Choosing an all-time Counties Manukau Steelers side was not an easy task. There have been so many great players represent the Union over the years and sifting through the options brought back many great memories.
In almost every position there were multiple options to choose from and some were extremely hard to separate.
This is obviously a subjective exercise and is by no means an exact science. We hope you enjoy the final side we have put together.
We went with the all-All Black front row of the early 1980s with Rod Ketels, Andy Dalton and John Spiers powering us with a superb platform up front.
Rarely have three players from the same province represented the national side together as a front row but that was the case during a golden era of Counties rugby.
Of the three, Dalton had the biggest impact in the black jersey, captaining the national side 17 times and he would have been the skipper at the inaugural 1987 World Cup if not for injury.
Ketels played 173 times for the Steelers during the 70s and 80s including winning 1979 first division title. He played 16 times for the All Blacks during his career.
Spiers, the quiet and unassuming figure, represented the Steelers 153 times and played 28 times for the All Blacks including five test matches.
We considered centurion and current Steelers assistant coach Grant Henson, former Blues rep Andrew Roose and former All Black Bruce McLeod at hooker while Samoan international Pita Fatialofa, the tough-as-nails Lee Lidgard, the late Henry Maxwell, legendary All Blacks prop Kevin Skinner, who spent a short time with the union, and current All Black Nepo Laulala were honourable mentions at prop.
At lock big Jim Coe and former All Black Mark Cooksley get the nod. Hailing from the Waiuku club, Coe made a massive contribution to Counties Manukau Rugby through the 80s and 90s, helping the Steelers back into the first division before leading them to back-to-back division one finals in the mid-90s.
The 2.05m tall Cooksley played just 36 matches for the Steelers but shot to prominence when he was selected for the All Blacks in 1992. He played 23 matches and 11 tests in total.
The pair edge the likes of Paul Tuoro and versatile modern-day players like Ronald Raaymakers and Jimmy Tupou.
The loose forward discussion was one that gave us plenty of food for thought. We went with long-serving skipper Errol Brain at number eight and the iconic Alan Dawson at blindside flanker. Glen Marsh got the nod at openside, beating out the likes of Junior Paramore, Paul Clotworthy, Henk Habraken, Brett Wilson, Koula Tukino and Ranfurly Shield-winning star Fritz Lee.
Dawson is the highest capped Steeler with 201 appearances and was a fixture of the side through the halcyon days of the late 1970s and the 1980s. Brain led the Steelers back to the first division and skippered the golden side of the 1990s while Marsh was an unsung hero of that same team.
We went with Augustine Pulu at halfback in a tight battle that split opinions. Pulu was a standout of more recent Steelers sides. He played 66 times for the union and went on to represent the Chiefs and Blues before getting a call-up to the All Blacks where he played two tests in 2014.
He edges former All Black Danny Lee, the popular Michael Scott from the early 1990s side and long-serving stalwart Mark Moore.
The first-five position was a five-way battle between All Black cult hero Stephen Donald, the talented Blair Feeney, two-test All Black Nicky Allen, the talented Ean McRobbie and the diminutive Danny Love.
We perhaps controversially went with Donald, who famously kicked the match-winning penalty in the All Blacks World Cup final victory over France in 2011. Donald represented the Steelers straight out of Wesley College before heading south to Waikato and the Chiefs. He achieved more in his career than his rivals although much of that was admittedly in a different uniform. With Allen, McRobbie, Feeney and Love enjoying short but successful tenures with the Steelers we felt what Donald achieved in Steelers colours, coupled with that in other jerseys pushed him in front. He started his career with the union and finished there as well, still playing club rugby with his beloved Waiuku club this season.
French international Tony Marsh and legendary All Black Bruce Robertson make up our midfield. Marsh, like his brother Glen, was an unsung hero of the 1990s Steelers side playing 57 times while also representing the Blues and Crusaders. He moved to France and ended up playing for the national side on 21 occasions.
Robertson was a certainty for this side and is widely considered the greatest centre New Zealand has ever produced. He played 135 times for the Steelers during the 1970s and 80s and represented the All Blacks in 34 test matches. He was considered a silky smooth and smart general in the All Blacks back line.
The versatile Lindsay Raki, tough as teak Gary Millington, 1950s All Black Mick Cossey, more recent All Blacks Casey Laulala and Pita Alatini, the understated George Leaupepe, Irish international Bundee Aki and All Blacks legend Tana Umaga were considered in the midfield as well as modern day hero Sonny Bill Williams, who played a couple of one-off games for the union.
The wingers are unsurprisingly Jonah Lomu and Joeli Vidiri – the two lynchpins of the iconic 1990s Steelers side that went to back-to-back finals. Lomu is without question the most renowned player in the union’s history, starring as a schoolboy prodigy with the All Blacks in 1994 and going on to become the face of the sport for the next decade. Vidiri was a brilliant finisher. He had blinding pace and ability to beat a defender. The pair, as a wing combination, was arguably the most lethal in domestic rugby history. Sadly, both had their careers cut short by illness.
Other wingers to be considered were All Blacks Robert Kururangi, Lelia Masaga and Sitiveni Sivivatu while Luke Eranavula is also worth a mention.
Fullback in our all-time team goes to one of the original Steelers – former All Black Pat Walsh. Walsh played 27 times for the All Blacks including 13 test matches. He was also a Maori All Black during a decorated career. He was part of the very first Steelers side back in 1955 and was later a coach and selector.
Walsh beat out an incredibly talented group that includes Bob Lendrum, Brett Codlin, Loki Crichton, Tim Nanai-Williams and Dean Sheppard.
We picked the late Mac McCallion as coach of the side. McCallion controlled the Steelers during the 1990s glory days and managed to get an under-rated side to punch well above its weight in a competitive era when rugby was turning professional.
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