9. BJ Botha

AGE ON ARRIVAL IN 2008: 28 EIGHT SEASONS 129+37 APPEARANCES

A tight-head worth his weight in gold, the 2007 South African World Cup winner initially had three years at Ulster before spending the next five at Munster as successor to John Hayes. Didn’t win a single honour in that time but he was right man, in the right place given the IRFU’s stalled No3 supply line.