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Two All Blacks in 5-man shortlist for World Rugby Player of the Year

By Online Editors
Two All Blacks among nominees for World Rugby Player of the Year. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

World Rugby has announced the shortlists for the prestigious Men’s and Women’s 15s Player of the Year awards for 2018, which will be presented at the World Rugby Awards at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo on 25 November.

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The shortlists were selected by the star-studded World Rugby Awards panel which comprises Rugby World Cup winners Richie McCaw, John Smit, George Gregan, Maggie Alphonsi and former England coach Clive Woodward alongside Brian O’Driscoll, Fabien Galthié and Agustín Pichot.

WORLD RUGBY MEN’S 15S PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

BEAUDEN BARRETT (NEW ZEALAND)
Beauden Barrett is in line to become the first player to win the prestigious accolade three years in a row after another impressive season in the All Blacks No.10 jersey. The 27 year-old has scored seven tries in his eight tests in 2018, six of them in the Bledisloe Cup series against Australia, including a record four amid a 30-point haul at Eden Park. The fly half helped New Zealand win the series with France and defend the Rugby Championship title.

FAF DE KLERK (SOUTH AFRICA)
The scrum-half returned to the Springbok jersey after missing the 2017 test season and quickly made himself indispensable to new coach Rassie Erasmus, showing why rugby is a sport for all with his ferocious defence and fearless play despite his small stature. The 27-year-old played virtually every minute of South Africa’s Rugby Championship campaign, scoring tries against Argentina and Australia and proving a constant thorn in the side of his opposite numbers across his nine starts.

RIEKO IOANE (NEW ZEALAND)
Ioane, the youngest of the nominees at only 21, is shortlisted for the second year in a row, having also been named World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2017. The All Blacks winger is the top scorer in test rugby in 2018, crossing for 11 tries in his eight starts to take his career tally to an impressive 22 tries in 21 tests. Blessed with quick feet and power, Ioane’s quick acceleration means he doesn’t need much space to go around – or through – defenders.

MALCOLM MARX (SOUTH AFRICA)
South Africa’s dynamic ball-carrying hooker has played the fewest tests of the nominees with only six, having missed the Wales test and series win over England in June through injury. With five starts and a try in the win over New Zealand in Wellington, the 24-year-old has picked up where he left off in 2017, combining athleticism, power, pace and a wide skill-set in attack with the breakdown skills to turnover many a ball for South Africa.

JOHNNY SEXTON (IRELAND)
The oldest of the nominees at 33, Sexton has been at the heart of Ireland’s climb to second in the World Rugby Rankings on the back off a Six Nations Grand Slam and first series win in Australia for 39 years. The veteran fly-half, a calming presence in the Irish backline, began the year by kicking a last-minute drop goal to secure victory over France and has started seven of his eight tests, coming off the bench in Ireland’s only loss to date.

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Previous World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year Award winners:

2017 – Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
2016 – Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
2015 – Dan Carter (New Zealand)
2014 – Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
2013 – Kieran Read (New Zealand)
2012 – Dan Carter (New Zealand)
2011 – Thierry Dusautoir (France)
2010 – Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
2009 – Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
2008 – Shane Williams (Wales)
2007 – Bryan Habana (South Africa)
2006 – Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
2005 – Dan Carter (New Zealand)
2004 – Schalk Burger (South Africa)
2003 – Jonny Wilkinson (England)
2002 – Fabien Galthié (France)
2001 – Keith Wood (Ireland)

The nominees for World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year are:

PAULINE BOURDON (FRANCE)
A player in the modern mould of French half-backs, given she is equally happy at nine or 10 as she showed during Les Bleues’ Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam campaign, starting off at fly-half before shifting to scrum-half and scoring two tries across the last three matches. Bourdon, who turns 23 on Sunday, has quick feet and an impressive step to create space for her or her team-mates but is equally strong in defence despite her small stature.

FIAO’O FAAMAUSILI (NEW ZEALAND)
The oldest of the nominees at 38, the Black Ferns hooker had retired from international rugby after leading New Zealand to a fifth – her fourth – Women’s Rugby World Cup title in 2017, but she reversed that decision to pass on the experience of her record 52 caps to a refreshed squad and as captain led the world champions to back-to-back victories over Australia in August. A consistent lineout thrower and strong runner with the ball, Faamausili knows her way to the try-line as her hat-trick in the first win over Australia showed.

GAËLLE HERMET (FRANCE)
Taking over the captaincy from the legendary Gaëlle Mignot was never going to be an easy task, but the back-row has flourished with the responsibility and is yet to taste defeat as Les Bleues captain, having led her country to the Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam in 2018 – before her 22nd birthday. France are blessed with back-row talent but Hermet has the all-round game with her leadership acumen combining with her power, strong running and ferocious defence.

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SAFI N’DIAYE (FRANCE)
Another powerful forward, N’Diaye is nominated for the second year running despite having shifted from her traditional number eight berth into the second row since the World Cup. Easily identifiable on the pitch by her patriotic scrum cap, the 30-year-old consistently gets over the gain-line and started every match in France’s Grand Slam success. A nuisance at the breakdown, her powerful runs make her a difficult player to stop when she gets going.

JESSY TRÉMOULIÈRE (FRANCE)
Her talent has never been in question but Trémoulière was truly at her mercurial best in 2018 and was for many the player of the Women’s Six Nations, a competition in which she finished as the top point scorer and joint-top try scorer. The 26-year-old blossomed with the faith placed on her as first-choice full-back, bursting through defences at will – scoring two tries against England, including the last-minute winner – and displaying her repertoire of kicking honed during her days as a footballer. She switched to sevens after the Grand Slam success, helping France reach their first ever World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Cup final and secure their best-ever finish of third overall.

Previous World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year Award winners:

2017 – Portia Woodman (New Zealand)
2016 – Sarah Hunter (England)
2015 – Kendra Cocksedge (New Zealand)
2014 – Magali Harvey (Canada)
2012 – Michaela Staniford (England)
2011 – Ruth Mitchell
2010 – Carla Hohepa (New Zealand)
2009 – Debby Hodgkinson (Australia)
2008 – Carol Isherwood (England)
2007 – Sarah Corrigan (Australia)
2006 – Maggie Alphonsi (England)
2005 – Farah Palmer (New Zealand)
2004 – Donna Kennedy (Scotland)
2003 – Kathy Flores (USA)
2002 – Monique Hirovanaa (New Zealand)
2001 – Shelley Rae (England)

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J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 11 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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