Twenty-five greats of the game whose careers spanned 3 centuries have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Wembley on Sunday at 18:00 SA Time (17:00 BST, 16:00 GMT)
Players from 7 different countries and a wide array of backgrounds were honoured at a special presentation in the Spirit of Rugby lounge at Wembley Stadium before the eagerly awaited Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool C match between New Zealand and Argentina.
From the pioneering 19th century Welsh tactician Gwyn Nichols to Rugby World Cup winners in Australian centre Tim Horan and South African scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen, the latest induction list reads like a ‘who’s who’ of rugby.
18 Captains of their countries are included. Irishman Fergus Slattery and Mervyn Davies are 2 of the names that ‘The voice of rugby’ Bill McLaren, the only non-international to feature in the latest Round of inductions, once reeled off in his unforgettable BBC commentaries.
Twice-capped coaching guru Carwyn James is 1 of 7 Welshmen to be inducted, while South Africa have 5 representatives. England, Ireland and Scotland have 3 apiece and 2 each from France and Australia make up the 25.
The inductees or family members of those who are deceased all received framed caps from World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset and chief executive Brett Gosper.
Lapasset said, “The World Rugby Hall of Fame recognises those who have made an indelible mark on our sport through feats on the field of play, displays of great character or through their tireless and inspirational work in driving forward our great game.
“The latest set of inductions includes some real legends, players who have helped to shape the image of rugby and inspire generations of fans. They are truly some of the biggest names in our sport over the past 100 years or so and all have contributed immensely to the enjoyment we have all felt watching top-level rugby over the decades. Each of these 25 inductees has made a positive impression on the sport that will last the test of time.”
Chris Rea and Pablo Mamone, who form the World Rugby Hall of Fame panel along with Henri Garcia, Nigel Starmer-Smith and secretary Chris Thau, were also in attendance.
The full list of inductees into the World Rugby Hall of Fame (in alphabetical order) is:
- Phil Bennett (Wales)
- Naas Botha (South Africa)
- Gordon Brown (Scotland)
- Marcel Communeau (France)
- Gerald Davies (Wales)
- Mervyn Davies (Wales)
- Danie Gerber (South Africa)
- Tim Horan (Australia)
- Andy Irvine (Scotland)
- Carwyn James (Wales)
- Barry John (Wales)
- Tom Kiernan (Ireland)
- Gwyn Nicholls (Wales)
- Basil Maclear (Ireland)
- Bill McLaren (Scotland)
- Edgar Mobbs (England)
- Hennie Muller (South Africa)
- Morné du Plessis (South Africa)
- Ronald Poulton-Palmer (England)
- Tom Richards (Australia)
- Jean-Pierre Rives (France)
- Fergus Slattery (Ireland)
- Wavell Wakefield (England)
- Joost van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
- John Lewis Williams (Wales)
For more information on the Hall of Fame visit, www.worldrugby.org/halloffame.
Some great great players among this lot.
Seems hard to imagine some were not already in The Hall of Fame.
Phil Bennett, Barry John, Mervyn and Gerald Davies, Fergus Slattery all Br & Irish Lions to NZ in the 70’s……………………….and Carwyn James their wonderfull Coach………………………all Welshmen except Fergus.
And not one Kiwi. 🙁
😥
Nice touch to see Joost’s name among these great men.
@ cane:
Even better to see Bill McLaren’s.
RIP, o Great One
@ BrumbiesBoy:
@3
I read that the backline move that led to the second try of the Japanese on Saturday is called ” The Brumbie ” 🙂
Apparently it is an old standard Eddie Jones move that he has been using for ages. The bok coaching “braintrust” of course failed to prepare for it.
@ robzim:
Do you seriously suggest they prepare for a move done 15 years ago in super rugby? Surely you jest.
Should anyone read the above article, without clicking on the Youtube montages above …………………………………..then you are really going to miss something special.
