1
RugbyPass Top 100: Picking the 100th to 91st best players in the world
Who is the best player in the world? It’s a question every rugby fan has an answer to, but rarely are any two answers the same.
ADVERTISEMENT
That’s why RugbyPass has undertaken a comprehensive deep dive into the last 12 months of test rugby to formulate an answer of our own.
In doing so, five members from our editorial team – split between the northern and southern hemispheres – compiled their own lists of the top 100 players on the planet.
From there, the cumulative lists were averaged out to create the RugbyPass Top 100, an overall list of the 100 best players on the planet based primarily on test rugby performances in 2021.
Other factors that, to a lesser extent, contributed to how players were ranked included test rugby performances from previous years, the influence of a player within their team, and how players fared at club and domestic level.
However, in essence, the RugbyPass Top 100 is a celebration of the stars who shone the brightest on rugby’s biggest stage last year.
That celebration begins today by announcing the players ranked 100-91, with the remainder of the list to be released over the course of the next two weeks.
100. Anton Lienert-Brown
Age: 26
Test caps: 56
Nation: New Zealand
Club: Chiefs
ADVERTISEMENT
Now a long-serving All Black with more than half a century of caps to his name, Anton Lienert-Brown stands as New Zealand’s most senior midfielder since the departures of Sonny Bill Williams and Ryan Crotty following the 2019 World Cup. Fleet-footed on attack and solid on defence, the 26-year-old didn’t enjoy a vintage test campaign in 2021 as injuries kept him sidelined for various spells, but his stature is large enough for him to sneak into the RugbyPass Top 100.
99. Ox Nche
Age: 26
Test caps: 9
Nation: South Africa
Club: Sharks
Ox Nche came on in leaps and bounds for South Africa in 2021, three years after his sole test outing, to become his country’s starting option at loosehead prop. That wasn’t the case for much of the year, but after starting in South Africa’s shock Rugby Championship win over the All Blacks, the 26-year-old held his place in the Springboks No 1 jersey for the Autumn Nations Series. A robust ball carrier and strong scrummager, expect to see more from Nche for the Springboks in 2022.
98. Cameron Woki
Age: 23
Test caps: 11
Nation: France
Club: Bordeaux
ADVERTISEMENT
Among numerous youthful talents to emerge from France’s recent test rugby renaissance, Cameron Woki produced a string of compelling performances for Les Bleus in 2021 to ingrain himself as a starter for Fabien Galthie’s team. Can cover lock and the back row, was a standout for a second-string France outfit that pushed the Wallabies to the limit last July and replicated his efforts in November to star in his side’s victory over the All Blacks.
97. Josh van der Flier
Age: 28
Test caps: 35
Nation: Ireland
Club: Leinster
A hard-working flanker, Josh van der Flier was unfortunate to miss out on British and Irish Lions selection for their tour of South Africa after playing superbly for Ireland and Leinster at the backend of the 2020-21 European season. However, he rebounded strongly by playing a prominent role in his side’s Autumn Nations Series victories against the Brave Blossoms, All Blacks and Los Pumas.
96. Lood de Jager
Age: 29
Test caps: 56
Nation: South Africa
Club: Sale Sharks
A member of South Africa’s elite cohort of second rowers, Lood de Jager forces his way into the RugbyPass Top 100 on the back of a 2021 campaign where he played in almost every test for the Springboks. Working in tandem with fellow second rowers Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert, De Jager’s presence makes the reigning world champions that bit more formidable each time they take to the field.
95. Ellis Jenkins
Age: 28
Test caps: 14
Nation: Wales
Club: Cardiff Blues
Three years after his last test appearance as a result of a knee injury, Ellis Jenkins returned to the Welsh national set-up for their Autumn Nations Series matches. The 28-year-old flanker did so with aplomb as he started in three tests against the Springboks, Fiji and Wallabies as the Six Nations champions ended their year with back-to-back victories over the latter two sides.
94. Sam Simmonds
Age: 27
Test caps: 10
Nation: England
Club: Exeter Chiefs
Despite having been left out of the England squad since 2018, Sam Simmonds was picked to travel with the British and Irish Lions to South Africa on the back of his stunning form at club level. The loose forward even managed a test appearance off the bench in the decisive third test, and was then recalled by Eddie Jones to face the Wallabies and Springboks during the Autumn Nations Series.
93. Uini Atonio
Age: 31
Test caps: 39
Nation: France
Club: La Rochelle
A veteran of French rugby, Uini Atonio stands as an experienced leader in a youthful and exciting Les Bleus side building towards the peak of its powers. As such, the enormous New Zealand-born tighthead prop is a vital figure in the French squad from an off-field perspective, but at 1.96m and 152kg, Atonio also offers France with immense physicality on the park.
92. Ken Owens
Age: 35
Test caps: 87
Nation: Wales
Club: Scarlets
A back problem saw Ken Owens fail to take to the field for Wales in the Autumn Nations Series, but the veteran hooker still managed an admirable 2021 season where he won a Six Nations title and played three tests for the British and Irish Lions.
91. James Ryan
Age: 25
Test caps: 40
Nation: Ireland
Club: Leinster
Another crucial member of Ireland’s high-flying forward pack, James Ryan was considered by many as unlucky to miss the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa. The 25-year-old lock’s exclusion didn’t deter him from bouncing back with array of strong performances for Ireland, though, as he started in each of his side’s comprehensive wins over Japan, New Zealand and Argentina.
Comments on RugbyPass
What happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
2 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
2 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
9 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
39 Go to comments