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Sergio Parisse leaves World Rugby panel as Grand Slam winner and Puma join
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Former France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili and former Argentina centre Marcelo Bosch have joined the voting panel for the World Rugby Awards.
The double Grand Slam winner is the only representative on the panel from France, while Bosch is the only figure on the panel from South America. The pair were team-mates at Biarritz before the Puma enjoyed a trophy-laden spell at Saracens, winning four domestic titles and three Investec Champions Cup titles in a six-year spell in London.
They will join Jacques Burger (Namibia), Fiona Coghlan (Ireland), Victor Matfield (South Africa), Drew Mitchell (Australia), Ugo Monye (England), Kieran Read (New Zealand) and Blaine Scully (USA) on the panel, which will be responsible for choosing the men’s 15s player of the year, the men’s 15s breakthrough player of the year and the men’s 15s dream team of the year.
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Meanwhile, Italy legend Sergio Parisse will step down from the panel due to a conflict of interest after joining the Azzurri’s coaching team as an assistant to Gonzalo Quesada. Panel members are required to remain independent from national team coaching roles in order to maintain the credibility of the peer-led selection process.
The 60-cap Frenchman and 39-cap Argentine will coalesce with their fellow panel members at the end of the year to determine the successor to Malcolm Marx as player of the year and Fabian Holland as breakthrough player of the year.
World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said: “We are delighted to welcome Dimitri and Marcelo to the World Rugby Awards men’s 15s panel. Both enjoyed outstanding international careers and bring deep knowledge of modern rugby and what it takes to perform at the highest level.
“Their role is crucial in helping us celebrate the outstanding personalities in our game, both on and off the pitch, and ensuring the World Rugby Awards continue to represent the highest accolades in international rugby.”
