Super Rugby's 30th season: Who makes the alltime team?

Super Rugby officially turns 29 this Saturday, March 1. But with two weeks already in the books of its 30th season, we've decided to mark what is the competition's 29th birthday in style.

Some will say we've gone off to early, but that is the beauty of retrospective lists -- you can roll them out at any time!

With that in mind, we asked our rugby writers, of varying ages, to come up with their alltime Super Rugby XV.

The criteria encompassed title success, longevity, individual skill and performance, with thought given to those whose best rugby was often played in the open spaces of the provincial level.

LIAM NAPIER'S XV

15. Christian Cullen

Matt Burke, Ben Smith, Israel Folau and Joe Roff are contenders but how can you overlook the greatest fullback to ever play the game? Cullen never won a Super Rugby title - a crying shame given the talent the Hurricanes backline boasted in his era. Before injuries took hold and he prematurely left for Munster, Cullen was one of the most dynamic attacking prospects to grace the field. Every time he played, you had to watch Cullen.

14. Bryan Habana

The former world player of the year was among rugby's best finishers. In an era where South Africa wasn't renowned for attacking endeavour Habana's impact was profound. His out and out top end pace is evident in footage of him racing a cheetah and he possessed a lethal chip and chase too. He finished as Super Rugby's ninth all time try-scorer and claimed two titles with the Bulls.

13. Tana Umaga

A tight call between Umaga and Stirling Mortlock, two competitors who regularly locked horns. Umaga's career started on the wing but his most profound impact arrived in the midfield. It was there he progressed to captain the All Blacks. Umaga ran brilliant lines, had a hunger for contact and a destructive fend. He was an intimidating presence.

12. Jean de Villiers

While Ma'a Nonu was consistently superb, particularly at the backend of his career, for the All Blacks, he didn't reach the same heights with the Hurricanes, Highlanders and Blues. Aaron Mauger has claims for his presence in the title-winning Crusaders - as does the classy Tim Horan - but de Villiers brought a tougher edge to his work while showcasing his breadth of skill. In his two stints for the Stormers, de Villiers was the rock of their midfield.

11. Jonah Lomu

Doug Howlett, as the fifth highest try scorer in Super history, has serious claims for inclusion. Julian Savea, Rupeni Caucaunibuca and Folau deserve mention, too. While Lomu's impact wasn't enduring, due to his health issues, it is incomparable. No one changed the game like Lomu. His peak was relatively fleeting but in his early years with the All Blacks-laden Blues, who won the first two Super titles, Lomu was an unstoppable, irrepressible force.

10. Dan Carter

Andrew Mehrtens, Carlos Spencer and Stephen Larkham were talisman for the title-winning Crusaders, Blues and Brumbies, respectively, but for pure class, Carter was in another echelon. Carter didn't always perform at his peak for the Crusaders, particularly in the latter stages of his career when he was hampered by injuries or taking sabbaticals, but when he was on he could do it all - goal kick, defend, challenge the line, create for others, step, fend. He was the master.

9. Aaron Smith

Fourie du Preez was a generational talent for a dominant Bulls side and George Gregan deft passing skill and dogged defence inspired the Brumbies. Smith, though, changed the game. In an era where halfbacks were largely big - almost fourth loose forwards - Smith broke that template by harnessing speed. Smith's snipping runs, his rapid, long, accurate passes and variety of kicks helped propel the Highlanders to their only title, one no one outside their camp believed they would ever win.

8. Kieran Read

It's an odd notion to suggest about a former All Blacks captain and global player of the year but Read remains somewhat underrated. When he roamed and offloaded in the wide channels, crunched up the middle of the field and owned the linenout, Read was indomitable as he helped the Crusaders to four Super titles. Zinzan Brooke, Pierre Spies and Toutai Kefu are other contenders but none had Read's sustained impact.

7. Richie McCaw

The best openside flanker in the history of the game. No more needs to be said.

6. George Smith

Played most of his rugby in the seven jersey but for his menacing impact on the breakdown is impossible to leave out. That's tough on the likes of Schalk Burger and Jerome Kaino, two traditional blindsides who left their mark, but Smith's versatility and influence in turning a game through turnovers was a thing of beauty.

5. Victor Matfield

Arguably the best lineout forward in Super Rugby history. Matfield was as tough as they come but it was his ability to dominate the air, both on his own and opposition ball, that truly set him apart. He was the fulcrum of the title winning Bulls teams. Brodie Retallick, Brad Thorn, John Eales and, to a lesser extent, Ali Williams are other locks who deserve recognition.

4. Sam Whitelock

A genuine leader among men. Whitelock's presence was felt as much in the way he helped lead the Crusaders standards off the field - during their unprecedented dominance - as it was on the park. Another lineout wizard, Whitelock's passion for the Crusaders was epitomised in his final season when he returned from injury for the Super Rugby final success against the Chiefs in Hamilton against all medical advice. Scott Robertson labelled Whitelock an immortal for that man of the match performance. Ian Foster, All Blacks coach at the time, wasn't so pleased when Whitelock spent the next month on the sideline.

