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Fans dump All Blacks duo out of race to be crowned world's best wing

By Online Editors
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

All Blacks pair Sevu Reece and Rieko Ioane have failed to survive the first round of the Straight 8 Fan Vote to decide the best wings on the planet.

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Punters worldwide have hit the polls on RugbyPass’ Facebook and Instagram accounts as part of the initiative to decide the world’s best players in each position, as voted by the fans.

Two instalments of the series have already passed, with England second rower Maro Itoje dispatching South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth for the lock title, while World Rugby player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit pipped All Blacks star Ardie Savea in the flanker vote.

Continue reading below…

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The new week has brought with it the next wave of voting, with eight of the best wings around the globe pitted against each other in a knockout bracket.

However, neither Reece nor Ioane have made it past the quarter-final stage, leaving New Zealand without any contenders to reach the final and thus qualify for the RugbyPass Straight 8 Fan Vote World XV.

In his online clash with England speedster Johnny May, Ioane only managed to accrue only 42 percent of the fan vote across Facebook and Instagram.

The 2017 World Rugby breakthrough player of the year has been joined in the loser’s circle by Reece, whose scintillating season with both the Crusaders and All Blacks last year wasn’t enough to see him past Springboks star Makazole Mapimpi.

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The 29-year-old, who played a starring role in the Springboks’ World Cup success in Japan and scored a try in the final against England, just edged Reece in a tightly-contested affair, and advanced to the semi-finals with nearly 52 percent of the vote.

There, May and Mapimpi will face off against blockbusting Fijian league convert Semi Radradra and World Rugby player of the year nominee Cheslin Kolbe.

Bordeaux star Radradra was a standout for Fiji at last year’s World Cup, two years after he made a high-profile switch to rugby union from rugby league, where he starred for the Parramatta Eels, Fiji and Australia.

His explosive exploits proved to be too much for Japan hero Kenki Fukuoka – who also won the hearts of millions through his electric displays at the World Cup – leading him to a winning margin of almost 79 percent.

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Radradra will face off against Mapimpi in the second round of voting, while on the other side of the draw, it will be a clash between May and Kolbe after the South African pocket rocket saw off Wales star Josh Adams with ease.

Although Adams has proven to be a try-scoring machine in the international arena, he proved to be no match for Kolbe, with the exciting Toulouse powerhouse romping home with 89 percent of the vote.

With the second round of voting now open, both Radradra and Kolbe hold substantial leads over their opponents, but with 17 hours remaining at the time of writing, there is still plenty of time to decide who will join Itoje, Etzebeth, du Toit and Savea in the World XV.

To have your say, click the stories on either the RugbyPass Facebook page (here) or the RugbyPass Instagram page (here).

In other news:

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A
Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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