Take a look back at this selection from former Wales captain Sam Warburton, who included two South Africans in his ‘dream team’.
Legendary Springbok duo Bryan Habana and Bismarck du Plessis are the only South Africans who made the cut in Warburton’s book Open Side, while Wallabies trio Israel Folau, Will Genia and David Pocock were also named in the lineup.
He picked six All Blacks – Ma’a Nonu, Julian Savea, Kieran Read, Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock and Carl Hayman – in the team, but there was no room for Dan Carter or Richie McCaw, who was named on the bench. Instead, he opted for Pocock and Johnny Wilkinson in place of the great All Blacks pair.
Commenting on those two selections, Warburton wrote the following: ‘David Pocock is the single hardest player I ever faced. Not so much a thorn in the side of opposition teams as a human JCB [mechanical excavator].’
‘Johnny Wilkinson is one of my all-time heroes. I wanted to be like him – I saw how hard he trained, and I modelled myself on that.’
Warburton’s Dream Team:
15 Israel Folau (Australia)
14 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
13 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
12 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
11 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
10 Jonny Wilkinson (England)
9 Will Genia (Australia)
8 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
7 David Pocock (Australia)
6 Jerome Kaino (New Zealand)
5 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
4 Paul O’Connell (Ireland, c)
3 Carl Hayman (New Zealand)
2 Bismarck du Plessis (South Africa)
1 Andrew Sheridan (England)
Subs: 16 Guilhem Guirado (France), 17 Cian Healy (Ireland), 18 Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), 19 Maro Itoje (England), 20 Richie McCaw (New Zealand), 21 Aaron Smith (New Zealand), 22 Dan Carter (New Zealand), 23 Stuart Hogg (Scotland).
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Photo: Getty Images
