosehead-prop: Gethin Jenkins (Wales) – One of Wales’ most respected looseheads, Jenkins has so far won 129 caps for his country, which makes him the most capped Welshman in history. He featured in the 2005, 2009 and 2013 British and Irish Lions Tours.
Hooker: Keith Wood (Ireland) – With over 50 caps for Ireland, Wood played on the 1997 and 2001 Lions tours, and was the inaugural winner of the World Rugby Player of the Year award in 2001.
Tighthead-prop: Adam Jones (Wales) – Jones has 95 caps to his name for Wales and featured in the 2009 and 2013 British and Irish Lions Tours. He spent the majority of his career at Ospreys, before briefly spending time with the Cardiff Blues and Harlequins.