Why Sexton is ahead of Barrett in the battle for World Rugby Player of the Year
The world’s top two-ranked teams will face off in Dublin this weekend and with it, two of the five candidates for World Rugby Player of the Year will duel, in Beauden Barrett and Jonathan Sexton.
The quality of Springboks Malcolm Marx and Faf de Klerk is undoubted, as is finisher Rieko Ioane, however, the race for the players’ top gong should be a two-horse race at this stage between Sexton and Barrett.
Ireland’s Sexton should be ahead on points over the reigning back-to-back winner and is in the box seat to claim the award. 2018 has been Ireland’s year, and Sexton has been pivotal for the national team and at domestic level with Leinster.
Barrett’s year hasn’t been quite the same as the last two, however, his performance in the win at Twickenham will add to the case for a third straight title.
The 33-year-old Sexton started the international year in Paris against France, saving the test with a clutch 40-metre drop goal after 39 phases deep into extra time.
At the time, it wasn’t to be known just how important that kick would be, as Ireland proceeded to run the table and win their first Grand Slam since 2009, only their third ever. The 15-13 win in Paris, saved by Sexton, will go down as an all-time great moment in rugby history.
Sexton’s control guided Ireland to key wins over Wales and Scotland in rounds three and four, where he was particularly impressive against Scotland as they sealed the Six Nations after England lost to France later that evening.
The next week at Twickenham against England, Sexton contributed to one try and kicked two conversions in the 24-15 win, sealing a historic Grand Slam and securing Ireland as number two in the world rankings.
The June away tour of Australia also proved to be a slice of history. Ireland completed their first series win down under in 39 years, coming back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1. The loss, Ireland’s only one of the year so far, came without Sexton in the starting lineup.
A late Sexton penalty goal in the third test gave Ireland enough breathing room to close out the win and the series by 20-16.
What Sexton brings to Ireland with leadership and experience cannot be ignored in deciding this award. Sexton’s attacking stats do not match Barrett’s, but it would be folly to ignore the intangible influence he has on Ireland’s results. His direction and control are defining factors in each Irish victory.
With Sexton starting Ireland are 8-0 this year, and without they are 0-1. The All Blacks cannot say the same with Barrett – they are 6-1 with him playing the majority of the match and still 4-0 without.
Barrett’s opening test against France in June was a good first-up performance, scoring 17 points in a 52-17 demolition job. However, his game was overshadowed by a superb bench cameo from Damian McKenzie, who had one try, one try assist, five line breaks and 117 run metres from five carries in an explosive twenty minutes.
The game only opened up in the last quarter, brought about by a host of substitutions, in which the All Blacks were noticeably better afterward.
The second test in Wellington, unfortunately, ended prematurely for Barrett when an aerial collision with Benjamin Fall forced him from the field with a concussion.
He failed to return, opening the door for McKenzie to play the majority of the game and then start his first game at 10 for the All Blacks the following week. With McKenzie at 10 in the third test, the All Blacks put in their most complete performance of the series, winning 49-14 in Barrett’s absence.
A French series in which Barrett played less than half of isn’t a compelling start for the defence his Player of the Year title, but Barrett opened the Rugby Championship with two stellar games against the Wallabies.
In the opening Bledisloe, a slow start had the All Blacks behind at halftime 6-5 but an opportunistic try by Barrett proved to be the catalyst for a landslide 38-13 win in Sydney.
A record four-try performance by Barrett at Eden Park the following week secured the Bledisloe Cup for another year, as his world-class running game tore the Wallabies apart. He finished the game with a personal tally of 30 points.
The two tests against the Springboks may prove to be the black marks on Barrett’s 2018 resume.
Barrett’s solid performance with ball-in-hand in the first match was marred by an off night with the tee and game management in the final minute, leading to the Springboks upset win. He was quiet in the return match in Pretoria, a game dominated by the Springboks.
It was reserve first five-eighth Richie Mo’unga who came up with the pivotal plays to steal the win, first hammering a quickly taken touch-finder to set up the winning maul and then kicking the final conversion after the buzzer.
A rather forgettable win against Argentina in Buenos Aires followed for the All Blacks before another class performance against the Wallabies in final Bledisloe at Yokohama.
How much weight is given to three incredible performances over the hapless Wallabies? Barrett’s biggest games of the year came against the Australians while falling short against South Africa, while Sexton orchestrated a clean sweep of Europe and monumental series win in Australia. The strength of schedule would indicate Ireland’s feats were tougher to achieve.
This season’s Autumn Internationals is the perfect closer to determine the World Rugby’s Player of the Year.
Barrett’s performance at Twickenham was arguably his greatest win as an All Black 10. A significant performance in Dublin, one greater than his performance in the 2016 visit, may just tip the balance in his favour, while Sexton can remove all doubt and claim the award by guiding Ireland to another famous victory.
Sexton deserves to be in front, but there will be no better way for Barrett to prove he deserves a third Player of the Year award than beating Ireland and Sexton at home in Dublin.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments