The 20 disastrous omissions

2 Jonathan Davies
For me, he is the most complete of all the great Welsh fly-halves, was good enough and tough enough to play top rugby league and is now a fine commentator. No excuses.

3 Brian Moore
Impossible to leave out, but I did it anyway. The fiery hooker and shop steward of the England team in the transition years from amateurism, now a fiery commentator and author.

4 Christian Thau
Yes, I can mention my mates if I want to. Chris, a distinguished journalist from Romania, has a global passion for the game which has seen the cause of all kinds of rugby nations warmly exposed, notably in years as a globetrotting columnist and also during his long sojourn at the International Rugby Board. An honour.

5 Dick Best
Another glaring omission, because not only did the acerbic Best coach successfully at club level, not only has he gone on to run a successful agency, but he also had a winning percentage when coaching England that puts Martin Johnson to shame. Sorry, Messiah.

6 Tommy Vile
A wondrous character, player, referee and administrator of yesteryear, now subject of a superb book called: A Giant of a Man.

7 Warren Gatland
Why should he make the list? Practically all he’s done is have an outstanding playing and coaching career, winning the Heineken Cup after making Wasps a brilliant side, then going on to win the Grand Slam with Wales. Whoops.

8 Rupert Murdoch
Got to sneak the Boss in because as many people have pointed out this week, if it was Jonah Lomu who helped attract News Corporation to sign a massive deal to show southern hemisphere rugby, then it was Mr Murdoch who actually signed it and, with others, helped develop the golden age of armchair rugby viewing.

9 Tim Horan
Well, the list is my personal choice but too many supporters of Horan wrote in for his two winning World Cups to be ignored. Great player. Influential as well? Probably.

10 Nelson Mandela
You could argue that if the 1995 World Cup final was so monumental, then it must follow that the most monumental figure in it should be seen as influential in rugby.

11 Michael Jones
Another error on my part. The great flanker is held in mighty esteem for his ability and his mana.

12 Georges Coste
My friend Paulo pointed out that Coste was left out, a crying shame since it was the coaching of this fiery and engaging that was at the heart of the Italian team which stormed towards the Six Nations.

13 Keith Wood
With a bald head like that, how could you possibly miss the Woodster?. An heroic figure in an Irish jersey, a worthy Lion, and a leader.

14 Matt Hampson
Readers have pointed out that as I included the late Roger Addison, cruelly injured in 1967, and who bore his afflictions with such courage, then I should have included the heroic Hampson, similarly afflicted in the modern era. It’s true.

15 Wayne Barnes
The more I watch him, the more I think that refereeing has now found a new and very welcome giant.

16 Jason Leonard
Naturally, I did not leave Jase out but, on reflection, his ranking of 103 is preposterously low. Sorry boss.

17 Jim Greenwood
Far too low again. The brilliant coach and author is so influential that he should have made the top 50.

18 Graham Henry
He could well make the top 10 if he wins the 2011 World Cup but my ranking of him at 29 was still too low.

19 Billy Stead
An historically clean miss. Billy was regarded as one of the greatest players in the New Zealand team of 1905/06 and he was the writer of the seminal book The Complete Rugby Footballer. Bless him.

20 John Jones
Some cruel people assumed that I would be ranking myself. Modesty forbids. But it is my list, so why should I not have included the man who began it all for me, taking me to watch rugby when he played for Newport Civil Service, giving me a balanced outlook on sport which I often lost and, above all, taking me down to Rodney Parade to begin the affair.

England must make Scotland suffer if they are serious about being a world force (David Moir)

CALCUTTA HELL

England have gladdened the heart with their three consecutive victories, and if two of them (those over Italy and France) could easily have been won by my Grandmother’s Select XV, then good luck to them.

We can even excuse the sudden and widespread outburst of terminal fawning, and can put it down to relief. But some fans and professional observers appear to think that this New England is some kind of gleaming and unbeatable machine.

We will see, on Sunday. People are shying away from comparisons with the All Blacks as if this is in some way unfair. Rubbish. If England are to have any impact at all in this World Cup year, then they have to compare themselves with the All Blacks at every turn.

So, say the Blacks, and not England, were playing Scotland on Sunday. Scotland have been woeful. They have no real forward menace, critically little striking power and no confidence. A team that only starts playing when the game has gone, as did Scotland against Ireland at Murrayfield recently, is quaking in its boots as it takes the field.

The Blacks would be merciless. They would take Scotland apart, they would rub it in with every last point they could possibly score and allow no periods in which the Scots could make consolation scores.