Nothing could be more fitting in a RWC year.
Still I wonder, how not a single Kiwi, Samoan, Fijian, Tongan ……………………..or (dare I utter the word)…………………..Japanese player, made the 25.
@ BrumbiesBoy:
Actually BB………………………………….. I thought he had already been inducted.
MacroPolo wrote:
Not 15 years ago, but used when Eddie was helping the self same 2007 Boks HM is relying on.
Cape Town – Former Springbok coach Jake White was “amazed” by the lack of preparation shown by Heyneke Meyer’s side in their loss to Japan on Saturday.
White, speaking on United Arab Emirates-based channel OSN Sports after the match, was particularly shocked by Japan’s second try when fullback Ayumu Goromaru scored from a well-worked backline move after Japan had distributed the ball quickly from an attacking lineout.
But White was stunned that the Springboks weren’t wise to the move.
“I’m amazed. We ran that play in 2007 with the Springboks when Eddie was helping us. It’s exactly the same play we ran with Francois Steyn first receiver and Bryan Habana running inside so someone obviously hasn’t gone and looked at the old video tape,” said White, who had Jones as a technical adviser during the Boks’ triumphant 2007 World Cup campaign.
“I’ll even tell you the name … it’s called a ‘Brumbie’ … so if someone had just gone and done their homework they would have realised that that’s one of Eddie’s stock plays and he’s been running it since he’s been coaching.”
The Boks will look to turn their tournament around when they take on Samoa at Villa Park on Saturday. Kick-off is at 17:45.
http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/WorldCup/White-Boks-didnt-do-homework-20150922
@ nortie:
I still find it hard to believe even 8 years ago.
Then the only way to prepare for samoa is to analyse each player and the team they played for over their entire professional careers… Isnt that also considered “overcoaching”? To have players have 100 different playes in their heads?
I think its just an easy criticism in hindsight.
Some criticism is warranted, but it is criticism like this that is like grasping at straws imo.
@ MacroPolo:
Ok, it was a fluke.
Can we agree that one coach on Saturday did his homework and outsmarted his opposing coach and the other is called Heyneke Meyer?
9 @ MacroPolo:
And it’s not about analyzing every player, it’s about analyzing the coach and his methods.
Even we know what HM’s game plan is, and we are merely spectators.
Any coach worth his salt will look at the squad he selected and can prepare precisely accordingly.
When his squad was younger and fitter and not injured, the game plan worked more often than not, hense we beat most sides, barring the AllBlacks.
Now, his team he chose for his game plan is not fit (unless you believe the lies he and his physics told you) so it’s so innefective that even Japan managed to beat them
@ nortie:
Well i think we played poorly and had a hand in our defeat. We gave away some really silly penalties which cant in any way be team strategy in my opinion and those penalties kept Japan in the game… We played a good part of out dumbing them too.
@ MacroPolo:
What is more worrying to me is that when have we not played poorly?
In the last 9 tests we only won 3, so all this hoo hah about all of a sudden winning every game from here on in, including making it to and winning the final, where on earth do the people get the idea that this is feasible?
We are now ranked 6 in the world, and to be honest, that is still flattering given our track record over the last year or so
The quicker we bomb out, come back home, appoint a decent coach and start to regroup to build up some sort of semblance that we can indeed be a force in world rugby again, the better.
And if SARU has any semblance of a brain and want us to stop being the laughing stock of world rugby, they better look for a coach who doesn’t have a SA passport
11 @ nortie:
Only alberts was injured though? And vermeulen. We thought eben was injured but he also played a few minutes.
In hindsight jdv should have covered the inside runner or pollard should have shifted, hell i think even if they prepared for that move the whole week, we were so rattled it didnt matter.
I think we really miss vermeulen. He is a proven talisman for the stormers and for the springboks, and while meyer does not seem to be able to adequately motivate his players vermeulen can…
The Race is not yet run.
