Best All Black Team Since 1995 (the professional era)

I'm at an odd impasse at work today. Can't do anything until I get something else. So... Best All Black team since 1995... Tell me why I'm wrong. Also, I didn't really start watching rugby until 2000 (when we got Sky) and I can be a big on-and-off (i.e. when I stopped having Sky) with it so there will likely be biases toward the times where I watched more heavily.

1. Tony Woodcock
2. Dane Coles
3. Carl Hayman
4. Brodie Retallick
5. Sam Whitelock
6. Jerome Kaino
7. Richie McCaw
8. Kieran Read
9. Aaron Smith
10. Dan Carter
11. Jonah Lomu
12. Ma'a Nonu
13. Tana Umaga
14. Doug Howlett
15. Christian Cullen

Not too much argument from me.

Fitzy was probably better than Coles but with only 2 years in professionalism Coles wins. Same reason for Read over Zinzan. I would have Conrad over Tana, then a huge amount of possibilities on the wing to partner Lomu.

Bah, maybe I need to throw in some controversial picks. Though I can only think of dumb ones, like Tony Brown in at 10. I don't even know how to defend that selection, and I fricking love Brown.

But, yeah if this was an all-time team I'd pop Fitzy and Zinzan in easy.

Umaga vs Smith was the one I went back and forth most on...

Interesting no room for Olo Brown or Fitzy

How about Frank Bunce at Centre?

Could always put Tana on the Right Wing

Jerry Collins would push Kaino at Blindside, as would Michael Jones.

Lock...modern guys probably have that locked - the likes of Ali Williams & Chris Jack were good but not to the extent that Whitelock and Retallick dominate.

Joe Rokocoko in his youthful prime was awesome...I would put him ahead of Doug Howlett...Zinzan vs Read is close, i would go with Zinzan. Fitzpatrick was a menace for oppositions, but i would chose to go for a sidestepping Coles.

just thinking about it, Jeff Wilson (despite his ego) was a talented player, i would put him ahead of Howlet and Rokocoko....

I still think you can't choose guys that played 2/3 years of professional rugby over guys that played for a decade.

Yeah, if we only look at their output from 1995 onwards then I'd say a lot of those guys from that era don't make it but would probably make it in an all-time team. Bunce is probably an interesting one since I think his time with the All Blacks is pretty evenly split between the amateur and professional era.

Also interesting to try to compare players with a crazy high peak and short service versus players with a smaller peak but a longer consistent service. Rocko vs Howlett plays into that one.