Hey man, meet the best winger in the rugby world
Sun, Jun 21, 2009, Posted by Vic Drover 
Wingers. They can be 11 or 14. They lurk on the far edges of the field, waiting to pounce at any and all half-gaps that open in the defense. They run. They chase. They tackle. They kick away possession to the dismay of their teammates. They are often the last line of defense along with the full back.
As a result of these characteristics, wingers (sometimes disguised as full backs) are highly pre-disposed to individual performance compared to other positions on the pitch. Highlight reels, newspapers and bloggers love to write stories about these athletes. Clean little pieces about the lone wolf superstar with no need to paint a complex picture of what happened.
Historically, talk of the “Best Winger” brings to mind names like David Campese (Australia) and Jonah Lomu (New Zealand). However, the professional era of the sport has brought about a series of faster, stronger athletes at every position. This is most most notable at the wing position where coaches spend their days scouting massive players to run over their typically smaller counterparts as Lomu did during the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Who then is the best ‘active’ winger still winning caps and playing test matches?
Is it Daisuke Ohata (Japan), the IRB leading try scorer of all time? What about Shane Williams (Wales), the 2008 IRB International Player of the Year and star of the 2008 Six Nations? What about dual-code Lote Tuqiri (Australia) measuring up at nearly 2 metres and over 100 kilos. Don’t forget Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand) with his standing 40 metre sprint time of 4.44 seconds and Bryan Habana, 2007 IRB Player of the Year who scored the most tries ever (8) in a World Cup (this distinction is shared Jomu).
Each of those fine rugby footballers could easily be the best winger in the world. But I think Cédric Heymans (France) is currently the most talented of the lot. Heymans began his test career in 2000 he has really come on strong in the last few years. In particular, embarrassing not less than four New Zealand defenders on Saturday to score a 50 metre try (see video below) highlights the talents of the Frenchman.
If the French goal kickers had even 50% success, France would have won the Dave Gallaher Cup outright and not just on points differential. Perhaps Heymans should take up goal kicking as his next challenge.
Tags: France, New Zealand
Hi , For being french, I am surprised you consider Heymans as the
most talented winger … He lost his starting job in Toulouse and
had a disappointing season… Of course he had a great game
against the All blacks (and what a try) but he’s getting old
and the best of his career is behind him. He had to face a tough
competition in France with Vincent Clerc, Aurélien Rougerie and
Julien Malzieu. In Europe, Napolioni Nalaga is considered by far
the most dangerous winger (he plays for Clermont in the French Top
14) 40 tries in 40 games… 194cm, 110 kilos, 10.4sec/100m…
Clerc for sure is awesome
I just find a lot of those big winders are out of position a lot. Consider Tuqiri , Rokocoko, Sailor. Nalaga is is certainly in fine form in the Top 14, but those are not test tries. He's kind of like Ohata though, awesome player but will never reach the fame enjoyed by top-tier International teams.
Well Nalaga is a fidjian, You will probably discover him in 2011,
if you know the other fidjian winger : Delasau well you will see
that he is a much better player ! Nalaga will play the
next H-cup, hopefully you will see his talent in action. He’s
only 22 years old. Unfortunatly we don’t have a lot of
test matches between the Fidji and the other “Big” nations,
As Argentina seem to have slipped a long way from 2007 form, I am hoping some of the Pacific Island teams have great success in New Zealand in 2011. Hope to be there!
I agree with Nick above on Heymans, he’s been good against the All
Blacks the past two matches, that’s it. Shane Williams has been
having a terrible year so far, he didn’t even get the shirt for the
first Lion’s test. Habana is good on attack, that’s it. He can’t
kick or defend. Rokocoko just returned to action for the All Blacks
so he needs a little time to be considered. Tuqiri hasn’t even been
starting for Australlia, he’s big but he’s out of position all the
time and is generally clueless. I don’t know enough about Ohata to
comment. The best winger in the world right now, based on play so
far this year is Tommy Bowe. He was awesome in the 6 Nations and
has been electric in the Lions warm up matches. He’s big, a fierce
defender and has a nose for the ball. He’s always in position for a
pass and has excellent running lines. I haven’t seen the Lions
first test yet (I’ll be watching t tonight) but I can’t wait to see
what he does against Habana and Pietersen. Shame on you for not
even mentioning Bowe you anti-Irish p***k!
I would have mentioned Half-penney long before Bowe
Yes, a brilliant try against the All Blacks. One of the best
in recent times. A frighteningly green New Zealand team when a
handful of first string players are on the injured list (8 of
them), so much for depth! And yes, the French could have won the
trophy outright of they had kicked a little better – however -
don’t forget Stephen Donald missed 5 shots too, and Luke McAlister
one drop goal… if all the kicks in the game had been accurate -
no trophy for the French mate. All that aside- I was
impressed by a fierce French side that came with a mission – to
conquer – and that they did – that makes the game enjoyable.
Bravo
Leigh Halfpenny?! You’ve had a hard-on for him for awhile now, get
off it. He’s got tons of potential, I agree but Tommy Bowe is far
better than him right now. The true measure of how good a wing is,
is how he plays on the international stage and right now, Tommy
Bowe is playing better than anyone on the wing. You need to watch
more rugby dude, you watch France play and all of the sudden you’re
ready to crown Cedric Heymans the best winger in the world.
Theyr right man, Heymans has his best years behind him, although he
can be unreal on his day. Tommy Bowe hadnt been great in years gone
by, but since moving to the Ospreys hes turned into a completely
different player! his lines, his hands, his finishing have all
improved and he’s on fire these days.. he showed good defensive
qualities too in the lions games, causing a springbok to fumble
over the line in the third test. Leigh Halfpenny was exposed in one
of the warm up games – he’s not the complete player yet, especially
position-wise when defending, which is crucial on the wing! Masaga
for the chiefs has had a great season, but hasn’t got his chance to
perform on an international stage yet.. hopefully he’ll get a run
out in one of the Tri Nations games coming up.