Planet Rugby's BBQ tips for 2013

[Big Ewis]

err sorry I meant "Team of the Year for 2013". Honest mistake, very similar to type on a keyboard.

15 Leigh Halfpenny (British and Irish Lions/Wales/Cardiff Blues) - It was a two-horse race for our opening spot as Halfpenny faced off with Australia full-back Israel Folau. Folau was outstanding in his debut season in rugby union, both for the Waratahs and Wallabies, but the performances of Halfpenny for region, country and the Lions saw him edge the jersey. Man of the Series, Player of the Six Nations. Outstanding.

14 Ben Smith (New Zealand/Highlanders) - He has always been an outstanding player for Otago and the Highlanders but largely on the cusp of nailing down a place in the All Blacks side because of injuries and other players' form. This year Cory Jane's absence led to Smith finally being on the right side of some luck and boy did he take his shot. Eight tries in the Rugby Championship and excellent Super Rugby form make him an easy pick.

13 Jonathan Davies (British and Irish Lions/Wales/Scarlets) - Outside centre was by some distance the hardest selection we had to make and it was incredibly difficult to leave Conrad Smith out. We were split down the middle with neither side willing to budge but after almost a week of heated debate, we decided that even though Smith hardly put a foot wrong, Davies' contribution for Wales and the British and Irish Lions tipped the scales.

12 Jean de Villiers (South Africa/Stormers) - There is no doubt Wesley Fofana is an outstanding centre for both Clermont and France and will continue to grow as a player in the coming years. De Villiers though has got better by the match in 2013, particularly for his country, with his leadership in the Rugby Championship and November hugely impressive. De Villiers deals with the media and pressure of the Springbok captaincy superbly.

11 George North (British and Irish Lions/Wales/Scarlets/Northampton) - Not since Jonah Lomu have we seen wingers like North and his closest rival to this jersey, Julian Savea. 2013 memories include Folau being carried backwards and that try against Australia to name but two as North has shone for the Scarlets, Northampton, Wales and the Lions. Recently we saw him play at 13 for Saints which shows his versatility. A special talent.

10 Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon) - You might have thought Aaron Cruden was a shoo-in for this position, but it would be wrong to forget about last season's Heineken Cup and Wilkinson's starring role in guiding Toulon to a first ever European ***le. Wilkinson didn't miss a single kick at goal during the knockout stages, a run that included kicking six penalties against Leicester, seven against Saracens and then finally three against Clermont, not to mention the winning conversion after Delon Armitage's try. That's before mentioning his playmaking skills and leadership. Even at 34, Wilkinson remains an incredibly special player. As he weighs up retirement again at the end of this season, it already feels difficult to watch him go.

9 Aaron Smith (New Zealand/Highlanders) - It was a tough call on Rory Kockott to leave him out of our nine slot after starring in the Top 14 as his Castres side won the French ***le. He was named Player of the Year in that domestic league but just misses out to New Zealand scrum-half Smith, who has nailed down his position for the All Blacks this past year. Excellent service and solid a partnership with either Dan Carter, Aaron Cruden, Beauden Barrett or Tom Taylor in black means he sneaks in. Tawera Kerr-Barlow and TJ Perenara have a job displacing him.

8 Kieran Read (New Zealand/Crusaders) - Let's hope Kieran Read doesn't get bored of accolades, because he's more or less picked up every one under the sun in 2013. Read is simply everywhere on the field - one of the top tacklers and carriers. With a try every 0.46 games in 2013 as well, you couldn't take your eyes off him.

7 Michael Hooper (Australia/Waratahs) - It's now more or less impossible to label Hooper as David Pocock's understudy. The Waratahs openside has blossomed over the last two seasons and continues to pester top sides at the breakdown with his fine work over the ball. Hooper is also a phenomenal athlete, quick enough to play in the centre which he had to during the first Test against the British and Irish Lions. How the Wallabies use Hooper and Pocock when both are fit and healthy is a conundrum. A hat-tip to Francois Louw, who nearly made the team just on the basis of his offload against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

6 Liam Messam (New Zealand/Chiefs) - The inspirational co-captain behind the Chiefs sealing back-to-back Super Rugby ***les, Messam was the winner of our Super Rugby Player of the Year award for his phenomenal work-rate. Then, if that wasn't enough, he went on to have a brilliant season with the All Blacks - scoring two tries in that Ellis Park thriller and continued his fine form in November. Jerome Kaino might be coming back to the Blues and Steven Luatua looks a top prospect, but good luck to them both displacing Messam.

5 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand/Crusaders) - Has grown in stature and cemented his place in the All Blacks team after being dropped from the world champions' starting XV in 2012. Whitelock's prowess at the line-outs is unmatched and his general play has also been impressive for the Crusaders and New Zealand throughout 2013. The 25-year-old formed a fine partnership with Brodie Retallick and has already played more than 50 Tests for his country despite making his debut just three years ago.

4 Eben Etzebeth (South Africa/Stormers) - The 22-year-old continued where he left off - in Super Rugby and at Test level - last season and has become one of the Springboks' stalwarts in 2013. Etzebeth enjoys the physical nature of the game and has thrived as the Boks' enforcer. Does his core duties well but recently suffered an ankle injury, which will keep him out for most of Super Rugby. His stature has grown to such a level that his absence will be a major setback for Cape Town-based franchise the Stormers.