3. Owen Franks

Props of this modern era are expected to do it all - tip on passes at the line, get around the field, carry, clean, tackle. This style of rugby ultimately passed Franks by but he was the rock on which the Crusaders scrum was built.

2. Dane Coles

If ever there was a forward born for Super Rugby it's Dane Coles. Such was his pace and range of skill Coles never looked out of place in the backline. He scored some phenomenal tries - and never shirked his core set piece duties - to break the stereotype of how a hooker should play. Keven Mealamu and John Smit were other fierce competitors in their heyday, too.

1. Os du Randt

A man mountain. Du Rant's impact was stunted playing for the Cheetahs and suffering a number of injury setbacks but he won two World Cups with the Springboks and was an immovable force at scrum time.

SAM BRUCE's XV

15. Joe Roff

Equally adept on the wing or at fullback, Roff was a key cog in the Brumbies' success around the turn of the millennium. A supreme finisher who boasted a thumping left boot, Roff held the record for the most Super Rugby tries before he was eventually surpassed by the man next on this team list. Honourable mentions go to Christian Cullen, Leon MacDonald, Israel Folau and Percy Montgomery.

14. Doug Howlett

A mainstay of the Blues and All Blacks through our the 2000s, Howlett played on the end of an exceptional Auckland backline that also featured the names Joe Rokocoko, Carlos Spencer, Sam Tuitupu and Mils Muliaina. While he was later surpassed on the alltime tries list, the sight of Howlett heading for the corner, hair flowing lusciously behind him, was all too common for opposition teams.

13. Stirling Mortlock

One of the harder positions to settle on in my lineup, Mortlock gets the nod despite missing both of the Brumbies Super Rugby final wins over the Sharks and Crusaders respectively through injury. When he was on the field, however, "Snorky" was a dominant force in the ACT midfield; he also assumed the goal-kicking responsibilities. He remains in the top 10 for points scored, the only non-playmaker on that list.

12. Tana Umaga

With Mortlock a 13, I've found a place for Umaga one spot closer in. While he was never part of a title-winning side, Umaga was the backline fulcrum the Hurricanes built their teams around through the early years of Super 12. Other players who shone in the position were Jean de Villiers and Aaron Mauger, while Matt Giteau's swan dive was a feature of the Brumbies' highlight reel through the back half of the 2000s.

11. Bryan Habana

Any number of players could have filled this spot, but for his role on the end of the Bulls' backline Habana gets the nod. The Springboks flyer ran up a South Africa-high 56 tries in his Super Rugby career, icing so many dominant Bulls attacks. He was a champion with the franchise in 2007, 2009 and 2010, scoring an 82nd-minute match winner at Newlands in the Bulls' first title triumph. Jonah Lomu's career was tragically cut short, while Rokocoko was a brilliant finisher.

10. Andrew Mehrtens

This will be seen as controversial, but I've gone for Mehrtens ahead of Dan Carter, based on the fact he was key to their three straight Super 12 title triumphs from 1998-2000, which were secured away from home in the final game of the season. Mehrtens' right boot was vital in defeating the Blues in Auckland, Highlanders in Dunedin and then the Brumbies in Canberra, before he finally got the Christchurch finale in 2002. Carter was an obvious alternative while Stephen Larkham and Morne Steyn were also central figures in championship teams. Carlos Spencer was a joy to watch, while Richie Mo'unga was scintillating during the Crusaders' three-peat between 2017-19.

9. Fourie du Preez

The Springboks scrum-half was tailor-made for Super Rugby, his running game peerless as the Bulls became the first South African franchise to taste title glory. Playing behind a Springbok-laden pack, Du Preez enjoyed a wonderful platform and was a supreme manipulator of defensive lines on the back foot. All Blacks great Aaron Smith wasn't far behind, though his best rugby was often produced at Test level, while there were few better support players than alltime Super Rugby tries leader TJ Perenara.

8. Pierre Spies

The Springboks No. 8 was the key link man for between the Bulls backs and forwards, an incredible athlete blessed with speed few others in the game could match. Kieran Read is perhaps a touch unlucky here; he played in only the Crusaders' 2008 title triumph ahead of their title drought, before playing in their three straight championships between 2017 and 2019. No. 8. Zinzan Brooke, meanwhile, was a star of the Blues' early dominance of Super 12.

7. George Smith

This selection will be met with howls of anger across the ditch, but the Brumbies No. 7 was the more naturally skilled footballer, in my opinion, which suited Super Rugby better than Richie McCaw. Go back and watch the 2004 decider, ironically against the Crusaders, and tell me you've seen a better Super Rugby game than what Smith produced in Canberra that night. Smith then returned to the franchise nine years later and helped them go close to taking down the Chiefs on the road for a third title. McCaw is a standout second - and peerless at Test level -- while Juan Smith and Heinrich Brussow were a fearsome back-row double act for the Cheetahs.

