2. Yannick Jauzion \u2013 France<\/p>\n
Standing 6ft 4in and weighing around 17 stone, Yannick Jauzion combined the frame of a back-row forward with the handling and vision of an elite playmaker.<\/p>\n
The imposing centre won 73 caps for France and became one of Toulouse\u2019s most influential players during a hugely successful period for the club.<\/p>\n
Jauzion helped Toulouse reach the Heineken Cup final in 2003, 2004 and 2005, winning the competition in 2003 and 2005.<\/p>\n
He was named man of the match in the 2005 final as Toulouse defeated Stade Fran\u00e7ais and later added another European title in 2010.<\/p>\n
His ability to carry through contact before producing a perfectly timed offload made him particularly difficult to defend against.<\/p>\n
Brian O\u2019Driscoll said:\u00a0\u201cJauzion was just incredible and was so hard to stop, with his offloading ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrance built so much off and around him. Six-foot-four and probably 17-stone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did you know?<\/p>\n
Jauzion was raised on a farm and studied agricultural engineering before becoming one of Europe\u2019s greatest centres.<\/p>\n
1. Jonny Wilkinson \u2013 England<\/p>\n
Jonny Wilkinson became a national hero when his extra-time drop goal secured England\u2019s victory over Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.<\/p>\n
However, his career was defined by far more than one famous kick.<\/p>\n
Wilkinson scored 1,246 points in 91 appearances for England, while also representing the British & Irish Lions on two tours.<\/p>\n
His obsessive preparation, fearless defence and relentless pursuit of improvement made him one of the most respected players of his generation.<\/p>\n
After spending 12 seasons with Newcastle Falcons, Wilkinson joined Toulon in 2009 and enjoyed a remarkable second chapter to his career.<\/p>\n
He helped the French club win back-to-back European titles before retiring in 2014.<\/p>\n
Brian O\u2019Driscoll said:\u00a0\u201cEven to just get a snapshot of how his mind works now and how he thinks about things is pretty eye-opening as to what sort of detail he went into as a player.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an out-and-out perfectionist. He just needs that 10 out of 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think you ever achieve it and I think he beats himself up about it, but he got pretty close to 10 a lot of times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did you know?<\/p>\n
Wilkinson played alongside his older brother, Mark, at Newcastle Falcons. Mark joined the club in 2002 and made 16 senior appearances, primarily playing in the centre.<\/p>\n
Quiz: Name these 10 retro rugby players<\/p>\n
From jaw-dropping tries to unforgettable moments (and yes, some questionable haircuts), these players defined a golden era of the game. If their names don\u2019t instantly come to mind, we suggest a quick trip to YouTube to jog your memory. Trust us, it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n
Ready to test your knowledge? Let\u2019s see if you\u2019ve still got it. Good luck!<\/p>\n
More Quizzes:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2. Yannick Jauzion \u2013 France Standing 6ft 4in and weighing around 17 stone, Yannick Jauzion combined the frame…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-707678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707678","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=707678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}