That came about after a few fairly vigorous discussions over what, why and who defines greatness.
The top ranking was always going to be between Colin Meads and Richie McCaw - this is New Zealand, after all, where forwards are revered and backs are sometimes seen as soft nancy boys picking up the plums - but, looking back at it now, perhaps we were all wrong.
For impact, spectacular plays and the way he single-handedly changed the game, perhaps Jonah Lomu was the greatest man to ever wear the All Black jersey.
He was a thrilling player when on form and fully fit.
When he was at his peak - in 1995 at the World Cup and again in 1999 at the World Cup in England - he was absolutely sensational.
Today, every day something huge, massive or awesome is reported to have happened, but in 1995, Lomu truly was magnificent. Like off the scale, magnificent.
Every now and again, special players have special days.
Dan Carter had one against the Lions in 2005. Jeff Wilson had one against Wellington for Otago in 1997.
Ben Smith played pretty damn well for the All Blacks against England in Dunedin last year.
But has anyone played any better, anywhere, than Lomu did against England in the World Cup semifinal in 1995?Four tries, running over Mike Catt, making absolute mincemeat of the Underwood brothers. It was a performance no-one could have ever bettered.
It was the equivalent of a basketballer scoring a quadruple double, notching 100 points, with a dozen alley-oops thrown into the equation.
His display was said to have persuaded media magnate Rupert Murdoch to splash the cash and fund professional rugby.
Whether this is an urban myth or not, Lomu helped hugely in making professional rugby a success.
The fans came in droves to see him.
Those first couple of years, he was a human highlight reel.
Tries scored where he just ran around, through and over opponents.
The way he could find the tryline when it looked like it was defended like the Berlin Wall.
In fact, probably the only way anyone could have stopped him in those first few years when he burst on the scene would have been with a couple of machine guns.
Sonny Bill Williams was said by an NRL official to bring another 5000 through the gate.
Well, there were no tallies kept when Lomu was playing but plenty of people came to see him play.
Actually, Dunedin was probably the first time Lomu made an impact on the national scene.
Lomu was No8 for the New Zealand schools team in 1993 that put 50 points on a hapless England team.
Those at Carisbrook that day - and there were not that many - got an eye into the future when Lomu won the ball from the kick-off and proceeded to run 60m through the English defence and score.
The try was shown on national news that night and Lomu became a name to remember.
Within a year he was an All Black and life was never the same again.
There was said to be a production line of Lomus coming through from South Auckland and the Pacific Islands.
But none of them came anywhere near what Lomu had.
Sure, there was plenty of questions asked about his defence and his health, even in 1995, was clouding his future. But when Lomu scored the type of tries he did, then no-one should ever query his tackling ability.
The ticks in his attacking qualities far outweigh his so-called defensive liabilities.
It is quite startling he played 63 tests when he was crook for many of them.
When he appeared in the 2011 Rugby World Cup opening ceremony, he had literally climbed out of his hospital bed.
There was a quiet dignity about Lomu that night and that has continued the four years since.
A bloke who was a quiet family man who wanted the best for his boys.
The All Blacks source inspiration from their legacy. What has come before drives them to more success.
Jonah Lomu has left a massive mark on that legacy.
