Laulala, Malherbe, Koch, Alaalatoa leading names to be dumped from race for world's best tighthead prop

Some of rugby’s biggest names have failed to make it to the final round of a global fan-voted campaign to determine the best tighthead prop on the planet.

Punters worldwide have hit the polls on RugbyPass’ Facebook and Instagram accounts as part of the Straight 8 Fan Vote campaign to decide the planet’s best players in each position, as voted by the fans.

Nine instalments of the campaign have already passed, with England dominating proceedings through victories to the likes of loosehead prop Mako Vunipola, lock Maro Itoje, and midfielders Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi.

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That quartet could well be joined by international teammate Kyle Sinckler, who has reached the final round of voting for the tighthead prop bracket after outvoting a host of world-class players in the first and second rounds.

To reach the final, the Harlequins star dispatched his Scottish counterpart Zander Fagerson with an 81 percent winning margin, before going on to comfortably defeat Springboks behemoth Frans Malherbe with 68 percent of the vote.

Sinckler’s opponent in the final round of voting will be experienced Irish front rower Tadhg Furlong, who opened his campaign with an easy victory over Wallabies star Allan Alaalatoa with 85 percent of the public’s backing.

The Leinster man continued that vein of form when two thirds of voters backed him ahead of Springboks journeyman Vincent Koch in the semi-finals.

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As it stands, the final round of voting has been one of the tightest throughout the series, with the public throwing their support behind both players to keep them within an inch of each other in the polls.

Should Sinckler emerge victorious, he would become the fifth Englishman to be named in the RugbyPass Straight 8 Fan Vote World XV, eclipsing the number of Springboks players voted into the side.

On the flip side of the equation, Furlong would be the sole Irish player in the team, of which also features a Scot, a Fijian and an All Black.

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