Over to you England. If you are as good as your fans think, you should be planning a Calcutta Hell on Sunday, you should devastate the Scots to the tune of 40 points plus. And you should score first and last, and nil the Scots.

Then we’ll start believing your fairy tales.

Ryan Jones and the Welsh forwards must step up against Ireland (Bryn Lennon)

PACK POWDER PUFF

Welsh backs? Tasty. If they win 40% of the ball on Saturday against Ireland, Wales should canter home. James Hook/Jamie Roberts/Jonathan Davies. Now that is a midfield. If Mike Phillips is sharp at scrum-half and Lee Byrne back on form, then they are set fair.

Except. Except. Except. The forwards. Not many of them, not very good, just a little of the powder puff here and there. Not everywhere, but here and there. I have one reservation about the Warren Gatland era, and it lies in his failure to build a pack that has power and expertise up front and power in the contact areas.

Naturally, Gatland can point to the fact that his only two World class props, Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones, have been missing. It is true that of all the teams in this RBS Six Nations, it is Wales who have the most capacity to improve between now and the World Cup - though they are starting from a rather lowly base line.

But he has gone for smaller players, gone for finesse and dexterity and footballing ability. Trouble is, as the south hemisphere giants and England showed, you can be as dextrous and able as you like, but if you are being beasted by bigger men with more devil and thunder, then it gets you nowhere.

Wales can categorically win on Saturday. But if they are to do so, then Alun Wyn Jones, Ryan Jones, David Lydiate, Craig Mitchell and the others are going to have to summon the power and harshness to blow Ireland’s pack out of the water.

Will they do it, or will it prove to be another one of those oddly unsatisfying Millennium occasions?

Dan Cole, of Leicester and England, benefitted greatly from a spell with Bedford (David Rogers)

IT'S ALL ACADEMIC (NOT)

Last week, the Rugby Football Union and the major England clubs announced the refurbishment of their academy structure, centred on most of the professional clubs, linked up strongly to Twickenham and linked into the England U18, U10, Sevens and England A set-up.

The idea is this: a lot of well-meaning people with the interests of young people at heart, try to identify burgeoning talent and feed it into the opening end of a sausage factory, cramming in the raw meat and shoving it though a long and optimistic series of (learning) curves involving training techniques, weights, nutrition, technical stuff, skills, lifestyle, blah blah blah and then they are meant to come out of the other end like one of Mr Bowyer’s finest.

It takes ages, it costs a fortune, it depends very much on a massive variable – whether those selecting the players to incorporate into the system know what on earth they are looking for and how to identify it if they do. And by the way, the youngsters hardly even play a match.

Here is a better idea, which saves a fortune, which reduces dramatically the size of the enormous scrapheap which always grows as the process ends with disappointment and disillusion - which for around 80% of the academy lads, it does.

First, ban academies. Disband them. Second, establish a small but wise national network of greybeards and similar good scouts (not the usual suspects who fancy a bit of involvement) to identify really good players in school competitions (and by that, I mean extend the numbers from the usual 10 schools that all England teams are drawn from) and from county and divisional age group rugby.

In this latter regard, do NOT force people through that system, do not prostitute the whole thing so that it kills the fun for 14 players so that one (often wrongly identified) can be placed on a bogus fast-track.

And as the lads get older, marry them up with their local clubs – in the third flight - then, as they progress and improve, into the Championship and the Aviva A competition. Make sure all the forwards have done two seasons at Blackheath, Bedford, Cornish Pirates or anywhere tough as old boots, and then those who are still in one piece can be taken on into the main Aviva squads – at, roughly, the age of 24. A growing number of people are rebelling against the Herod-like grabbing of youngsters before their time.

Finally, increase the number of games for the England A team (scrap the name Saxons), disband the England U18 and England U20 teams along with the academies, and keep the England Sevens team for the players who like a drink.

There. Saved a fortune, and improved the flow of real and grizzled talent no end.

Olly Barkley is carried from the pitch after his nasty injury against Gloucester (David Rogers)

STEPHEN'S WEEK

Good: The breathtaking signs of revival at Gloucester, with no hard forwards and rapid backs. Their win over Bath was special.

Bad: The savage leg injury suffered by Olly Barkley in that match. Barkley has been grossly ill-treated by England and this engaging and misunderstood man deserves a long and happy injury-free run when he returns. GWS Olly.

Spurs: Go Marching On! Last eight, in the elite, and with every chance of the semis. Did Harry mean us to play that deep against AC Milan on Wednesday, or were we just pushed back there? And I hope Gennaro Gattuso got a good view of the action. Thanks for coming mate.

