So how does one go about ranking the top 10 rugby players in the world? The answer is with incredible difficulty, uncertainty and constant tinkering. However after much ponderance, I’ve settled on a top 10 (that is until I watch someone who’s not on it play again and immediately regret omitting them).
I’ve based this off who I think is the best, as of right now, assuming everyone is fully fit. It is highly subjective and in some cases even a little speculative. Is this list correct? Possibly. Probably not. Is it necessary or valuable? Absolutely not. But what it is, is pointless sporting intellectual indulgence at its finest. So without further ado, here are the best 10 players in the world:
1 Antoine Dupont
Antoine Dupont is the GOAT. I would go as far as to say that prop and second row are the only positions on the rugby pitch that if Dupont tried to play, he would not be top 5 in the world in his position. As for the other 11 jerseys, he could wear any of them and still be world class. He’s an elite athlete with incredible speed, strength and power combined with a tenacity that elevates him above others. Then couple that with the fact he’s got the best vision and rugby IQ of perhaps anyone ever, and that whether he’s passing, offloading or kicking off either foot, he gets the rugby ball to do exactly what he wants. Oh, and let’s throw in elite tackling and jackaling abilities just for fun. He’s a video game character that’s had every stat turned up to 99. Simply put, we should all just make the most and appreciate the fact that we get to watch it.
2 Peter-Steph Du Toit
One of the biggest conundrum’s selectors face is what type of player to pick at blindside flanker. Some opt for a Courtney Lawes type hybrid-lock that adds beef and set-piece nous, or others want a Dan Lydiate style tackling machine to hit rucks and do the dirty work, whilst others would prefer a hybrid-8 who can carry the ball like Jerry Collins. Whatever style you choose will affect the balance of the entire pack and sets the way your team operates. It’s a conundrum that must keep coaches the world over up at night pondering. That is except for Rassie Erasmus, who must sleep peacefully knowing he has the one man in rugby history who can do all those roles and does them at a world class level. Peter-Steph Du Toit is an alien. You would need to find a triage of superstars and combine them into one, just to create a comparison for South Africa’s number 7. A true once-in-a-generation player.
3 Finn Russell
Ah the mercurial Scotsman. God, I wish I found rugby as easy as Finn Russell does. His natural footballing abilities are off the charts. Both from an aesthetic and effective point of view, he has maybe the best pass in the history of the game. His vision and skill have always made him one of the great playmakers of this generation, but fly-half is about so much more. Over the past 5 or so years Russell has developed into one of the sport’s best game managers, whilst being able to run an attack as effectively as anyone. Over the last few years you could see that he was so much more composed and accurate than the maverick title many gave him would have suggested. Although many of Scotland’s best victories were coming without, or even in spite of him, rather than because of him. However this last season any doubts around his big game temperament must surely be put to rest. At Bath he led them to two trophies and on the biggest stage of them all, the Lions test series, he was the best player on the pitch.
4 Ardie Savea
Indiana Pacers guard TJ McConnell says ‘playing hard is a skill’ and it’s hard to think of anyone better at playing hard than Ardie Savea. Not the biggest backrower in the game but you’d never know it the way he quite literally throws would-be tacklers off him. It can feel a little wrong when you see a forward who is faster and more agile than most the backs. But if you’re an All Blacks fan it feels oh so right. Savea is one of the game’s best athletes and as skilful as any forward you’ll find. Like any good backrower he’s a nuisance at the breakdown and gets his team out of holes time and time again. He’s been a top 5 player in the world for a while and doesn’t look to be going away any time soon.
5 Cheslin Kolbe
Forget rugby, is there a better sidestep on planet Earth than the one Cheslin Kolbe has devastated defenders with throughout his career. When we say a player’s sidestep could ‘beat you in a phonebooth’ it’s obviously an exaggeration – except with Kolbe it’s not. Not only can he move laterally without losing any speed, he also has an uncanny ability to send defenders the wrong way before he does so. Except of course for the times where he has defenders kissing the ground as he races past them. He’s a truly special attacking talent, of course, but his game is so much more than that. Defensively he’s exceptional, with quick decision making and fearless determination. Rassie Erasmus doesn’t care how big or small his players are, he cares if you can make dominant collisions because that’s what the Springboks demand. Kolbe never let’s his size act as an excuse and he wills his way to making those dominant tackles. His game is an inspiration and it’s a pleasure to watch him play.
6 Louis Bielle-Biarrey
Sometimes there’s just no substitute for speed. LBB may just be the fastest man in rugby right now and he scores tries that simply no one else can. Oh, and he scores a lot of them. Last season he scored 33 tries in 30 matches, including a record 8 in the 6 Nations. With a try scoring record like that, adding him to your lineup is like getting a free 5 points right off the bat. There aren’t many players in the world that are true game changers, but the Bordelais flyer is certainly one of them, and at 22 he’s only just getting started.
