OPINION: The World Rugby end-of-season nominations are in, and predictably almost everyone is unhappy.
The men’s player of the year and coach of the year awards have a strong history of head-scratching decisions, and this annual tradition has been upheld with vigour in 2021.
The Wallabies dominate. Samu Kerevi and Michael Hooper have been nominated for men’s 15s player of year alongside Antoine Dupont and Maro Itoje, while Dave Rennie is in line for coach of the year, and Andrew Kellaway has been put up for breakthrough player of the year.
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“Who are the muppets that picked the nominees for these awards,” was one of the publishable messages in my inbox this morning, possibly wondering how Rennie, 0-3 in Bledisloe tests and 0-2 in Europe in November so far, and Kerevi, who has only played five tests, made the list.
Well, according to the World Rugby website, Maggie Alphonsi, Fiona Coghlan, Thierry Dusautoir, George Gregan, Richie McCaw, Brian O’Driscoll, Melodie Robinson, John Smit, and Clive Woodward comprise the panel for the men’s player of year – a lineup of greats that perhaps shows how hard it is to make a decision by committee.
And it is a tough ask, namely because there isn’t anything resembling a global season so for the most part the judges are comparing apples with oranges.
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Still, when it comes to picking an award, surely it would be easier to stick to some simple principles.
For example, ask yourself, ‘Who has the best tight five in the world?’, and then follow it up with ‘which player in that tight five has been the most consistent?’
If you follow that logic – and, sorry halfbacks and No.10s, most Tests are still decided by the big men – then Springboks enforcer Eben Etzebeth is the player of the year.
The Springboks beat the Lions, beat the All Blacks once in the Rugby Championship tests they really got up for, have maintained their No1 ranking in the world, and are 2-0 on their European tour after crushing a pretty good Scotland team at the weekend.
Despite these achievements, Etzebeth remains something of an underrated player.
He’s got far more in his toolbox that given credit for, and this year has showcased some nice handling skills, as well as being used as the world’s biggest kick chaser.
And how on earth did Gareth Baber, who coached the Fiji Sevens to gold in Tokyo, and is now doing great work with their 15s team on tour, miss a nomination for coach of the year?
As for the All Blacks, a disrupted season with players flying in and out of the squad did their chances no good for the men’s 15s award.
However, if you take a step back and ask yourself which player has made the most difference to their overall performances, and has been good even when the All Blacks have been beaten, the answer is Jordie Barrett. He’s been a matchwinner.
In the ‘breakthrough’ category, Will Jordan has been excellent, but has his contribution been as big as Dalton Papalii? And for a real breakthrough player Samisoni Taukei’aho might fit the bill a bit better, given he was uncapped until this year.
So, the World Rugby nominations are in – but the debates have barely started.
This article was originally published on stuff.co.nz and is reproduced with permission