Best XV of non-rugby players

As a last minute bit of fun before the Six Nations dominates attention, here is a XV made of athletes from other sports that could make the strongest team.

The main rule is that you can only pick one athlete from each sport, and they must be best known for that sport (e.g: no Louis Rees-Zammit).

  1. Oleksii Novikov (6’1, 132kg, Strongman) - 2020 World’s Strongest Man, possibly the only strongman that I can see lasting even a half of rugby.
  2. Gerwyn Price (5’10, 97kg, Darts) - played high level rugby for Neath and as injury cover for Glasgow Warriors.
  3. Lasha Talakhadze (6’6, 183kg, Weightlifting) - the amount of records that this guy holds is insane. Doubt he would last long in a match but would be a great sight. David Liti (Weightlifting)
  4. Steven Adams (6’11, 120kg, Basketball) - crazy level of athleticism and played in his youth.
  5. Teddy Riner (6’8, 141kg, Judo) - unparalleled success in his sport, can see him easily clearing out rucks.
  6. Geno Petriashvili (6’6, 125kg, Wrestling) - we’ve seen the Georgian teams adopt wrestling techniques into rugby, so why not try out the Olympic heavyweight champion.
  7. Alexander Ovechkin (6’2, 108kg, Ice Hockey) - the enforcer of the team. Dricus du Plessis (MMA)
  8. Oleksandr Usyk (6’3, 102kg, Boxing) - absolutely insane engine, work rate and determination. Should be able to hit well above his weight.
  9. Alexander Volkanovski (5’6, 82kg, MMA) - played rugby league before transitioning to MMA. He has lost a lot of weight since then so we’re using his IQ at scrum half. AB de Villiers (cricket)
  10. Aaron Ramsey (5’10, 76kg, Football) - asked to trial at Newport and St Helens, he will be running the attack from 10. Connor McDavid (Ice Hockey)
  11. Elly de la Cruz (6’5, 91kg, Baseball) - rapid and secure under the high ball
  12. DK Metcalf (6’4, 107kg, American Football) - another physical freak that should have no problem punching holes in the defence. Saquon Barkley (American Football)
  13. Graeme Thomas (6’4, 96kg, Rowing) - not a name I knew before but apparently he had decent aspirations at professional rugby before becoming an Olympic rower. Should have a good gas tank. Gareth Bale (football)
  14. Wayde van Niekerk (6’0, 72kg, Athletics) - Kolbe’s cousin so he must have played a bit. Also 400m world record holder.
  15. Ben Stokes (6’0, unknown, Cricket) - leadership material. His dad was a rugby league coach and Ben played at a solid level. Another you can rely on under the high ball. Conor Nash (AFL)

This is not a serious game but are there any changes to be made?

Edit: update to the team and addition that players are in their current physical condition.