7 Will Skelton
Whilst unanimously regarded as a world class player, I’m not sure that many people would rank Skelton as the 7th best player on the planet. But when you see the impact he has on games, it’s hard to think of many players you would rather add to your team than this Australian giant. Whilst we can admire the brilliance of fleet-footed speedsters like LBB or Kolbe, rugby ultimately is a game of physicality and collisions. Winning collisions is an absolute must if you want to impose your gameplan on another team, and nobody wins collisions like Will Skelton. There’s a lot to be said for having a 145kg bloke in your team and of all massive blokes in rugby, Skelton’s the best of them. As the cornerstone of the La Rochelle teams that won back-to-back Champions Cups, after winning one with Saracens, Skelton has further cemented his value by making his presence felt for the Wallabies in the recent Lions Series and Rugby Championship.
8 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
I may be jumping the gun a little by ranking Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu this high, this early in his career, but he’s just so good and everyone needs to hear about it. Dupont aside, South Africa’s newest starboy may be the most talented rugby player of the professional era. There are a couple guys that are just athletically superior; Menoncello, Sua’ali’i, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, it’s like their muscles just work better than everyone else’s. With blistering speed and the strength to manhandle other players, the URC’s reigning player of the season is one of the most dangerous ball carriers around. Plus he’s got the full suite of skills and then some. His highlights are absolutely ridiculous, whether it’s doing keepy-uppies whilst running full speed, or throwing out the back offloads 15 meters and with pin-point accuracy, or slotting goals from 55m+ out. His performance against Argentina was one of the greatest individual performances ever and this feels like it’s just the start. If he becomes the player he seems destined to be, this next iteration of the Springboks could be even better than the one that just won back-to-back world cups.
9 Rob Valetini
Ok… so this may be a bit of surprise to some. Injuries have meant the Brumbies backrower has not played as much as he’d have liked this season for the Wallabies, but he’s still so good. Last year he was desperately unlucky not to be nominated for World Player of the Year, a victim of Australia’s poor form, but that takes nothing away from how good this do-it-all backrower is. At 6’4” and 113kg, he is a big dude and it’s all muscle. This Bobby V does not slow down, and if you don’t get multiple guys on him, he’ll leave you in his rearview. RnB references aside, he might just be the best ball carrier on the planet, as the Lion’s pack brutally discovered in the first half of the 2nd test. Had Valetini been fully fit for the whole Lions series, the result could have been very different.
10 Ox Nche
Props need love too. The scrum is such an important part of the modern game and so having the best scrummager in the world is a gamechanger to any team. If you can provide your team 2-3 penalties a game and a sturdy set piece from which to launch attacks off, whilst disrupting the opposition’s ability to launch off scrum, then you are an incredibly valuable asset. Ox Nche has been the best prop in the world for a couple seasons now and is a cornerstone of this all-conquering South African team. Not only is he the best scrummager around, he is also an industrious worker in the loose, making tackles, hitting rucks and carrying hard. An old-school prop at its beautiful best. Salads don’t win scrums, Ox does.
Honourable Mentions:
Will Jordan – Tries, tries and more tries. In a game that is simply about scoring more points than the opposition, the guy who has scored 43 tries and 50 internationals is probably pretty handy.
Dan Sheehan – Is he a hooker or is he a winger? I don’t know, he seems to throw into the lineout but then next thing you know he’s tossing aside defenders and galloping down the wing.
Eben Etzebeth – Arguably the greatest Springbok player ever, he has been a top 10 player in the world most his career. Was a hard decision to leave him off it, one I may soon regret.
Maro Itoje – Don’t underestimate what this guy does for his team. An ever-present superhero of the English pack over the last 10 years, he almost singlehandedly takes the fight to the opposition. Can’t think of many players that would be more frustrating to play against.
Malcom Marx – Big, physical presence and reliable at set piece. All round excellent player but what sets him apart is his unique ability to win turnovers at the breakdown.
Jac Morgan – Don’t sleep on Captain Jac. After a breakout world cup he missed a season with injuries, but the next great Welsh 7 is a force of nature, dominating collisions on both sides of the ball and a constant threat at the breakdown.
RG Snyman – So big, so strong and has the most outrageous offloading ability in the game. Holds a rugby ball like it’s a tennis ball and can carve open defences with his one-handed offloads. This is a second row we’re talking about!
Fraser McReight – The best jackal threat in the sport. How many times does he save the day for Australia with a turnover just in the nick of time. Also pretty handy in attack with ball in hand.
Caelan Doris – Work rate off the charts. He’s a statistical monster than gets through a mountain of work. It’s not just the quantity of work he gets through but the quality as well, whether he’s carrying hard or putting in dominant hits.
Damian Penaud – Don’t let the socks down aesthetic fool you, Penaud is pure class and one of the most elusive players in the world. Don’t always understand how he does it, but he just tears defences apart.