{"id":155959,"date":"2025-09-23T18:01:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T18:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/155959\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T18:01:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T18:01:06","slug":"the-10-greatest-locks-in-rugby-history-ranked-10-1-page-2-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/155959\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Greatest Locks in Rugby History (Ranked 10-1) &#8211; Page 2 of 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>5. Willie John McBride \u2013 \u201cThe Gentle Giant\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Club:\u00a0Munster<br \/>Country:\u00a0Ireland<br \/>Height:\u00a01.92m<br \/>Caps:\u00a063<br \/>Achievements:\u00a0British &amp; Irish Lions series winner (1974), 5\u00d7 Lions Test series captain, World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee<\/p>\n<p>Willie John McBride\u2019s leadership and tactical nous were instrumental in the Lions\u2019 historic unbeaten tour of South Africa in 1974. His legacy continues to inspire generations.<\/p>\n<p>4. Brodie Retallick \u2013 \u201cThe Silent Destroyer\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Club:\u00a0Chiefs<br \/>Country:\u00a0New Zealand<br \/>Height:\u00a02.04m<br \/>Caps:\u00a0120+<br \/>Achievements:\u00a0Rugby World Cup winner (2015), World Rugby Player of the Year (2014), 3\u00d7 Super Rugby champion<\/p>\n<p>Brodie Retallick\u2019s combination of size, skill, and intelligence makes him one of the most complete locks in modern rugby. His performances for the All Blacks have set new standards for the position.<\/p>\n<p>3. John Eales \u2013 \u201cNobody\u2019s Perfect\u2026 Almost\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Club:\u00a0Queensland Reds<br \/>Country:\u00a0Australia<br \/>Height:\u00a02.01m<br \/>Caps:\u00a086<br \/>Achievements:\u00a0Rugby World Cup winner (1991, 1999), 2\u00d7 Tri-Nations winner, 2\u00d7 John Eales Medal recipient<\/p>\n<p>John Eales was a versatile lock who could dominate in the lineout and contribute significantly to the scoreboard. His leadership and composure under pressure were key to Australia\u2019s success in the 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>2. Martin Johnson \u2013 \u201cThe English Enforcer\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Club:\u00a0Leicester Tigers<br \/>Country:\u00a0England<br \/>Height:\u00a01.98m<br \/>Caps:\u00a0105<br \/>Achievements:\u00a0Rugby World Cup winner (2003), 3\u00d7 Six Nations Champion, British &amp; Irish Lions series winner (1997)<\/p>\n<p>Martin Johnson\u2019s imposing presence and leadership were central to England\u2019s 2003 World Cup triumph. His ability to inspire and lead by example set him apart as one of rugby\u2019s greats.<\/p>\n<p>1. Eben Etzebeth \u2013 \u201cThe Modern Colossus\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Club:\u00a0Stormers<br \/>Country:\u00a0South Africa<br \/>Height:\u00a02.03m<br \/>Caps:\u00a0130+<br \/>Achievements:\u00a0Rugby World Cup winner (2019, 2023), 3\u00d7 Rugby Championship winner, Springboks\u2019 most capped player<\/p>\n<p>Eben Etzebeth\u2019s combination of physicality, skill, and leadership makes him the benchmark for modern locks. His performances continue to inspire and set standards for future generations.<\/p>\n<p>EDITORS PICKS:<\/p>\n<p>Like this:<\/p>\n<p>Like Loading&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"sd-link-color\"\/>\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"5. Willie John McBride \u2013 \u201cThe Gentle Giant\u201d Club:\u00a0MunsterCountry:\u00a0IrelandHeight:\u00a01.92mCaps:\u00a063Achievements:\u00a0British &amp; Irish Lions series winner (1974), 5\u00d7 Lions Test&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-155959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}