The 13th installment of my Greatest Ever series is here!
In this series I will look at the greatest talents to grace various sports. This time I continue to look at Rugby Union, and, following my "Top Five Scrum Halves of All Time", I will look at the top ten players ever to play at Fly Half.
This has been by far the hardest to call out of any position so far. I had a list of about 20, all of whom had a real claim to be in the top five. But I've managed to whittle it down to just ten.
Usually the kickers in the rugby team, fly-halves need an accurate boot, great passing, solid tackling and explosive pace to make breaks. A good fly half can easily win you the match, especially if it's a tight match with no tries. A good fly-half, therefore, is vital in a good team.
10. Andrew Mehrtens (NZ) - With 967 points to his name, Andrew Mehrtens is the highest scoring All Black in history. He managed this in just 70 tests, which makes his test aggregate a record for a New Zealander.
He made an immediate impact on his international debut, scoring 28 points against Canada. He went on to score more conversions than any other player in international rugby history, a record which still remains. He is also the highest scorer in Tri-Nations history.
He holds first and second place on the list for most points by one player against one country, with 209 and 202 points against South Africa and Australia respectively.
9. Michael Lynagh (AUS) - A former Wallabies captain, Michael Lynagh is the highest points scorer in his countries history, with 911. When he retired, that total was also a World record points tally, but it is now fifth on the all-time list.
A member of the 1984 Grand Slam winning team, Lynagh played for his country for 11 years, winning 72 caps for his country. He was the vice-captain at Australia's successful World Cup campaign in 1991.
8. Phil Bennett (WAL) - One of the most skillful fly-halves ever to play the game, Phil Bennett was the first ever substitute in a game of International rugby. Due to fierce competition for his international place in a Wales side that was the dominant force in the world, he only won 29 caps for the Welsh.
Despite this, he went on two Lions tours, the all-conquering 1974 tour to South Africa, where he scored 103 points, including a spectacular 50-yard try, and the 1977 tour to New Zealand, where he was named captain.
10 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Sean Kelly 10 months ago
I'm so glad you didn't put Dan Carter in this, I thought just cause he is the best 10 in the world at the moment he might of snuck his way into it. I'd say you got everything spot on.
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illya mclellan 10 months ago
in terms of technical ability in regards to the play of a fly half i would rank Grant Fox above a number of these players purely on the basis of his superior kicking game, which for a long time was the reason the All Blacks were so dominant leading up to the world cup win of 87'. i suppose he did not have the all round game of some of these players, his kicking for field position and defensive purposes was magnificent.
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Barney 10 months ago
yeh Grant Foz was one of the many who I wanted to put in but just couldn't find space for!
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Jason Pastrick 10 months ago
Yeah, I can't argue much with any of this. Maybe Mertens should be up a little higher. Wilkinson's the best player in the world, I think. Only BOD and maybe Stirling Mortlock could be said to be as dominant at their positions as he is.
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jim Faulkner 10 months ago
Stephen Larkem and Dan Carter needed to be on this list, both better than Wilkinson when fit.
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jaime valadao 10 months ago
dan carter and carlos spencer should be here dan carter no.1 and spencer no.4
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Manfred UdeC 9 months ago
Jonny Wilkinson best Fly half ever ????????
You are english, OK , but if you are going to do a list of All Times Greatest Ever you have to be neutral.
Jonny Wilkinson its a REALLY GREAT KICKER but that doesnt make him the best of all times, rugby is not about kicking only, imagine two playing against each other and the two teams have Jonny at fly half, that
would be a boring fly half game , just kicking all the penalties , making drop goals, or maybe MAYBE a cross kick but Wilko doesn´t add running skills to the game , and I am a fan of rugby champagne instead of place kicking rugby, ITS VERY VERY BORING TO SEE A WORLD CUP FINAL WHITOUT TRIES.!!!
I don´t like the style that modern rugby is acquiring ,deciding games only by kicks, I hope the new rules change the mentality of the game, cause it´s unfair ( to me ) that a team that scores ,for example, two tries lose against a team that don´t score even one but have a better kicker, it rewards the individual effort instead of colective and I hope that changes , or rugby is just gonna stay without people for that going to be very boring to play and watch !
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Barney 9 months ago
Agreed, I am a fan of champagne rugby as well, but the competition for the no. 1 spot was so big, I didn't know who to put, so I thought who would I want in my team, and Wilko was my answer. He's guarateed to get you at least 12-15 points most games. Who would you have in your dream team?
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Duncan O'Neill 6 months ago
haha. ok, the dominant team in world rugby for the last 20 years or more, the All Blacks, has has only one number 10 worth included? Wilkinson kicked a dropped goal which won the dullest team the world cup. Oh, and spawned a legion of imitators of his absurd kicking mannerism. Numbers 1, 4 and 5 shouldn't be on this list. Where are Dan Carter ( an equal kicker to Mehrtens, but a better runner and defender who has also scored more points ), Grant Fox, and Stephen Larkham? This is turgid Welsh sentimetalism. I'm so sorry, but didn't the Welsh last beat in All Blacks in 1953?
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John Davies 6 months ago
The greatest are Ella and Barry John, followed by Wilkinson, Carter, Lynagh and Porta. I'm Welsh and no way is Neil Jenkins worthy of a top 10 place. Jonathan Davies is too high also. Cliff Morgan was greater than either.
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