Gareth Edwards' 5 Toughest Rugby Rivals — The No.1 Pick Isn't Who You Think

Four men made Gareth Edwards ​afraid. The fifth ​rewrote what toughness even meant — and he spent most of his career standing beside him, not across from him. Edwards played Test rugby under six feet and barely ​13 stone, in ​an era with no ​citing commissioners, no TMOs and referees who barely blinked ​at foul play. For 11 years he stood ​at the base ​of scrums built to fold ​men his size in half — and still became the most gifted ​player the game has produced. Genius bought him space. ​It never bought him safety. Here ​his five toughest opponents are finally put in order: Jan Ellis, the Springbok flanker ​whose half-second timing taught him fear arrives before contact does; Ian ​Kirkpatrick, the All Black ​loose forward who allowed no minute of ​rest across ​the 1971 Lions series; ​Frik du Preez, the giant lock who reshaped every ruck before the ball was even won; Colin Meads, the ​standard every hard man in world rugby was measured against; and Willie John McBride — the man who tops ​the ​list without ​ever hitting him hardest. It ends on the 1974 Lions tour of ​South Africa and the infamous ​'99 call': the ​moment intimidation stopped working because ​its cost became ​collective instead of individual. Which of these five would you least want to face? ​Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for more ​untold rugby stories. #GarethEdwards #Rugby #BritishAndIrishLions ​#WillieJohnMcBride #ColinMeads #FrikDuPreez #IanKirkpatrick #JanEllis #Springboks ​#AllBlacks #RugbyLegends #RugbyHistory #99Call #WelshRugby #RugbyToughest