Frans, Bakkies make list of 'hardest rugby players who ever lived'

Legendary Springboks Frans Steyn and Bakkies Botha have been included in top 10 lists of the "hardest rugby players who ever lived".

Two northern hemisphere rugby legends, Stuart Barnes and Graham Price, were asked to pick their 10 hardest men to ever play the game.

Via a column for The Times, Barnes, a former England flyhalf and nowadays a renowned commentator, included Steyn at No 5 on his list.

Price, a legendary former Wales and British and Irish Lions prop, wrote a column for the Wales Online website and included Botha and Steyn at Nos 9 and 10 respectively.

Describing Botha, Price wrote: "In an era when it has been more difficult to 'assert yourself' as a hard man because there are so many TV cameras around these days, he was still able to stand out as the Springboks' enforcer for a decade.

"Let's just say he was able to keep the tradition going of the hardest of South African second rows. Botha helped beat up the Lions in 2009 in what were brutal modern-day Test matches."

Price added: "Steyn is another who never took a backward step. He learned so much from watching Botha and they used to say he was ready to fight anyone - including the referee."

French prop Gerard Cholley, who played 31 Tests between 1975 and 1979, and former All Blacks No 8 Wayne 'Buck' Shelford, who played 22 Tests between 1986 and 1990, join Steyn in making both lists.

Stuart Barnes' greatest hard men of rugby: 1 Gareth Chilcott (England), 2 Gerard Cholley (France), 3 Jonny Wilkinson (England), 4 Graham Price (Wales), 5 Frans Steyn (South Africa), 6 Wayne Shelford (NZ), 7 David Pocock (Australia), 8 Richie McCaw (NZ), 9 Scott Gibbs (Wales), 10 Jim Telfer (Scotland)

Graham Price's greatest hard men of rugby: 1 Gerard Cholley (France), 2 Michel Palmie (France), 3 Alain Esteve (France), 4 Colin Meads (New Zealand), 5 Frank Oliver (New Zealand), 6 Fran Cotton (England), 7 Wayne Shelford (New Zealand), 8 Jerry Collins (New Zealand), 9 Bakkies Botha (South Africa), 10 Frans Steyn (South Africa)

Bismarck needs to be in there. Collins was a battering ram from short distance, but Bisse was much, much tougher and stronger. 

Just glad that Steyn made list.

Frans for most of his career was a monster. I remember him carrying the ball with a horde of All Blacks clinging onto him, taking the ball out of kicking distance in 2008. He was something special. 

Esterhuizen needs to be on here. Even stronger than peak Frans. Can manhandle any opponent player on his own. The way he kept Kerevi in check amazing! One of our best defenders and the best rusher I have ever seen in a Bok jersey. 

According to a Youtube video, three SA players made the "All-time greatest" team ever.

Os at #1,  and Frik at #6 and Habana at #14.

Great to see that they were recognized for their rugby contributions.   

Schalla and the legendary Jannie Engelbrecht???

Coming from the fictitious centre who punted JJ and the flaccid Damian. But Frans not physical? 

Just for you Shezza: LINK

Where's Rooi

noo remove it Db

Danie Rossouw. We had many men harder than Eben.

Fat Fransie  - the fattest backline player ever together with Basteraud and was never a tough player,  Fat YES - Tough NO,   

Joost....took down Lomu in full flight in a front on  tackle when the consensus was he was unstoppable.

Jannie Englebrecht beat the Bools with a broken collar bone and his arm in a sling.

Percy played the second half of the 2007 WC final with a buggered leg.

Basie Viviers went out and trained to deliberately complete a hamstring tear for better movement in 1956.

Willem Alberts 

Vermeulen, Flouw and Schalk come back from serious neck injuries.

Pollard comes back from near death.

Jean de Villiers plays rugby again after having his leg bent double backwards against Wales

Dud Allende continues to play the game after it was discovered he is missing the entire right lobe.

Chiliboy and Dyantyi deny drug usage 

Gelant plays the game after being experimented on by head shrinking pygmies from the Amazon.

The DuPreez twins return to the game after hand transplants.

Kleintjie Kriel punches above his weight.

Swiel makes a tackle.

Goosen plucks up his courage and  tries to speak Frog.

......

These my friends are some profiles in courage from the gentleman’s game.

Alberts = constantly troubled by FAT TEARS.  I did not read further,.    

"Alberts = constantly troubled by FAT TEARS.  I did not could not read further,. "

Haha, lekker Chippo.

Chippo when i didn't see Eben on the list i knew something. was wrong.

Saf, is that in any particular order?

Andre Venter.

Saf, glad to see Schalla at the top of the list.

I never liked Corné Krige much and his captaincy was the worst time for Bok Rugby, but he was no sissy either. I once saw a graph of his injuries over the span of his career... he was hard as nails too, but I  would never have made him a Bok in the first place.

Krige was tough, but not a man who could impose himself like a Bakkies. There are many players who could and did put Krige in his place. 

Like I said, not a fan, but he was no softie. 

Sebastien Chabal definitely.

Wayne 'Buck' Shelford of New Zealand

Fran Cotton and Hannes Marais as props.

Bakkies

Schalla

Marx

Venter

Vermeulen

Adri Geldenhuys

Kobus Wiese

James Small

Eben

Bismark

Krige (last minute dot com addition)

Ian McDonald

"noo remove it Db"

Wasn't necessary...almost no one read it....you still got more than enough bites. 

That's hilarious ... Frans Steyn a toughie??

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaaaa!!

It's like telling me that Kolisi is a brilliant 6 and an incredible leader.

Frans is one of the strongest Boks of this century. For raw physicality, he is immense. Lets put it this way, how many other backs did Australians and Kiwis defend like prime Alberts or Spies? Three defenders he could soak up, which Jake used to good effect in 2014 with runners playing off and around him. His presence alone, the mere threat of his physicality, changed how teams defended. That's the mark of a quality player. 

But, do tell us, Damme Linde, how Damian is the GOAT of GOATs. How'd that work out for you? 

Huh?

I presume you're speaking to me?

Augie, you have a tendency to exaggerate. It's what you do. You'll take some ordinary club plodder and turn him into a superstar.

I can name at least 10 chumps that you've done this with.

I don't like De lindie ... but I like Fat Fransie even less. Neither of these two chumps should be playing test rugby. Not even for Zimbabwe.

The Goats' WC squad was filled with quotas and the useless ... and because of it, De Lindie stood out as one of their better players.

That is not my opinion ... it is a fact ... like it or not. If you can't see that then perhaps it's time you had your eyes checked.

"you have a tendency to exaggerate"

Really? GOAT of GOATs? . I presume you just love the taste of your own feet.