Real sports shop: Our campaign for a return to real sports stores is attracting new gems all the time. This week, a Yorkshire reader recommends a real sports store in Rotherham called, er, The Real Sports Store. All sports catered for and sound sporting advice. JJB? Walk on by.

Looking forward to: Richie Gray of Scotland having a fantastic game on Sunday against England, joining the ranks of the true world class as he leads Scotland to victory – and then running into Jeremy Guscott afterwards!

Jonah Lomu of New Zealand leaves Rob Andrew of England grasping at thin air (Getty Images)

THE JONES DEBATE

On Stephen's Top 200
Fantastic piece on Jonah Lomu - IMO, among your best. Toward the end of the 1995 RWC, Jonah Lomu's exploits in South Africa were featured on prime time news in the US. Never before or since has rugby had that level of exposure here. The premise of the 'news' segment linked him to an opportunity with the Dallas Cowboys, validating his emergence as a global superstar, and heralded the era of professional rugby.

From the mean streets of South Auckland to a global sports icon whose well documented off field challenges reminded us that our heroes are only human. Jonah Lomu figuratively and literally blazed a trail around the world whose embers still burn whenever rugby men congregate to discuss the greatest players and moments of our fine sport.

A truly influential and inspiring No 1 indeed. Thank you.

John S, Aspen

Many thanks John, and you are correct in recalling that, just for a moment, it became big news in America too. And the humanity reference is also true, seems that he had to pay a heavy price in terms of illness and problems with relationships. SJ

Dear Stephen,

After reading your explanation as to why you chose Nando Parrado as No 2, I now very much agree with the context of your comments.

My pick for No 1 is big Jonah. (I have not checked to see if he has been named already) He will always be my No 1.

Thanks for the entertaining and visceral journey through your Top 200. It is some list.

Best Regards, John Silich

John, by now you will see that you were correct to pick Jonah, great minds clearly think alike! Thanks to everyone who wrote to me about Nando Parrado, and for anyone still in the dark, Piers Paul Read’s book Alive! is still the best testimony, far better than the dodgy film of the same name, although some of the survivors didn’t like the book much either. SJ

Yes, yes, YES! At last we agree on something!!

Cheese, London

Cheese, you didn’t say what it was. Jonah?

There have been better All Blacks and rugby players I'm sure, but not one of them had the same impact on the rugby world as Jonah Lomu. Great list Mr Jones. Really enjoyable read.

Andy B, York

Many thanks Andy; he did not sustain the level of terror from the 1995 World Cup but for a time he was chillingly unstoppable. SJ

For what it's worth, Richard Hill will probably be very embarrassed at being named No 1; but this quiet, humble but brutally effective gentleman of rugby, is revered by team-mates and opponents alike [the Serge Betsen quote is one of the most apt descriptions of the man and his methods]. Has been the first name down on team sheets at club, international and world level during the period of his ascendancy. Bowing out as he did for Sarries - man of the match against the Ospreys in 2008 virtually on one leg - summed up his commitment to his club, to rugby and his approach to life.

He may not be the glamour boy that news people like - he may not have the following that gets the attention, but as you will have realised as you deliberated, his whole attitude sums up the best things about rugby that we all love.

This is the man that rugby players would like to have had in their team and would like their sons [and daughters?] to grow up like. And, although I have no real evidence to support this, I bet that - after pulling his mangled body off the pitch - he was fun to have a beer with and some craic after a game. Isn't that what rugby's really about?

Stephen Hobbs, Nottingham

That is the finest tribute to Richard I have read, Stephen - and many people would agree with every word. SJ

All Mr Jones has done here is prove again how biased and arrogant English rugby is, especially given the historical dominance of the southern hemisphere. Ever heard of Danie Gerber? And while most would agree with his No 1 choice, I do recall that Jonah Lomu has NEVER scored a try against South Africa, unlike his record against England!

Marc Willmot, London

Yes Marc, I have heard of Danie Gerber. He had about as much influence on global rugby as a gnat. SJ

On Northampton’s English problem
Why make out that this is something new, it has happened at Leicester Tigers for a number of years and the Tigers seem to stay there or thereabouts. If another club wants to take over from Leicester, maybe they will manage it for a season or two but they still need to develop their youngsters. Leicester use the LV Cup to give their youngsters playing time - other clubs should be doing the same, especially where they have a few international squad players, so they have experience players available during the two international periods.

I agree some clubs with few, if any, internationals want to brag about winning a competition when internationals are away but those clubs losing many players should learn not to overstretch their resources just as Northampton have done.

