{"id":319223,"date":"2025-12-16T14:57:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T14:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/319223\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T14:57:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T14:57:07","slug":"the-10-heaviest-international-rugby-players-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/319223\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 heaviest international rugby players of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you are one of those that likes to tackle a Christmas lunch that looks like a front-row scrum, spare a thought for these giants of Test rugby. They\u2019re the reason reinforced benches exist and scales everywhere live in fear.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the 10 heaviest players ever to earn full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/tournament\/international\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">international<\/a> caps, with their careers served alongside your festive feast. Well, unless you can tell us anyone we\u2019ve missed?<\/p>\n<p>10 Frans Malherbe \u2013 South Africa \u2013 140\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>World Cup-winning tighthead and Stormers stalwart. With more than 70 caps, Malherbe is the quiet destroyer who locks down scrums and wins trophies. He\u2019s living proof that festive cheer and front-row power go hand in hand.<\/p>\n<p>9 Taniela Tupou \u2013 Australia \u2013 140\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>The Tongan Thor. A Wallaby crowd favourite with explosive carries and highlight-reel offloads. Over 50 caps and a Super Rugby cult hero with the Reds, Tupou turns scrums into wrecking balls and could outpace Santa\u2019s sleigh.<\/p>\n<p>8 James Johnston \u2013 Samoa \u2013 145\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>A veteran tighthead with 16 Samoa caps and a club career spanning Harlequins, Saracens, Worcester and Brive. Known for his scrummaging strength and uncompromising style, Johnston could carve the turkey one-handed and lift the table with the other.<\/p>\n<p>7 Emmanuel Meafou \u2013 France \u2013 145\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>Toulouse\u2019s towering lock turned French international. A Champions Cup winner and Top 14 champion, Meafou is basically a human crane with boots. He could lift your entire Christmas spread and still ask for gravy.<\/p>\n<p>6 Will Skelton \u2013 Australia \u2013 148\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>Wallabies enforcer and former captain. A Champions Cup winner with Saracens and La Rochelle, Skelton blends mass with mobility and offloading flair. When he enters a maul, it becomes a seasonal avalanche.<\/p>\n<p>5 Posolo Tuilagi \u2013 France \u2013 149\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>The young giant of the Tuilagi dynasty. Already a Test lock for France and a wrecking ball for Perpignan, he brings the family tradition of destruction to the second-row. If you think your Christmas tree is big, try decorating Posolo.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/rating-every-springboks-forward-in-2025-worlds-best-ends-long-wait-while-veterans-performances-significantly-deteriorate\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rating every Springboks forward in 2025: World\u2019s best ends long wait while veteran\u2019s performances \u2018significantly deteriorate\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>4 Asenathi Ntlabakanye \u2013 South Africa \u2013 150\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>The Bok beast who debuted in 2024 after dominating for the Lions. A tighthead with raw power and growing reputation, he\u2019s tipped to be a Springbok mainstay for years. If your dining table groans under the weight of food, imagine a scrum with Ntlabakanye at full tilt.<\/p>\n<p>3 Uini Atonio \u2013 France \u2013 155\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>The French colossus with more than 70 caps and a Six Nations title to his name. A cornerstone of La Rochelle\u2019s rise, Atonio has lifted European silverware and remains the immovable object in Les Bleus\u2019 front-row. He makes a Yule log look like a breadstick.<\/p>\n<p>2 Ben Tameifuna \u2013 Tonga \u2013 160\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>The modern monster. Over 40 caps for Tonga and still anchoring their scrum as captain. A Chiefs favourite in Super Rugby before conquering Europe with Racing 92 and Bordeaux, Tameifuna combines brute force with surprising handling skills. He makes Christmas hams look like cocktail sausages.<\/p>\n<p>1 Bill Cavubati \u2013 Fiji \u2013 167\u202fkg<\/p>\n<p>The undisputed king of heavyweight rugby. Big Bill earned his caps for Fiji in the early 2000s, famously packing down against the All Blacks in 2005. A Wellington stalwart and Hurricanes squad man, he was a cult figure for sheer size and scrummaging power. If your turkey feels heavy, imagine hauling Cavubati through 80 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>So as you loosen the belt and eye your third helping, remember these titans. Your plate might look heavy, but it\u2019s nothing compared to a Cavubati scrum. May your lunch be as epic as a Pacific Island prop in full flight.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/rugby-world-cup-draw-five-takeaways-as-ireland-handed-best-opportunity-to-end-hoodoo-amid-another-lopsided-tournament-benefiting-england\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rugby World Cup draw: Five takeaways as Ireland handed \u2018best opportunity\u2019 to end hoodoo amid another \u2018lopsided\u2019 tournament benefiting England<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you are one of those that likes to tackle a Christmas lunch that looks like a front-row&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[428,242,10363,819,348,3482,50,5903,3857,4247,101,10362,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-319223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-australia","tag-features","tag-fiji","tag-france","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-news","tag-rugby","tag-samoa","tag-south-africa","tag-sports","tag-tonga","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319223","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=319223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}