Rugby World Cup 100 greatest players: 100-81 including Diego Dominguez, Gavin Hastings and Will Greenwood

The first of The Independent’s five-part series unveiling the 100 greatest players of the Rugby World Cup

The start of the 2019 Rugby World Cup will reignite the debate of who the greatest player in the history of the game is, so much so that we’re attempting to answer it once and for all.

Over the next five days, we’ll release our top 100 greatest players to have featured at the Rugby World Cup, going all the way back to the inaugural tournament in 1987 right through to the most recent global gathering four years ago.

With the likes of Jonah Lomu and Jonny Wilkinson certain to feature later in the week, the shootout for the top 20 is going to feature the true greats of the game, but the countdown to Friday’s big reveal is sure to be just as competitive.

Given New Zealand remain the only nation to have won the World Cup three times, you can guarantee there will be a healthy number of All Blacks involved, while two-time winners Australia and South Africa also feature heavily along with 2003 champions England.

But the likes of France, Scotland, Wales, Italy and Samoa plus many others also feature, with the global tournament producing stars from all across the planet.

See who features in places 100 to 81 by clicking through the gallery below.

The second part of our series featuring players from 80 to 61 will be released on Tuesday morning.