The fixture list is not going to change a lot from season to season, there will be league and European matches to put out the strongest possible teams in but make use of opportunities to blood youngsters. Probably, winning the LV last year set Northampton back too much. Maybe they might learn something from this season and change their view for the future.

Graham Elks, Cambridge

All those are fair points Graham, and I never actually said it was a new problem. But Saints have rapidly taken some youngsters who were promising and not established – Lawes, Ashton, Wood, Hartley, Foden – and turned them into gems, true Test players – and paid an immediate price. Why bother, they are now asking, as they haven’t see their men for months. SJ

This is in large part due to the organisation of the season. When internationals are scheduled surely the Premiership should have rest weeks? Would this not be the perfect time for a sort of lower-priority cup where clubs can blood youngsters knowing that, really, nothing other than bragging rights are up for grabs. It is unfair that a club that develops homegrown players is effectively punished because they are of international standard.

But I'm sure it is unlikely to change as the marketing men want to squeeze as much out of clubs as possible, forgetting that players can physically only play so many games, and there are only so many weeks in a year.

Andy B, York

Agreed Andy, the season is too packed, big matches are falling over each other and something has to give – usually, it is the players. My personal view is that there should be two less Test matches per country per season but, as you say, the marketing men, plus the treasurers, will burst into tears. SJ

Steve

Good to see RM back. Agree with your comments about Northampton. Being badly penalised for success and facing losing out on a top-four place when they were running away with it before the Six Nations. More importantly, though, is what a star Jim Mallinder is and if anyone should be coaching England, its him. Keep up the good work.

Steve Findley, Carlisle

Jim must be one of the next in line Steve – though you will have seen since writing that the Saints lost heavily to Exeter Chiefs last Sunday. The dip continues and when their players do get back, at the end of next week, what state will they be in? SJ

On Kyle Eastmond
I won't look as widely as Europe but even in the 'Home Countries' we have had Alan Tait (Scotland), Scott Gibbs and Jonathan Davies (Wales).

I know these might have started in Union and therefore don't count, by some misguided assessment, but more recently a pure league convert to the game in England, namely Chris Ashton, has shown he can run and tackle, find gaps and SCORE even if he has not yet perfected the art of finding the right person to pass to.

I know, also, that he is not another Jason Robinson but even in league there is not another Jason Robinson to be had.

FWIW I'm a Union man through and through but sometimes, Stephen Jones, you just write drivel.

Alan Ainsworth, London

You are proving the point you are trying to challenge, Alan. Jason was a total freak but, as for the others, I said last week and have always said that it is the rugby league people who cannot transfer – it is an totally different mater if you have grown up in union and you are steeped in it. Chris Ashton had what no-one else ever had who came over – a long season at a lower standard. The point is that while ex-Union players always found it reasonably easy to succeed and most did, ex.-league players have a catastrophic rate of failure when they signed. Good luck to Kyle. He will need it

Crikey - another 'controversial' opinion from Jones which he seems to have now in metronomic fashion on a weekly basis.

Almost as if he had a vested interest in being 'edgy'. Like he was being paid specifically to express opinions which perhaps he knows are nonsense to generate an angry response.

Almost like he thinks people are too stupid to work out what he is doing. Tedious stuff.

Damien Rourke, London

And here we have this week’s 'what on god’s earth is he on about but we’ve clearly got him on a raw nerve' special missive, from Damien of London. Latest odds: odds-on he’s a rugby leaguie. SJ

Andy Farrell was an absolutely superb player but by the time he left rugby league his body had been battered by many seasons of service in the game. Only the English rugby union could have believed that someone who spent some of his final season with Wigan playing prop would be ideal to play centre for their team. Perhaps it says something about the quality of the home-bred centres available in English union at the time?

Similarly, Lesley Vainikolo had already had the best of his career by the time he left Bradford. Mr Rourke is correct. Your endless bigotry is very tedious.

Derek Reeve, Wakefield

And your players eternally rubbish, Derek - be they old and slow like Farrell and Vainikolo, or young and allegedly fit like all the hordes of others. I agree with your first point - why did union ever bother to waste the money. SJ

On Gloucester v Bath
Disagree with you once again SJ... The Glos-Bath KO clashes with just about every other one in the country. Games like that were made for post-match pints in the clubhouse to kick off a Saturday evening.

Cheese, London

He’s back. A bit opaque again, I said that the Gloucester-Bath game was timed really well, and the capacity crowd seemed to prove my point. SJ