There has been much speculation that Tonga’s pack against England last week, which weighed in at 985kg – an average of around 123kg per unit – was the heaviest in Test history which makes me think what would theoretically be the toughest Test XV of all time could be put on the ground
Competition is fierce in the prop but the clear front runners are Tonga’s Ben Tameifuna, left, and Fiji’s Bill Cavubati – all weighing 165kg… but keep an eye out for Toulon teenager who has yet to play, Walid Maamry, who already weighs 160kg
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The internet is filled with lists of the toughest rugby players who played the sport, although very few are accurate
The truth is tracking player weights is difficult, not least because players – like all humans – are prone to fluctuations in weight, and often tend to gain weight over the span of their careers
With these pitfalls in mind, or despite them, we’ve attempted to compile the 15 toughest for sure
It exclusively comprises current and registered players in positions where they have started play at a professional level
We have used the official club website, the brilliant Allrugby database and first-person testimony where necessary when trying to provide credible weights
Some positions are more difficult to fill than others
Perhaps surprisingly the bitches and rearguard were a lot lighter than we thought in the process
Scrumhalf and fullback are also positions that can prove tricky
The retirement of Jone Qovu weighing 139 kg, 135 kg plus Opeti Fonua, and scrumhalf 106-115 kg Samisoni Fisilau has hampered our struggle and there are also those who mention the second row Walid Maamry weighing 170 kg
The former France U18 forward currently plays in the fourth tier of French rugby for Bédarrides Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vaucluse Rugby
As far as we’re concerned, this is not a strictly professional club and as such we reluctantly feel we have to take him out of this XV
As alluded to earlier, we suspect No6 and No8 are areas where we think there are heavier athletes out there
Our average pack weight is 1421kg or 313 pounds or 22 stone 5 pounds
The average back is 1194 kg or 263 pounds or 18 stone 11 pounds
Even though there were queues of gaming idiots, there wasn’t quite a lot of 140kg plus on the looseheads
The Leicester Tigers front rowers are the heaviest according to our research and consistently register at 149kg, or 23 stone six pounds in old money
While we suspect France’s No2’s heaviest bitch, she is the heaviest we can get a credible weight
Honorable mention goes to Christopher Tolofua from Toulon who weighed 122 kg, who we understand used to weigh 132 kg but has become thin
A controversial entry given that Ben Tameifuna and Uini Antonio both claim to be the toughest professionals on the planet at various stages
According to the respective club websites, there is currently no match for Emirates Lions tight end Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who weighs just over 24 stones
According to a recent interview Paul Gustard gave to Jim Hamilton on The Big Jim Show, the Stade Francais head coach talks about the “154 kilos” second row in his Paris book
RugbyPass has confirmed that Gustard has offended JJ van der Mescht, who is listed as between 135kg and 145kg on various websites, but looks enormous in recent photos compared to his time at the Sharks in South Africa
Honorable mention goes to 203cm, 145kg Emmanuel Meafou, who plays for Toulouse and looks set to star for France despite originally coming from Australia
While he’s fluctuated wildly over the last decade – barely hitting 160kg at one point – in a recent interview with Le French’s Rugby Rugby Podcast RugbyPass, La Rochelle Key said he’s currently between 145kg and 150kg, so we meet Wallaby in the middle
Comparatively light in our pack, So’otala Fa’aso’o from London Ireland takes the blind at 20 stone 4 pounds
The newest Tuilagi of the ranking is the biggest; Posolo Tuilagi has torn it up for Perpignan and France U20
Son Henry, a teenager who can also play on the second line, is already up there as one of the biggest bodies in the game
He is listed at 149kg on Allrugby and 145kg on the official Perpignan website
We suspect the former may be more accurate on this occasion
His retirement of some very big No8s in recent years means that England veteran Vunipola is the biggest No8 we can get our hands on, which again, seems a bit of a stretch in the context of this team
The previous heaviest professional Scrumhalf, Samisoni Fisilau, weighed at least 106kg, and he was replaced by fellow Tongan Sonatane Takulua, who currently plays for Agents in ProD2
The heavy-looking Flyhalf Shokki Shuttles, who previously played for the Ospreys, Bath and Worcester weighed 120kg, making him 8kg the heaviest No10 in professional play
The Montpellier giants have been found in the backfield more often these days, but the Seven Olympics gold medalist has started more than 40 percent of his professional game as a winger
Although he has found a new home in the back four in recent seasons, it was not unreasonable to select Basteaud in the position which has seen him win 54 caps for France
Although Toulon’s website desperately doesn’t list his weight, Allrugby lists it at 125kg
Honorable mention goes to the 118kg Apimeleki Nawaqatabu who plays for Narbonne
Although mostly selected as a winger, Naiyaravoro has played 13 times, most notably for the Barbarians in 2017
The greatest back of all time is listed at 130kg on the Waratahs website at the moment, though he weighed in at 137kg in Montpellier
It’s hard to look down on Nadolo’s record as the most massive defender in the game ever beaten
The old war horse played his rugby on the Cheetahs but he’s been building more like a blind man these days
Honorable mention for Freddie Steward from England who is usually listed at between 105 and 109kg
Tags: Editors Men’s Pick International Rugby
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