Richie McCaw
David Campese
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Richie McCaw leads 2 of 2 categories. Our all-time ranking places Richie McCaw at #1 and David Campese at #12.
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The case for Richie McCaw
The most successful player in the history of the game, and the defining openside flanker of the professional era. McCaw captained New Zealand to back-to-back World Cups in 2011 and 2015, won a record three World Rugby Player of the Year awards (2006, 2009, 2010), and finished with 148 Test caps — a world record for a forward at his retirement. He led the All Blacks a record 110 times and won 131 of his Tests, an astonishing win rate near 89 percent. His genius lay at the breakdown, where his mastery of the jackal and his reading of the referee's tolerance let him win turnovers and slow opposition ball more effectively than anyone before him, so much so that opponents and lawmakers alike shaped their thinking around him. Durable, ruthless and relentlessly competitive, he combined statistical dominance with two of the sport's biggest prizes — the twin pillars, peak and achievement, that make his case for the top spot.
The case for David Campese
The great entertainer of the amateur-into-professional transition, and for thirteen years the holder of the world Test try record. Campese scored 64 tries in 101 Tests, a mark that stood as the international record until 2006, and he did it with an audacity — the swerving 'goose step', the outrageous behind-the-back pass — that made him one of rugby's most watchable and infuriating players. He was the star of Australia's 1991 World Cup triumph, named player of the tournament, and his flick pass to set up a try against New Zealand in that semi-final is part of the sport's folklore. A wing or fullback who prized adventure over caution, he sometimes gambled and lost, but his willingness to attempt the impossible defined an attacking philosophy and inspired a generation. Few players have combined statistical achievement with pure showmanship as completely as Campese.