Rugby is very much a team game. And naturally, everyone on the pitch will play a role in the quest towards victory.
However, though every player is important, some are slightly more important than others. These are the stars of the show, the players that can be the difference between victory and defeat. Though they need the backing of a supporting cast of characters, there’s little doubt that their one of a kind skills change the course of games.
So, who are these players? In this blog, we will take a look at the world’s top five rugby players. Of course, every rugby player has their own opinions, but most can probably agree that the players on this list are special.
Antoine Dupont
It’s not just us who think that Antoine Dupont is the best player in the world. Rugby World does, too. They named the French halfback as the world’s best player in 2021, and it’s not hard to see why. Aged just 25, Dupont is the key player in a French team stacked with excellent players and is a big reason why Les Bleus routinely enjoy the best rugby betting odds of any nation. Indeed, it’s Dupont that made France almost nailed on to win the Six Nations. With his best years ahead of him, there’s every chance that Dupont will dominate for many years to come, too.
Siya Kolisi
Kolisi is a player who would be regarded as an all-time rugby great even if he retired tomorrow. After all, he was the captain that guided his native South Africa to World Cup glory back in 2019. It’s not just his heroics on the pitch that make him stand out above his peers. Though he’s an outstanding defensive player who is all but impossible to play against, it’s his leadership skills that have helped to make South Africa the most fearsome rugby team on the planet. He’s still only 30, and we can expect that he’ll be highly influential at this year’s World Cup, too.
Eben Etzebeth
Players like Eben Etzebeth only come around every so often. Is there another player in the world who encapsulates what it means to be “a real rugby player”? Not in our book. He’s been in the South Africa team nearly 100 times and, during that period, he has established himself as pretty much the only player you do not want to come up against. Of course, you have to be more than a tough as nails player to make this list. Eben offers skill and organisational leadership that has helped to make the South African team such a formidable unit.
Michael Hooper
Michael Hooper is somewhat unlucky in that his career coincided with a blip in success for his native Australia. But despite the barren run, Hooper can hold his head high. Indeed, he’s been a bright spark in the squad for all of his 118 caps, capable of lifting the mood and spirit of the country’s passionate rugby fans. The biggest praise we can give him is that he would have more than held his own had his career overlapped with the greatest Australian rugby players. He was nominated for the World Rugby Player of the Year award in 2021, which shows just how highly he is thought of within the game.
Ardie Savea
Like Hooper, Ardie Savea finds himself playing in a relatively unimpressive period of New Zealand rugby. Savea has been the source of hope that New Zealand fans hold on to. If the All Blacks are to pull an unlikely victory at the World Cup, there’s no doubt that it’ll be thanks to the heroics of Savea. And it was no wonder that they gave him the captaincy; he carries the ball brilliantly, he never shirks a tackle, and works just about as hard as anyone in world rugby. In 2019, his solid performance has won him New Zealand's player of the year award.
