Gelant at 100kg

100kg for an openside is a good weight......Jaco is 102kg

Opensides like Louw, Coetzee, Robshaw and Coetzee are just too big for the roles - all 112kg plus  

Richie is anything but your classic openside......and only weighed 105kg

Oh boy Moz you are so out of your league......Pocock muscled up to 115kg and ended up at 8......has not played 6 for years. Weighed 105kg when he played 6

Glad to be of service

I said he was not a classic 6, not big on stealing, not big on linking

And no he did not weigh 108kg......most of the stats over the years had him at 100kg

Was about 105kg by end of his time.....was never one for gym work

flankers (in no particular order)

Richie McCaw: 142 caps and counting, McCaw is a true leader of men who has so often made the right decisions at the right time in big matches. With 27 tries, he has unrivalled knowledge of the sport and knows how to push to the limits without getting on the wrong side of the officials.

Michael Hooper: What he does with such a small frame is admirable. Hooper doesn't just make countless tackles in matches, he smashes opponents to win the gainline battle. He also possesses searing pace that causes both forwards and backs real problems when he backs himself on a carry.

David Pocock: Arguably the number one openside of 2015 so far as he has shone for both the Brumbies and Wallabies. Pocock combines outstanding work at the breakdown with powerful carries. Expect to see him and Hooper combine in a formidable combination for Australia in this World Cup.

Sam Cane: Made his Super Rugby debut aged 18 and All Black bow two years later. Cane has 24 Tests to his name and if not for McCaw would have plenty more as the Chiefs man boasts real dynamism with ball in hand combined with a steeliness at the ruck. The All Blacks' seven in waiting.

Schalk Burger: What can we say about the player both on and off the field? Highly respected by his rivals and team-mates, he has fought back from bacterial meningitis and enjoyed an outstanding season for the Stormers, adding greater link play and skills to his arsenal. A top flank.

Francois Louw: If not already the South African will surely go on to be rated as one of the best imports to the Premiership. Put simply, Louw has every tool required to be a top back-row forward and it's no coincidence that Bath's rise up England's ranks followed after his arrival.

Thierry Dusautoir: Arguably only McCaw has achieved more than Dusautoir on this list, and the 2011 World Player of the Year remains the benchmark in the northern hemisphere. It's hard to think of any player who has offered more defensively, and if the best players show up on the biggest stage, then Dusautoir's an all-time great.

Sam Warburton: It's amazing to think that Warburton is still only 26 years old, with the Welsh captain bursting onto the scene so young. He has already captained the Lions to a series victory and Wales to two Six Nations titles including a Grand Slam in 2012, while he also has unfinished business at World Cups.

Sean O'Brien: Certainly not what you would call a traditional openside, but O'Brien is probably the best ball-carrier on this list. While injuries have hindered him over the last couple of seasons, he bounced back strongly in the Six Nations, and has shown his ability to win turnover ball at crucial moments as well. He will take some stopping at the World Cup.

Steffon Armitage: England have deemed him surplus to requirements, and they will be hoping that decision doesn't come back to haunt them. Undersized he may be, but Armitage's low centre of gravity makes him nigh on impossible to shift when he clamps down on the ball at the breakdown. The 2014 European Player of the Year will likely end his career with only five caps though.

Ten best openside flankers (in no particular order)

Richie McCaw: 142 caps and counting, McCaw is a true leader of men who has so often made the right decisions at the right time in big matches. With 27 tries, he has unrivalled knowledge of the sport and knows how to push to the limits without getting on the wrong side of the officials.

Michael Hooper: What he does with such a small frame is admirable. Hooper doesn't just make countless tackles in matches, he smashes opponents to win the gainline battle. He also possesses searing pace that causes both forwards and backs real problems when he backs himself on a carry.

