Rugby News

English rugby star Jonny Wilkinson has picked his all-time rugby XV, except it’s not what you think. In fact, it's made up exclusively of male movie stars.

The Toulon kicking machine can come across as a bit serious and overly dedicated at times, but anyone that follows his Twitter account will know that he can be a pretty entertaining chap at times, as was evident in his selection of his film star XV, which he has been poring over for the last few days.

Typically, given Wilkinson’s meticulous nature, he didn’t simply shoehorn some of his favourite actors into various positions just for the hell of it. He gives a player by player breakdown of why each player was selected in each position and selects a whole backroom staff as well.

It’s hardly surprising that Wilkinson selected the burly Liam Neeson as the only Irishman in the side, although we feel that Michael Fassbender might have made for a tricky outside centre and Brendan Gleeson could have made a nuisance of himself in the second row.

The team is quite heavy on brawny action stars whose acting skills are probably on a par with their rugby-playing abilities, but in terms of the physical requirements for each role, we feel Wilkinson did a pretty good job.

Check out his team for yourself below.

Jonny Wilkinson’s film star rugby XV:

15. Chuck Norris

14. Vin Diesel

13. Jean Claude van Damme

12. Russell Crowe (vice-captain)

11. Jason Statham

10. Matt Damon

9. Tom Cruise

1. John Candy

2. Sylvester Stallone

3. Michael Clarke Duncan

4. Dolph Lundgren

5. Will Smith

6. The Rock

7. Liam Neeson

8. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Captain)

Replacements: Steven Seagal (1), Snipes (2), Bob Hoskins (3), John Cena (4/5/6/8), Jackie Chan (9), Keanu Reeves (10/12), Daniel Craig (back 3)

Coaching and backroom staff: Manager: Al Pacino. Forwards coach: Samuel L Jackson. Backs coach: Michael Caine. Waterboy: Adam Sandler. Physio: Tom Hanks. Doctor: Robin Williams.