The five greatest rugby players of all-time have been ranked based solely on statistics, with the likes of Jonny Wilkinson and Jonah Lomu missing out.
Putting personal bias aside, the original article was written and compiled by Ben Nurse for The Match Report using statistics from Wikipedia and ESPN.
FORMULA:
Every player was ranked on each individual statistic and this ranking will correspond to a value of points, e.g. 1st gets 10 points and and 10th gets 1 points. The statistics they were ranked on are: total international wins, international win percentage, tries scored, domestic trophies* and international Trophies**
#5. Martin Johnson (England)
A player who led by example and the kind of man you would always want alongside you in the trenches when the chips are down. Would never ask someone to do something he wouldn’t do himself. As well as being an inspirational leader, the Leicester lock was also a formidable player in his own right. A rock like presence in the tight, whose rugby motto was if in doubt, go forward.
Did you know? Johnson briefly played American football for the Leicester Panthers as a tight end or defensive end