Nicknamed Lurch, Pelous' uncomprimising and forceful play helped his club team Toulouse to a European Cup victory. He has been part of three Rugby World Cup squads, but missed out on captaining France through the 2007 World Cup due to injury problems leading up to the tournament.
6. Sir Brian Lochore (NZ) - Not just a New Zealand legend for his playing days, but for coaching the All Blacks to so far their only World Cup triumph, Lochore is held in high esteem in his native New Zealand. Equally adept at playing number eight, he was an all round talent the likes of which we rarely see.
Lochore captained the All Blacks in 18 of his 25 tests, scoring 21 points in the process. In 1999 he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
5. Willie John McBride (IRE) - Incredibly, McBride didn't start playing rugby until the age of 17, yet he became one of the greatest players in Irish history. He played 63 Tests, 11 of which were as captain, in an international career that lasted 13 years.
As well as this, McBride toured with the Lions five times (four as a player and one as a coach), which gave him a huge 17 Test caps. He was captain of the hugely successful 1974 tour to South Africa, partnering Gordon Brown in a formidable second row. He was involved in controversy throughout this tour, allegedly ordering a player to punch a one-eyed opposing player in his good eye to effectively blind him, so he would have to be replaced.
4. Frik du Preez (RSA) - Voted South Africa's greatest player of the twentieth century, du Preez could play in both flanker and second row. A rare all-rounder forward, he could both kick and drop-kick as well as most fly-halves.
He made 38 test appearances for South Africa and will forever be regarded as one of the greats of South African rugby.
3. John Eales (AUS) - Another one of the rare all-rounders, John Eales was perhaps the most skilled lock ever to play the game. Nicknamed "Nobody" because "Nobody's perfect", Eales is arguably Australia's most successful captain.
Just to give you an idea of what a good all-rounder Eales was, he scored 173 points for Australia, yet he only scored two tries. The rest come from 99 penalties and 69 conversions.
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