In the first of our brand-new feature series, the Open Universities Australia (OUA) Dream XV, we caught up with Wallabies and NSW Waratahs legend Lote Tuqiri.
Tuqiri was a major hit in Rugby, crossing over from the NRL’s Brisbane Broncos as a high-profile recruit in 2002 and scoring 29 tries over seven seasons for the NSW Waratahs. Tuqiri also scored 30 Test tries in 67 matches for the Wallabies and played abroad for Leicester and Leinster, as well as returning to the NRL to win the 2014 premiership with South Sydney.
The premise of the Dream XV is extremely simply; we’ve asked Lote to name a fantasy starting side, in their appropriate positions, of players he would love to play alongside.
He can select players he was able to call teammates, players he has come up against, or even players he admired from afar as a Rugby fan, and he can pick them based on whatever criteria appeals to him.
Lote Tuqiri’s OUA Dream XV
1. Tony Woodcock – I was a typical back with no idea about the difference between loosehead and tighthead prop, but I think he was a loosehead! Every time I played the All Blacks he was a cornerstone of their pack, and he seemed to step up to an unbelievable level when playing international Rugby.
2. Keven Mealamu – He was great around the field and got better with his throwing as his career progressed. He copped the best punch I’ve seen on a footy field from Brendan Cannon, kept standing and looked back at him as if to say, “is that all you’ve got?” He has a really, really hard head and that’s a bloke you want going into battle with you.
3. Phil Vickery – He was a cornerstone of the English pack that beat us in 2003. He has a lost a lot of weight now, he’s a bit like my old teammate Matt Dunning in that regard, and he’s got his new clothing label Raging Bull which he can fit out the team with.
4. Justin Harrison – Googy had great skills for a big man and he is an all-round good bloke. I had fun times with him off the field, and he tells a great story. He’s the type of bloke who can be the glue in a team and ran a lineout extremely well. When he was on the field, you didn’t lose many at lineout time.
5. Martin Johnson – Captain of that 2003 Rugby World Cup winning team, and one of the hardest heads I have ever played against. I remember accidentally kneeing him in the head in a Test match in Melbourne, and there was a lot of force in it, and he just shook it off and headed into the next ruck. What a monster. Seemed like a leader of men and well respected around the world.
6. Richie McCaw – Played against Richie and he was unflappable, just got the job done. You’d try and bait him and he would look at you and just get on with it, in that robot mould that so many out of that Crusaders setup were. Just a winner.
7. George Smith – To look at it, you wouldn’t think he would last more than 30 minutes on the field and even at training he was always at the back of the pack for fitness training, but he always brought it on the field – he was always in the top two or three every game. One of the best jackals of the ball ever. He was great for a one-liner, and we spent a lot of time laughing at the back of the bus from his comments.
8. Kieran Read – His winning rate is quite unbelievable for the All Blacks and Crusaders. He was a bit non-descript in a way but led through his actions and was a great tactical Captain.
9. George Gregan – For me, probably the best Captain I had in Rugby. His messages were succinct from a backs point of view, and he narrowed our focus really well. He didn’t go crazy with his chat or make any stupid statements; he was very concise in what he said and he always knew what he wanted from us.
10. Stephen Larkham – Bernie played a lot of his best Rugby before I got to play alongside him, but he was just one of those instinctive players who just played what was in front of him. A lot of modern-day 10s could learn a whole lot from that approach. A runner first and foremost but could play the kicking game if need be and that 1999 Rugby World Cup Semi Final field goal was extremely memorable.
11. Jonah Lomu – He doesn’t really need any introduction, the first superstar of the Rugby. I got to spend a little bit of time with him off the field and he would do anything for you. He was a family man and really proud of the jerseys he represented, and I was probably lucky I didn’t have to play against him.
12. Tim Horan – One of my favourite players growing up and watching him play, and a lovely bloke. Some of the stuff he did in that 1999 Rugby World Cup, getting off his sick bed and coming back from injuries over his career to win Player of the Tournament, was pretty unbelievable. Won two Rugby World Cups, which not many have done, and he was instrumental in our success in both 1991 and 1999.
13. Frank Bunce – I loved his physicality and loved watching him and Walter Little between around 1993 and 1996 when they were an amazing combination for the All Blacks. He had the skill and the nous to put his wingers away, and while he wasn’t the quickest, he still had pretty good wheels. I could have thrown Brian O’Driscoll or Tana Umaga in there, but Bunce is top of the tree.
14. Rupeni Caucaunibuca – The best winger I came up against. The way he moved, he just glided across the field – one second he’s there, and in a flash the next second he’s not. He didn’t even look like he was moving that fast, and it was sad to see him leave the Southern Hemisphere as I don’t think we got to see him at his best in Super Rugby and for Fiji.
15. Christian Cullen – On his day, and he had a lot of them, he was unbelievable for the Hurricanes and All Blacks. I watched a lot of the All Blacks when he was at his peak, and whenever he got the ball something seemed to happen; he’d either gas a bloke on the outside, step somebody or put his wingers into space. For me, he would be worth the admission price alone.
We’ve spoken to some of Australia’s most-loved past players and asked them to nominate their Open Universities Australia (OUA) Dream XV. OUA, our official Education Partner, are helping Australian players’ off-field dreams come to life through their in their support of RUPA. OUA support RUPA and the players by providing multiple full scholarship opportunities every year, with current and former male and female players all eligible to apply.
OUA’s mission is to make studying at university possible for everyone, anywhere, at any time in their lives. They offer hundreds of subjects and over 300degree programs across a variety of disciplines from leading Australian universities.
They also enable their students to customise their university experience by selecting subjects from multiple universities, graduating with a qualification from the university where they studied the most. The flexibility of studying online also means OUA students can tailor their study load to fit around their availability and existing commitments. For more information, visit http://www.open.edu.au or phone 13 67 36.
