Patricio Noriega cut his teeth in the toughest of propping breeding grounds – the Pumas’ front row. Born in Buenos Aires, the tighthead played for his local club, Hindu, before…
RW Staff
Iain Milne
In 2011, at a gala dinner in Paris, a formidable foe from bygone years was inducted into the French Hall of Fame. Iain Milne, the famous Bear of Scotland, was…
The phoney war is over, as the Rugby Championship prepares for lift off
By Alex Shaw The Rugby Championship kicks off this weekend, with Australia hosting New Zealand and Argentina travelling to South Africa, and the phoney wars that are part and parcel…
Jean-Pierre Garuet
Obstinate. It’s the only way to describe tighthead Jean-Pierre Garuet’s approach to the scrummage. France is a nation that adores the flat-backed, hairy brutes who relish tight exchanges and in…
Sandy Carmichael
Sandy Carmichael was the personification of stern-faced resistance to the established southern hemisphere stronghold of world rugby in the early 1970s, when British and Irish forward play reached its high-water…
Martin Scelzo
Playing at tighthead prop is rarely, if ever, a case of rocking up to a big stage for the first time, packing down and blowing everyone away. More often, playing…
Wilson Whineray
Sir Wilson Whineray was that rugby rarity, a loosehead who had scrummaging maturity beyond his years. The New Zealander’s star shone brightly from the day he made his Test debut…
Fran Cotton
Brain and brawn combined to make Fran Cotton an all-time great. The son of a good rugby league player, young Fran took up union at grammar school, was capped by…
Tom Smith
Size doesn’t matter. Just ask Scotland’s Tom Smith. Despite a lack of size or experience, he rocketed to prominence in 1997 after being picked for the Lions tour of South…
Craig Dowd
Props rarely get much glory but if they did, Craig Dowd would be among the most lauded of all because he was one of the foundation stones upon which the…