The Tape not yet broken.
Some of us could look particularly foolish in making judgements far too soon.
@ nortie:
What decent coach?
I think its a poisoned chalice… Going to be very tough… Well would be interesting what NZ do after the wc… Will they keep Hanson or appoint Rennie?
cane wrote:
We are going to win, 😆 whats the odds like now?
15 @ MacroPolo:
You believe that only Alberts is injured?
Flo did fuckall all day except flop over the tryline at the back of a maul, and any player could have done that.
Look at the so called toppies in the NZ team, after the 60 minute mark they actually picked up their game and got better, where were our players in the last 10 minutes, as per usual.
The 2003 Eng team full of “Dads Army” toppies, managed to play until the 100th minute of the final to win it.
Even our younger players are not fully fit to last and compete for 80 minutes.
We are woefully underprepared
cane wrote:
Cane, imagine what an injustice it would be if SA somehow manage to pox their way into a final and by chance win it.
What a joke World Rugby would be, the so called world champions who couldn’t even beat Japan.
Japan might as well be crowned with the trophy, they deserve it more than we do.
Similar to NZ 2011 after France lost to both Tonga and NZ in the pool stages, it would have been a travesty if they were to carry a crown for 4 years while everybody knew they didn’t deserve it
MacroPolo wrote:
Anyone other than the one we have now will already be a huge improvement.
Their are plenty of Kiwis coaching all over the world that will do better with the players SA have and won’t coach us to losses against teams like Argentina and Japan
@ nortie:
Well schalk played his heart out all day and was equally useless… In fact the few times we got into good positions schalk fumbled it by attempting something extravagant and i dont think he was injured.
Matfield was busy all day as well.
Kriel also did nothing but is only 21… Its difficult to compare how everyone played by a matter of how old they are.
We may be underprepared, but i dont see how picking a bunch of debutants or players that couldnt make the grade over the last 4 years is better preparation… So that would also be a criticism.
@ MacroPolo:
Agree that Schalk is a liability, so is Matfield IMO.
HM had no interest in blooding young guys for 4 years because he already knew what the nucleus of his team was going to be. Guys like Kriel only got a shot because Jean was injured and JF not fit enough.
He hinged all his bets on the squad he took over, unfortunately the majority is crocked so now he and his team is stuffed
@ nortie:
The thing i found disgusting is that a player like beast had 10 carries in the whole rugby championship. But against Japan he made 8, that counts for a lot of our forwards, vic, schalk, jannie etc who made tons of carries in the first channel. So its abnormal, our players litererally thought if we ran at them all day the dam walls would burst.
The only hope i have ia that we wont play the same strategy again or else we may as well play morne steyn too.
@ MacroPolo:
@ nortie:
If, “The Republic of South Africa”, is the next Nation etched onto Bill………………………………who among you Saffa’s will give a dam about Japan or Heineken?
Not many is my bet.
Your Bokke have their backs to the wall………………………………………….there is only one way to go…………….
@ nortie:
Alberts is injured 🙂
Well i cant argue with the rest, die een se dood is die ander se brood. Lood was disappointing in last years end of year tour but has luckily taken his second chance with both hands.
I think if JF is not fit enougg then its a good thing he was sent away?
24 @ MacroPolo:
Yep.
I find everything about this squad, the way they play, the coach and his puppet staff (like Laubser) disgusting.
They have taken all form of pride we had in Bok rugby and threw it in the gutters
cane wrote:
Backs to the wall…..makes a nice change from their usual position of bent over the table with their pants around their ankles waiting to be shafted.
26 @ MacroPolo:
Alberts is injured 360 days of the year, even we know that
@ nortie:
Well when they were assembling the coaching staff few people were available, didnt they want nienaber?
They took a long time to announce the coach in 2012 didnt they.
Between then and now meyer could have maybe found replacements, but then the “general” concencus would be that he is just looking for scapegoats 😆
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