Lomu tramples over Catt in 1995. (Getty Images)

By Alex Lowe, PA International

Michael Jones (New Zealand 1987, 1991)

One of those rare players who redefined the way rugby is played, Michael Jones made the All Black number seven jersey his own for 11 years, during which time he became a World Cup legend.

Jones was an outstanding openside flanker who matched dynamic scrummaging and ferocious defence with the pace, handling and vision of a threequarter.

He made a scoring All Black debut as a 24-year-old in the opening match of the inaugural World Cup against Italy, went on to enjoy a stunning campaign and was named man of the tournament.

He capped off the campaign with a peerless display in the final against France, scoring again as New Zealand won the Webb Ellis Trophy in his home town of Auckland.

Having recovered from a career-threatening knee injury, Jones matched his 1987 achievement by also scoring the first try in the 1991 World Cup.

He was New Zealand's shining light and was sorely missed in the semi-final defeat to Australia, which he sat out because a deathbed vow to his father prevented him from playing on Sundays.

Those religious convictions subsequently cost him a place in the 1995 World Cup squad, but when fit and available he remained an automatic selection - on the blind-side in the latter stages of his career - until he retired in 1998 with 55 Test caps.

David Campese (Australia 1987, 1991, 1995)

As a pundit and commentator, 'Campo' now speaks about the game in the same uninhibited way he played during an illustrious 14-year international career spanning three World Cups and a record 101 caps.

Never one to shy away from confrontation, forthright Campese relished the opportunity in 1991 to win the World Cup on English soil.

He ruffled a few feathers along the way, goading England about how lavish and expansive his Australia side was - but crucially, he was speaking from a position of authority.

Translated onto the field, Campese's confidence and bravado made him, in many eyes, the most exciting winger of all time.

And that wasn't even his favourite position.

Campese played at full-back in the 1987 tournament, scoring four tries, but come 1991 he was out on the wing and the man to watch.

At the peak of his game, a 29-year-old Campese scored six tries in the tournament and won the "Finest Moments" award for a magical semi-final performance against New Zealand.

Campese scored the opener with a sensational, angled dash and then set up Tim Horan with what the legendary Barry John described as "skill, vision and audacity".

It was Campese in a nutshell.

John Eales (Australia 1991, 1995, 1999)

John Eales was four years ahead of his time when, in 1991, he broke into the Australia second-row and retained his place by revolutionising the role of a lock forward.

He emerged from the shadowy world of the second-row as consistently the most outstanding player of the last decade, winning the 1991 World Cup, captaining the Wallabies to glory in 1999 and guiding his side to unprecedented victories in the Tri-Nations and against the British Lions.

Athletic round the park, rock-like in defence and comfortable with the ball in hand, Eales as a player embodied a new generation of second-row forwards.

He famously became known as 'Nobody' - as in Nobody's Perfect - and even when a shoulder injury sidelined him before the 1999 tournament, he added goal-kicking to an art founded on executing the basics with simple brilliance.

As a captain Eales was an inspirational leader, and it is no coincidence his absence from the Wallabies line-up has coincided with the world champions stagnating.

Francois Pienaar (South Africa 1995)

The only image to oust Jonah Lomu from the public's memories of the 1995 World Cup was that of South Africa captain Francois Pienaar collecting the Webb-Ellis Trophy from his president, Nelson Mandela.

The pair, both wearing number six Springbok shirts, chatted briefly, complementing each other on their role in unifying a divided nation, before Pienaar held aloft the golden trophy.

Pienaar was a genuine believer in post-apartheid South Africa and recognised how the Springboks' campaign represented more to the new "rainbow nation" than simply rugby.

A sport that had been the domain of a privileged few was suddenly embraced, as he famously stated on the podium, by "all 43million South Africans" as the Springboks beat New Zealand in the final.

It was a poignant end to South Africa's first World Cup, and though it was Pienaar's only tournament, his role in leading the Springboks to glory catapults him into the realms of greatness.

That, and the fact he was one of the most cultured flankers to grace rugby's glittering stage.

Jonah Lomu (New Zealand 1995, 1999)

Will Carling, stunned after his side had been bulldozed by Jonah Lomu's four-try blitz in the 1995 World Cup semi-final, famously described the 19-stone winger as a "freak".

In the sense that the rugby world had never really seen his like before, the England captain was right.

Lomu was 19 years old, a year out of school and his defence-shattering power, lethal finishing and electric pace had made him the talk of the World Cup.

He had already scored three tries in three starts before etching an indelible mark on the sport during 80 minutes of sheer hell for England.

Mike Catt was trampled on and Tony Underwood flung into touch like a bin man disposing of a black sack as England crumbled to New Zealand's one-man try machine.

In 1997 illness stopped Lomu as no defence could and the big man, player of the tournament in 1995, spent a year out overcoming a life-threatening kidney complaint.

But two years later Lomu was back on the biggest stage and back scoring, running in eight tries in five games to leave him with a record 15 World Cup tries.

Lomu once again saved his best for the semi-final, where he beat nine French defenders for a sensational first try.