Team of the pro era - your vote results

Full-back meets prop: Cullen v Du Randt

Judging by the reactions we had, cruelty to animals, global warming and North Korea's nuclear testing all tie in at a distant second to the raging debate caused by the original article.

Even in our offices, people are still scowling at one another across desks - let it be known that the choices were by no means unanimous up here either.

But as this is the age both of democracy and internet miracles, we figured we could settle the debate once and for all by throwing the vote open to the global floor.

Here are the "Greats" you voted for:

Full-back: Christian Cullen
Christian Cullen took an overwhelming 60.68 per cent of the vote for the full-back position, scoring more than three times as many votes as Percy Montgomery in second.

Right Wing: Doug Howlett
It was close, it was really close in fact! But in a two-horse race towards the finish line, Doug Howlett beat off fellow countryman Jeff Wilson by a mere 50 votes.

Left wing: Jonah Lomu
It was not close here, as Lomu scored a staggering 2,269 votes (nobody else cracked four figures) to be the third part of an all-New Zealand back three.

Outside centre: Brian O'Driscoll
No surprises here, a O'Driscoll was a country mile ahead of anyone else, taking a whopping 71 per cent of your votes.

Inside centre: Tim Horan
In what became a tightly contested poll for inside centre, Tim Horan (34 per cent) staved off Tana Umaga (31 per cent) to claim our last remaining three-quarter spot.

Fly-half: Dan Carter
The New Zealand magician broke yet another record in winning this spot, becoming the first person to crack the 2,000-vote barrier.

Scrum-half: Joost van der Westhuizen
As expected, scrum-half had opinions divided more than any other position so far. In the end, the South African claimed the number nine jersey with 29 per cent of your votes.

Number eight: Zinzan Brooke
The New Zealand number eight drop goal specialist nabbed over 56 per cent of the vote - no small achievement when put up against Lawrence Dallaglio.

Openside flanker: Richie McCaw
There were so many top-notch candidates, but when it came to the final breakdown, so to speak, there was only one winner.

Blindside flanker: Richard Hill
One of England's most celebrated players and the only player never to be dropped by Clive Woodward. A one-club man, epitomising the real soul of the game

Number five lock: Victor Matfield
In the closest run contest so far, Victor Matfield was given the nod for your second row, beating John Eales by a little more than 100 votes.

Number four lock: Martin Johnson
In what quickly became a one-horse player poll, England's World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson brushed aside Bakkies Botha to line up at four.

Tighthead prop: Carl Hayman
In a two-horse race, Carl Hayman piped Martin Castrogiovanni by just two per cent of your votes to win the tighthead berth.

Hooker: Keith Wood
Uncle Fester just nicked it from Sean Fitzpatrick by the odd 500 votes out of 8,000

Loosehead prop: Os du Randt
The two-time World Cup-winning prop completes your greatest team of rugby's pro era, with the retired South African claiming a landslide victory after collecting over 3,500 votes.

For the record, here's the Planet Rugby XV that started the debate