David Pocock: Arguably the number one openside of 2015 so far as he has shone for both the Brumbies and Wallabies. Pocock combines outstanding work at the breakdown with powerful carries. Expect to see him and Hooper combine in a formidable combination for Australia in this World Cup.

Sam Cane: Made his Super Rugby debut aged 18 and All Black bow two years later. Cane has 24 Tests to his name and if not for McCaw would have plenty more as the Chiefs man boasts real dynamism with ball in hand combined with a steeliness at the ruck. The All Blacks' seven in waiting.

Schalk Burger: What can we say about the player both on and off the field? Highly respected by his rivals and team-mates, he has fought back from bacterial meningitis and enjoyed an outstanding season for the Stormers, adding greater link play and skills to his arsenal. A top flank.

Francois Louw: If not already the South African will surely go on to be rated as one of the best imports to the Premiership. Put simply, Louw has every tool required to be a top back-row forward and it's no coincidence that Bath's rise up England's ranks followed after his arrival.

Thierry Dusautoir: Arguably only McCaw has achieved more than Dusautoir on this list, and the 2011 World Player of the Year remains the benchmark in the northern hemisphere. It's hard to think of any player who has offered more defensively, and if the best players show up on the biggest stage, then Dusautoir's an all-time great.

Sam Warburton: It's amazing to think that Warburton is still only 26 years old, with the Welsh captain bursting onto the scene so young. He has already captained the Lions to a series victory and Wales to two Six Nations titles including a Grand Slam in 2012, while he also has unfinished business at World Cups.

Sean O'Brien: Certainly not what you would call a traditional openside, but O'Brien is probably the best ball-carrier on this list. While injuries have hindered him over the last couple of seasons, he bounced back strongly in the Six Nations, and has shown his ability to win turnover ball at crucial moments as well. He will take some stopping at the World Cup.

Steffon Armitage: England have deemed him surplus to requirements, and they will be hoping that decision doesn't come back to haunt them. Undersized he may be, but Armitage's low centre of gravity makes him nigh on impossible to shift when he clamps down on the ball at the breakdown. The 2014 European Player of the Year will likely end his career with only five caps though.

Went toe to toe with McCaw at the breakdown where he was the dominant force in the first half. Not quite the same impact in the second but could not be faulted. 8

Zealand

Standing at six feet, two inches McCaw is the personification of ‘Warrior Flanker.’ He looks naturally at home with a bandaged head, strapped knee and a slight trickle of blood from his nose.

A hard man; this is easy to understand when you know McCaw’s roots are steeped in the borders of Scotland whose history spared only the brave and cunning. If Richie were living around 1300 I am sure he’d lend William Wallace an able sword. 

McCaw’s battlefield, however, has been elsewhere, from Lansdowne Road to what was Lancaster Park, and rarely has McCaw tasted defeat. McCaw’s record of 100 test victories in 112 matches with a winning percentage of 89.28% is a record that will stand the test of time and likely never to be bested.

McCaw is more than statistic though. He is unbeatable in himself. In the dozen times the All Blacks lost with him in the team I would find it hard to say McCaw himself was beaten by his opponent, at best they achieved parity with him.

McCaw has a rare ability to quickly understand the ebb and flow of a game and adapt to it. He feels what the referee will and will not allow and plays his game accordingly. Some call it cheating; this is openside rugby and McCaw is simply better at this than anyone else. 

McCaw’s magnificent moment for me was the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It is now understood how badly injured McCaw’s foot was, yet like the warrior McCaw is he just got on with the job of winning.

Even when Aurelien Rougerie took to McCaw’s eyes with his fingers like a bride looking for her lost wedding ring in deep sand, McCaw just got to his feet like the champion he is, effectively telling the French “Is that the best you’ve got?” 

Well Richie for me you’re the best there has ever been in the number seven.

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Richie McCaw is one of the leading players of the modern game and one of the finest openside flankers in history. However, the argument put against the New Zealand forward is that he has never starred on the biggest stage – the World Cup.