Insta-famous: The top performing Rugby players on social media in 2020
The rise of social media platforms has given athletes a new way to connect with fans, promote themselves and of course cash-in in the process.
Although rugby is traditionally against individualism and actively represses it, the game can’t escape the realties of the modern day. Although some of Rugby’s biggest stars have made this list, in the scheme of the wider world they fail to make an impact.
Leading engagements monitoring site Hookit.com, actively measures athletes from around the globe on how their social media accounts are performing from an engagement point of view. When measured against their counterparts from other sports, Rugby’s stars fail to even rate a mention without one in the top 50.
On the list of most engaged athletes for the month of November 2020, footballers Christiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi rank number one and two, followed by Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. Rounding out the top five are Neymar De Silva and UFC fighter Conor McGregor.
On ESPN’s list of top 100 recognised athletes of 2019, again not one Rugby athlete cracks the list but Cricket has five in the top 25 and E-Sports star Ninja makes the list. Rugby has some way to go to become a global power in the sporting world and putting their stars on that list would be a sign that they are making improvement.
Within the world of Rugby, some notable names who didn’t make the top 10 but are worthy of a mention are Australian Sevens star Charlotte Caslick who ranked 22, the highest female player on the list and ahead of names like Bryan Habana (25th), Tom Curry (26th) and Sonny Bill Williams (27th).
Although he just hit the international scene this year, Caleb Clarke ranked 18th, while Ngani Laumape came in 17th. England centre Henry Slade just missed out on the top 10 coming in 11th, while France’s new star Romain Ntamack came in 12th.
10. Quade Cooper (203.1k engagements)
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The former Wallaby playmaker hasn’t played for the national side since 2016 but remains one of the most intriguing figures in the game. Cooper shares much of his training regime on his account, detailing his workouts for fans. The flyhalf pulled off a number of NFL/rugby pass trick shots throughout 2020 which no doubt aided his engagement numbers.
The former Queensland Red is currently in Japan awaiting the new season with the Kinetsu Liners.
9. Greg O’Shea (207.8k engagements)
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O’Shea is an Irish Sevens player who’s social media fame followed his stint on Love Island in 2019. He ended up winning the competition but did not find long-lasting love with Amber. With 1.1 million followers on Instagram, O’Shea may not need Rugby long-term as his influencing opportunities may be vast and fruitful.
8. Beauden Barrett (220.3k engagements)
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It’s no surprise to see the two-time World Player of the Year on this list but the All Black has been higher in the rankings before. Barrett’s account is full of endorsements, pumping Red Bull, Tudor and other brand endorsements when not sharing insights into his personal life or rugby photos.
The flyhalf is currently training in Japan about to start his first stint with Suntory Sungoliath in the Top League.
7. Maro Itoje (223.9k engagements)
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England’s star lock just completed a standout international season in the Autumn Nations Cup so it is no surprise he made the top 10 of engaged accounts. The Saracens lock is currently on holiday in Barbados getting some sun.
6. Antoine Dupont (243.5k engagements)
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The French halfback has been one of the stars of 2020 with big performances in the Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup. The Toulouse star is amassing more followers on social with 173k on Instagram as he becomes more globally known within the game.
5. Cheslin Kolbe (279.9k engagements)
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The Springboks star comes in at fifth for November 2020 following the return to action in the Champions Cup. The World Cup winner stunned the Rugby World again with his side-stepping exploits against Ulster, particularly on Irish wing Jacob Stockdale.
Kolbe announced his move to Roc Nation Sports and celebrated with a podcast with the Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, which he shared on social media.
4. Nick Cummins (281.3k engagements)
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Despite not playing international rugby for years, Nick Cummins remains one of rugby’s most influential figures. As an Aussie larrikin, Cummins has piggybacked his rugby career into a career as a celebrity featuring on The Bachelor reality TV show where he famously walked away without committing to anyone.
The former Wallaby now shares his exploits in the Wild and Australian Outback on his Instagram where he has nearly half a million followers.
3. Charles Taylor (344.4k engagements)
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At number three on the list is another former Love Island attendee, this time on the Australian series, Australian Sevens player Charlie Taylor. Although he was dumped from the Island on Day 7, Taylor has become a fitness trainer & model on IG and currently lives in Dubai where he is an actor.
2. Dan Carter (449.9k engagements)
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Having bowed out from the international game in 2015, Dan Carter still is a global rugby superstar having continued his career with Racing 92, Kobe Steelers and more recently the Blues where injury prevented him from making a comeback to New Zealand Rugby.
Carter can still top the list on rugby’s most influential social media accounts where he has amassed 2.6 million followers.
1. Siya Kolisi (504.4k engagements)
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Topping the list is none other than Springbok captain Siya Kolisi. Without playing a game in 2020, Kolisi is enjoying the fruits of a stellar 2019 where he led the Springboks to World Cup glory in Japan. The flanker joined Roc Nations Sports after the campaign and his become an Icon in his home country.
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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 commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments