No matter what any man says, deep down we all wish we could grow a good beard. After All Black and Crusaders midfielder Ryan Crotty shaved his 18-month-old beard off for charity yesterday, sports reporter Robert van Royen thought it would be fitting to single out seven of the best beards in sport.
Liam Coltman(rugby)
What better place to grow a beard than Dunedin? The Highlanders and Otago hooker sure knows how to sprout some impressive facial hair.
Coltman's bushy face is something rugby fans have grown accustomed to in recent years.
However, we got a glimpse of what is underneath that thick, bushy beard last year when he and two team-mates got out the razors in the name of charity.
Coltman, Kieran Moffat and Tama Tuirirangi raised about $5000 for Dunedin Hospital children's ward last October when they went bare-faced.
Coltman, who usually only did some pruning between seasons, quickly grew back his beard.
Brian Wilson(baseball)
This hefty beard boasts its own Twitter and Facebook accounts with more than 45,000 followers and ''likes''.
Wilson, a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, began growing his beard in 2010 and now boasts one of the more memorable beards in the sporting world.
However, not everyone likes his beard. When the pitcher was a free agent last year, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman ruled out signing Wilson because he would not shave his beard off.
The Yankees have a no-beard policy and Wilson said he would not shave his beard for any man or team. Perhaps he would ditch it for a woman?
Sebastien Chabal(rugby)
Otherwise known as the ''Caveman'' for his grizzly beard and long locks, the now-retired Chabal was one of the most recognised players in world rugby.
The Frenchman, who earned 62 caps for his country from 2000 to 2011, began growing his beard in 2005 when he found out he would be a dad. H
e had planned to ditch the look when his daughter, Lily-Rose, was born, but wife Annick liked the hairy look enough for him to put the razor away for good.
Chabal's caveman look quickly made him more renowned off the paddock than on and saw him used in various marketing campaigns around the world, including Rebel Sport's in 2009. Believe it or not, there is even a Chabal cuddly soft toy.
W.G. Grace(cricket)
Who would have thought a beard could spare your wicket?
That is exactly what Grace's beard did in a test between England and Australia in 1896.
Grace, widely considered one of the greatest cricketers in history, edged the first ball of the match off his bat handle, only for keeper James Kelly to lose sight of it in Grace's beard and concede four runs.
The great English cricketer played a record-equalling 44 seasons of first-class cricket from 1865 to 1908, and died in 1915 when he was 67.
Brett Keisel(American football)
The ''beautiful thing''. That, as well as ''the best beard of all time'', is what Keisel calls his mighty ginger beard.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end started growing it while on a hunting trip with his dad in 2009. While many NFL players take to growing facial hair in the playoffs for good luck, there is not a better beard in the league than Keisel's.
It also has its own social media accounts, attracting about 45,000 fans.
Keisel's beard is great for charity. He launched the annual ''Shear the Beard'' ceremony in 2010 and has raised more than $US100,000 ($NZ123,000) for the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Hashim Amla(cricket)
South Africa's master batsman easily possesses the best cricketing beard since the great W.G. Grace.
Amla, who was once called a terrorist on-air by commentator Dean Jones, is a devout practising Muslim and likes to keep his beard at fist length from the chin.
South Africa's first player to score a triple century in a test, and the world's fastest player to 3000 ODI runs, was named Wisden's cricketer of the year last year.
Bjorn Borg(tennis)
While the New York Islanders started the NHL tradition of growing a ''playoff beard'' for good luck in the 1980s, Borg is widely thought to have started the superstitious trend in the 1970s.
Borg, the first player to earn more than a million dollars in prize money in a single season (1979), began growing a beard in the lead-up to Wimbledon in 1976.
He won the tournament that year and went on to win it five years straight donning a beard.
Borg's annual beard drew plenty of attention in tennis, a sport prided for its clean-cut image. That beard possibly started an ongoing trend.
-by Robert Van Royen
