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Joost van der Westhuizen was a South African rugby player. He took part in three Rugby World Cups, helping his national team win the 1995 World Cup. Widely regarded as the greatest scrumhalf in the history of the game, van der Westhuizen was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.
Francois Pienaar is a former rugby player who captained the South African national team from 1993 to 1996. He is best-known for helping his team win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. In 2004, he was ranked 50th in a list named Top 100 Great South Africans. In 2005, he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
Jonah Lomu was a New Zealand rugby player whose dominance on the field had a huge impact on the game. Considered the first global superstar of rugby, Jonah Lomu proved to be a crowd-puller. In 2007, he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.
Victor Matfield is a South African former rugby union player who captained the national team as well as the Blue Bulls. Widely regarded as one of the greatest locks in the history of South African rugby, Matfield was extremely successful at disrupting opposition line-outs, a skill that helped his team win the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Eric Liddell was a Scottish athlete who won a gold medal in 400 meters race at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. In his later years, he became a Christian missionary. Though he was of Scottish origin, he was born in China, where he spent most of his life and died eventually.
South African rugby legend Joel Stransky is best known for scoring all points, including the famous drop goal, in the nail-biting 1995 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand that he led his country to win. He has also worked with the marketing departments of Altech Netstar and the Steinhoff Group.
Rory Underwood is an English former rugby union player. He predominantly played in the wing position and spent the majority of his career with Leicester Tigers. He also played for Middlesbrough and Bedford Blues. He was previously a pilot with the Royal Air Force and has played for the RAF rugby team as well.
Known for being a skilled forward, New Zealand rugby player Zinzan Brooke was a major part of his country’s World Cup teams in 1991 and 1995. His 17 tries in Test matches was a world record back then. He was once criticized by many for posting unscientific and false information on COVID.
One of the greatest rugby players from New Zealand, Andrew Mehrtens has gained over 967 Test points for the national team, All Blacks. He was part of his country’s 1999 Rugby World Cup squad and was later associated with the English club Harlequins and the Paris-based Racing Metro 92.
Tana Umaga is a New Zealand retired rugby union footballer who served as the captain of the national rugby union team. After retiring as a player, Umaga took up coaching career and served as the head coach of the Blues from 2016 to 2018. In 2021, he was appointed as the assistant coach of the Samoa national rugby union team.
The King of the Australian rugby league, Wally Lewis was no stranger to sports, being the son of a rugby player father and a netball player mother. The successful player, coach, and commentator, who had captained the national team, split with his wife of 36 years after cheating on her.
Bill Beaumont is a former rugby player who was the captain of the England rugby union team. He played as a lock and earned 34 caps, then a record for a lock. The unexpected 1980 Grand Slam achieved by his team under his captaincy is considered the highest point in his career. He is currently the chairman of World Rugby.
Danny Care is an English rugby union player. He currently plays for Harlequins in the Premiership as a scrum-half. He began playing rugby union as a small child and made his international debut with the England Sevens team in 2006. In 2008, he made his debut for England and has since won 84 caps.
Os du Randt is a South African former rugby player who retired as the most-capped forward in the South African national team's history. One of the most successful players of his generation, Du Randt is one of 21 players who have won the World Cup twice or more. In 2019, he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
Brian Moore is an English former rugby union footballer. He played as a hooker for Nottingham, Harlequins, and Richmond. He was abandoned by his father as a child and had a difficult childhood. He sought solace in rugby and became a formidable player. He is currently a rugby presenter and pundit for BBC Sport, Talksport, and Love Sport Radio.
Tony O'Reilly excelled in various sports as a child, including football and cricket, but later chose rugby as his career path. Apart from being a famed Irish rugby player, he had also been a successful businessman, heading H.J. Heinz Company as its CEO. A debt issue led him to be declared bankrupt later.
Andrew Sheridan is as much known for his towering 6’5” frame as he is for his game. The star rugby player came under the spotlight after singlehandedly destroying Australia at the autumn international at Twickenham in 2005. The legendary prop had a 12-year stint with the Sale Sharks.
Martin Offiah is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He was active in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s and scored over 500 tries during his rugby league career. He is counted among the greatest rugby league players of his era and was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2013.