6. Liam Messam

Another position that took plenty of consideration, Messam edges out a long list of options for his play in the Chiefs' golden years between 2009 and 2013, when they won two titles and finished runners-up in another season. A classy link man, who was strong on both sides of the ball, Messam was another player who fit the Super Rugby brief perfectly. Messam shades Schalk Burger, who was a grand performer at Test level.

5. Victor Matfield

Among the finest locks the game has seen, the Springboks great led his side to their three Super 14 titles. A lineout general, who also had supreme ball-playing skills, Matfield formed arguably the most feared second-row pairing off all time alongside Bakkies Botha. Sam Whitelock would be a close second here

4. Brad Thorn

Thorn's code switch is arguably the greatest of all time, and he was a central figure in the Crusaders' success of the noughties. A genuine second-row enforcer, Thorn's engine and physicality had been honed in rugby league, but he was somehow able to make a seamless return to the intricacies of scrum and lineout play despite many years out of the game. Brodie Retallick was a revelation during his time at the Chiefs and unlucky to miss out here.

3. Greg Somerville

Scrum dominance the key here, and Somerville provided exactly that for the powerhouse Crusaders team either side of the millennium. Olo Brown and Craig Dowd flipped between loose and tighthead over the 1996 and 1997 title wins, and either could do a job here. Owen Franks was later a fulcrum for the Crusaders.

2. Dane Coles

While set-piece is the bread and butter of any front-rower, Coles was able to express himself just that little bit more in Super Rugby - and excelled in doing so. The Hurricanes rake was faster than any hooker out there, often popping up in the wider channels to score unlikely five-pointers. He also constantly got under the skin of opposition players. Corey Flynn, and later Codie Taylor, were Crusaders mainstays, while Jeremy Paul and Stephen Moore are both Brumbies greats.

1. Wyatt Crockett

The alltime leader for Super Rugby games played [202], Crockett's career spanned 11 seasons and bookended either side of the Crusaders title drought. He was a champion in 2006 and 2008, before adding three further titles from 2016-18. Bill Young was an early hero for the Brumbies

BRITTANY MITCHELL'S XV

15. Matt Burke

The first on my list was easy. Matt Burke, what can I say, he was who I wanted to be when I grew up! He battled alongside Percy Mongomery who's flowing blonde locks always caught my attention as an eight-year-old, but it's the Tahs fullback who made the line-up. His kicking from the tee and out of hand made him one of the best, so too his impact in attack making him one of the Waratahs' top try-scorers during his time. He was who people came to see.

14. Bryan Habana

I know he played a lot of his career in No.11, but he simply had to be included in the line-up. There are so many destructive wingers through Super Rugby history; Cheslin Kolbe, Joe Rockocoko, Julian Savea, Doug Howlett, the list could go on and on, but just the pure out and out speed that Habana brought to the game was incredible. Who can't forget his last minute try that set up the Bulls' dramatic win over the Sharks in the final in 2007.

13. Stirling Mortlock

Looks like I'm following the pack with this call, but given Mortlock was consistently one of the best through his time at the Brumbies and then during his brief stint at the Rebels, slicing through gaps, an expect kicking game and strong in defence, it's easy to see why he's made all three teams.

12. Ma'a Nonu

It was a tough call between Nonu and Tana Umaga who often menaced the opposition for the Hurricanes, but Nonu won out due to his decade-long run leading the Hurricanes through the midfield. A bull-dozing runner, Nonu often made his opponents look silly trying to shut him down. Meanwhile, I'm sure some of his opposition are still feeling his bone-rattling hits.

11. Joe Roff

You can't ignore what Joe Roff did for the Brumbies on the wing. He was fast and almost impossible to stop metres from the tryline. He contributed 588 points in his 86 Brumbies matches and was the competition's leading try scorer (57) until 2007, while he's only been bettered than Ben Lam for most tries scored in one season (15). His four against the Sharks are hard to forget. Definitely a player who hung up the boots too early.

10. Dan Carter

Do I really need to explain? One of the best, if not the best, in the world. People will question if his best came at international level rather than Super, but as a three-time champion with the Crusaders, leading Super Rugby point scorer, a wizard with ball in hand and one of the most incredible players in Super Rugby history, of course he has to be on the list.

9. Aaron Smith

There are so many outstanding No. 9s to pick from in Super Rugby, you've got George Gregan, Justin Marshall, Will Genia, TJ Perenara, but you can't go past Aaron Smith and what he did for the Highlanders for over a decade. His pass off the base of the ruck was swift and his ability to snipe around the breakdown made him one of the most threatening in attack. Add too his constant niggle and his ability to get under his opposition's skin it made him one of the competition's best over the last 30 seasons.

8. Ardie Savea

He may still be in the game, but that doesn't rule him out for earning a place in this all-time best line up. Destructive with ball in hand, huge at the breakdown and mammoth in defence, Savea is an all-encompassing No. 8 who'll go down in the history books as one of the best. Consistently a top performer for the Canes, he was a huge influence on their title win in 2016, and could do something special with Moana Pasifika.