Players of influence – the top 10
Who are the most influential rugby players in the world? We assembled a panel of nine – Stuff rugby writers Aaron Goile, Marc Hinton, Paul Cully, Richard Knowler, and Robert van Royen; former All Black Aaron Mauger, former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith, former Black Fern Izzy Ford, and Wellington Pride player Alice Soper –who each provided their top 50.
Then we awarded 50 points to each No 1, 49 to each No 2, and so on, and tallied up the results.
Today, the top 10.
10. Siya Kolisi
South Africa, loose forward, eight votes, 284 points
Inspirational leader, generational talent and sensational player, the Springboks skipper has emerged as one of the most influential figures in international rugby since rising, from humble beginnings in an eastern Cape township, to the captaincy of his country. As the first black player to lead South Africa, Kolisi has handled the responsibility that goes with that with aplomb, becoming an icon to a generation in his rainbow country.
After bursting on to the Super Rugby scene in 2012 as a 20-year-old, has progressed seamlessly into one of the most proficient players in the modern game. A magnificent athlete and dynamic flanker who blends speed, power and workrate in equal quantities and is equally comfortable on either side of the scrum.
9. Pablo Matera
Argentina, loose forward, seven votes, 290 points
Big, strong and high skilled, this multi-faceted back-row player has become the most influential of the current generation of Argentina players. Inspired the Pumas to their historic victory over the All Blacks in Australia last year with a command performance, mixes withering physicality with sublime skills in equal measure. Never takes a backward step on the field and plays with a pride, passion and ferocity that is emblematic of his country's DNA as a rugby nation.
8. Brodie Retallick
New Zealand, lock, seven votes, 297 points
NZ Rugby dearly misses Retallick. There is a void in the second rows of the All Blacks and the Chiefs. Fans, coaches and team-mates will be dancing on the streets when he returns in May after his two years in Japan with the Kobelco Steelers. Opposing players will not.
The 29-year-old, at 2.04m, is a colossus and has been one of the most feared locks in the world since his test debut in 2012. Nicknamed ‘Guzzler' because of his thirst for work, he has the skill and class to match his commitment and doubles up as a midfielder when he's on the charge. With 81 tests, Retallick is arguably New Zealand's greatest lock, alongside the late Sir Colin Meads and Sam Whitelock.
7. Sam Cane
New Zealand, loose forward, eight votes, 302 points
Cane, the All Blacks captain, was handed the black No 7 jersey after Richie McCaw's retirement in 2015 and had big shoes to fill, replacing one of the game's great No 7s. The 29-year-old, a World Cup winner in 2015, was voted New Zealand Rugby's best player of 2020 in his first season as national skipper
and is one of the world's most formidable loose forwards. He puts his body on the line and his resilience is epitomised by his remarkable recovery from a broken neck suffered in a test against South Africa in 2018.
6. Antoine Dupont
France, halfback, eight votes, 303 points
You know a player is the business when fans from the southern hemisphere acknowledge he or she is better than the crop of athletes in
their own backyard. Dupont falls into his category. Little wonder, perhaps, that recently All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith felt compelled to confirm on social media Dupont was indeed the best in the position: ‘‘This guy is on another level,'' Smith tweeted. Dupont, 24, has played more than 30 tests
for France. His speed to the breakdowns and swift pass are complimented by his ability to read the game and punish defences by running smart support lines.
5. Beauden Barrett
New Zealand, first five-eighth/fullback, nine votes, 325 points
Not quite the player he was two or three years ago, but still a legitimate superstar who can change a game with a moment of magic or a burst of that sustained pace he generates with ease. For a while looked destined to emerge as the next great All Blacks No 10 as he won World Rugby's global player of the year title in 2016 and ‘17 and took ownership of the jersey. More recently has been supplanted at first five-eighths in the New Zealand test setup by Richie Mo'unga and has plied his international trade in his less preferred position of fullback.
An excellent tactician and one of the most proficient exponents of the crosskick, Barrett is a dynamic attacking player from either 10 or 15, with stunning speed, an eye for the gap and a seize-the-moment mentality.
4. Semi Radradra
Fiji, wing, nine votes, 335 points
If a tackler is jammed between Radradra and the try line, he knows things could get untidy. Radradra is a finisher, and tough with it. He knows how to get results. Now it's time to dream.
Imagine what an asset
Radradra would be for a
Fiji team in Super Rugby.
The question, of course, is how can it afford him?
3. Pieter-Steph du Toit
South Africa, lock/loose forward, eight votes, 345 points
The 2019 South African and World Rugby player of the year is a 2.0-metre, 120kg physical specimen who excels as a blindside flanker for both the Springboks and Stormers. A beast at the breakdown and a tackling machine, du Toit embodies the physicality and commitment that the
South Africans love to play with and was at his best during the Boks' march to their third World Cup crown in Japan in 2019.
2. Aaron Smith
New Zealand, halfback, nine votes, 362 points
Smith has been so good that he has changed what coaches look for in halfbacks in New Zealand. It is easy to forget that before Smith came along, the All Blacks had picked a series of bigger, more abrasive halfbacks in the mould of Justin Marshall and Byron Kelleher. Smith lit up Super
Rugby with his pace to the breakdown and a pass that been perfected after hours and hours of practice as a kid. Durable and tough as well as skilful, the brilliant All Blacks side that won the Rugby World Cup in 2015 was built on Smith's swift pass, while he urged on his forwards with his infamous energy levels.
1. Maro Itoje
England, lock, nine votes, 372 points
Itoje is the world's best and 2021 could cement his place as one of the game's great locks, despite England's awful Six Nations campaign. The 26-year-old is one of the leading candidates to skipper the British and Irish Lions against South Africa, and he would become the first black captain of the touring side. With Saracens and England, Itoje has established himself as one of the most dominant forwards in the world. Itoje is the complete player, with excellent skill, athleticism, power and leadership.