Rugby: Top 5 Right Wingers in Super Rugby History

This week we continue our series of the top players in Super Rugby history by looking at the top five right wingers in the competition’s history.

Wing is a position that has evolved since the inception of the Super 12 in 1996, as various rule changes have altered the skill set required by these men.

In the early days, the game was relatively open and the primary job of the wingers was to be attacking, score tries and be reasonable in cover defence.

But as the game changed and kicking became a more dominant part of the game, the ability to take high balls became almost a prerequisite, as did the ability to return kicks to some extent.

So with this in mind, let’s cast our minds back and remember five of the very best of these men.

For those who missed last week’s article, keep in mind that this list only judges players based on what they have done at Super Rugby level and also that each player is only available for selection in one position.

5. Rico Gear

We start our list with the strong running Rico Gear.

For years, Gear was a player of huge potential, but never quite got the opportunity to fully spread his wings and become the player he was destined to be.

It was a move south to the Crusaders that gave him this chance, becoming the chief attacking weapon in the Crusaders 2005 championship winning team and scoring a record-equalling 15 tries in the season.

The following two seasons saw him become one of the top wingers in the competition, and he was also a member of the Crusaders 2006 championship team.

His earlier years saw him have stints at the Blues, Highlanders and Crusaders, all for whom he played well when given the chance.

However, it was his dominance between 2005 and 2007 that earns him a spot amongst the elite of Super Rugby.

4. Joe Rokocoko

There have been few better finishers in Super Rugby history than the man variably known as the Rocket Man, Joe Rox—or just simply Joe.

In his first years in the competition, he used to leave his opponents in the dust with his blistering pace that saw him become widely recognised as the fastest man in the Super 12.

As his career developed he began to lose some of this pace, becoming a more intelligent player, knowing where to position himself and popping up at the right times.

He did a lot of off-ball work, hitting rucks and making tackles when play came his way.

But he will always be remembered for those first years, when he paired with either Rupeni Caucaunibuca and or Doug Howlett to create the most dangerous wing combination in the Super 12.

He won one championship in his breakout year of 2003 with the Blues.

That year, the team would go through losing just one game, with Rokocoko a key weapon throughout the season.

He stayed on at the Blues and despite the occasional loss of form, he kept his place in the team right through until he left for Europe after the 2011 season.

3. Doug Howlett

Doug Howlett was fast and had an eye for the tryline—a deadly combination for a winger.

He announced himself to the rugby world as an 18-year-old, scoring three tries in his Super 12 debut for the Highlanders in 1997.

However, he would only take to the field one more time that season before being picked up by the Hurricanes the following year, where he played a handful of games.

It wasn’t until the 1999 season that his potential really started to unfold.

The glimpses of brilliance he’d shown for the Highlanders began to appear more consistently and he was rewarded by replacing Marc Ellis in the Blues starting lineup.

He soon became lethal with ball in hand, cutting through opposition and proving hard to reel in once in space.

As his career progressed he developed a better all round game, becoming safer under kicks and developing a hard edge on defence.

This was seen in 2003, as his skill set was considered good enough for him to play the majority of the season at fullback in order to accommodate the sensational Rupeni Caucaunibuca and the new wonder kid Joe Rokocoko.

He ended his Super Rugby career in 2007 as the most prolific try scorer in the competition’s history, dotting down 59 times in his 115 matches.

2. Joeli Vidiri

Few players in the history of the game have been better at finding the line than Joeli Vidiri.

The All Blacks never saw the best of him as he waited to gain New Zealand residency, meaning he isn’t remembered in the same regard as other wingers internationally.

When it comes to Super Rugby though, there are few better.

The Fijian flyer touched down 43 times in his 61 games for the Blues between 1996 and 2001.

It was the first three of these years that he really made his mark, forming arguably the most dangerous wing duo of all time with Jonah Lomu.

In fact, he quite often upstaged his more famous counterpart, proving to be the chief attacking weapon in the Blues' back to back championships in 1996 and 1997.

He was big, fast and had a natural instinct for finding the line.

His hands could let him down at times, but in the early years of Super Rugby this wasn’t quite so important as it has become.

His career was cut short due to a kidney illness, which eventually forced him into retirement in 2001. 

1. Jeff Wilson

Quite possibly the best all round player of all time, Jeff Wilson hands down wins the No. 1 spot on this list.

There simply wasn’t a weakness in his play. He had a safe pair of hands, was brilliant on cover defence, had a top kicking game with the vision of a first five-eighth, but above all he had the ability to create something from nothing and was lethal on attack.

He dabbled at fullback, but it was on the wing where he will be best remembered and such finds himself listed as a wing.

Wilson debuted for the Highlanders in 1996 and would go on to play 72 games for the franchise between then and 2002.

He scored 175 points during this time, finding his way to the try line regularly, quite often in unlikely circumstances.

In 1999, Wilson made his only Super Rugby final, meeting and eventually losing a tight tussle to the Crusaders at Carisbrook.

Not that this was any blight on Wilson who was outstanding. He would reach the semifinals another three times in 1998, 2000 and 2002.

Perhaps the best sign of his influence comes in that the Highlanders haven’t made the playoffs since the year he left.