Qualities that lift great above the good

I have been thinking about greatness in rugby.

Who has, or had, it? What does
it look like? You won’t be getting one of those top 100 lists.

How can you
compare Richie McCaw to David Campese? But there do seem to be
characteristics and qualities common to the very best.



Success is an obvious starting point.

Captaining your country to victory in a
World Cup makes you pretty special.

But of those seven men (David Kirk, Nick
Farr-Jones, François Pienaar, John Eales, Martin Johnson, John Smit and
McCaw), only three (Eales, Johnson and McCaw) were truly great players.

The