3 Juan Figallo (Argentina/Montpellier) - We are big fans of Figallo at PR. He proved with his performances for Argentina throughout the Rugby Championship what an effective scrummager he is, especially against the All Blacks, while his absence was sorely felt during the November Internationals. Still only 25, the fact that Figallo saw off Adam Jones and Dan Cole for this award proves how good a year he's had. By the Rugby World Cup in 2015, he will be a star.

2 Stephen Moore (Australia/Brumbies) - Mr Consistent this year, Moore has got through some minutes in 2013 due to the absence of Tatafu Polota-Nau. Jake White made sure to manage his workload in the early-season but during the Super Rugby run-in and Test commitments, Moore was a workhorse for Australia and sees off Adriaan Strauss for this jersey. Meanwhile, Bismarck du Plessis came in third due to a lack of Super Rugby games for the Sharks.

1 Marcos Ayerza (Argentina/Leicester) - Outstanding for the Pumas all season, Ayerza capped off a fine 12 months for club and country with the final pass for Niki Goneva's winning try as the Tigers saw off Montpellier in France. Combined with the Argentinian's excellent work at the scrum all year, you get a pretty good idea of Ayerza's all-round talent. At 30, he still has plenty left in the tank.




So do you forum zombies like that team, what would you change ? Let's hurt some feelings and conclude this 2013 year, a miserable Rugby year for some I've heard, with some sexy looking XV's and see which players are unanimous locks, and which positions are relatively subjective spots.

Here's the article in case you don't believe me:
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_9078143,00.html

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I think Folau is sexier than 1/2P so to start off with:

15 Israel Folau - metioric rise and I just simply prefer him ahead of 1/2P even though he had an excellent year
14 Ben Smith - no qualms here
13 meh, might as well be Davies unless you play someone out of position, which I'd prefer and go with Wesley Fofana or Conrad Smith it makes little difference to me
12 Jean de Villiers - has certainly turned back the clock this year
11 ... this is a very tough choice between North, Habana and Savea. All three bring huge impact but for the form he has been in I'd go with Habana.
10 meh
9 meh
8 Read is the obvious choice
7 Hooper
6 Alberts
5 Whitelock
4 Etzebeth
3 Figallo
2 Strauss
1 Ayerza

Sorry, I got lazy contemplating the halves.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Planet Rugby Readers' Team of the Year:

15 Israel Folau (Australia): Only a handful of votes separated British and Irish Lions star Leigh Halfpenny and Australia's Newcomer of the Year in the full-back position from the line-ups you sent in, but many of you actually picked both players, naming the Wallaby on the wing. So we decided to face them off in a straight poll on the front page and you voted for a clear winner.

14 Ben Smith (New Zealand): No doubt about this one. 86 percent of you named Test rugby's top try-scorer in 2013 as your right wing.

13 Conrad Smith (New Zealand): Another runaway winner in the votes. The All Blacks and Hurricanes stalwart took 71 percent of the nominations. No one else even got into double figures.

12 Jean de Villiers (South Africa): A two-horse race between the Stormers centre and Clermont's Wesley Fofana saw the Bok skipper get 64 percent of the votes while the French international took 28 percent.

11 George North (Wales): A relatively close battle for the left wing berth between the British and Irish Lions flyer, who got 51 percent, and All Blacks wing Julian Savea who got 39 percent. Bryan Habana was the only other name in contention with 16 percent.

10 Aaron Cruden (New Zealand): Plenty of candidates here. Cruden was a relatively clear choice though with 44 percent of the vote. With the nominations split between five other fly-halves, only Quade Cooper came remotely close with 19 percent.

9 Aaron Smith (New Zealand): No other position saw more names being put forward than scrum-half and Smith was far from a unanimous choice with just 40 percent. Fourie du Preez was a surprise second choice - at 27 percent - considering how little top-level rugby he played this year.

8 Kieran Read (New Zealand): Unsurprisingly the clearest choice in any position, the IRB Player of the Year was the number eight in 95 percent of the teams sent in.

7 Michael Hooper (Australia): As usual, openside flank was a hotly-contest berth but 42 percent of the vote was enough for the Wallaby flank to get the nod. Francois Louw was the next most popular choice at 32 percent while Sean O'Brien came in at just under 20 percent.

6 Liam Messam (New Zealand): Another wide spread of nominations but yet again an All Black wins the race. Messam's 34 percent was more than double number of votes received by his nearest challenger, Willem Alberts.

5 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand): No doubt about your favourite line-out jumper, with the Crusaders lock dominating the number five nominations with 65 percent of the votes.

4 Eben Etzebeth (South Africa): The Stormers enforcer was the number four of choice amongst almost everyone, featuring in 81 percent of the line-ups. Brodie Retallick got nearly all the other votes.

3 Adam Jones (Wales): There were only two real contenders for the tighthead berth. Lions prop Jones was your favourite with 52 percent of the ballots while Argentina's Juan Figallo collected 23 percent.

2 Bismark du Plessis (South Africa): He may have missed half the year, but the Springbok hooker dominated the voting, racking up 68 percent of the votes. Adriaan Strauss was second best with just 10 percent.

1 Alex Corbisiero (England): 56 percent of our readers reckoned Corbisiero did enough on tour for the Lions to get their vote despite missing most of the rest of the year. Marcos Ayerza got 12 percent.

 

[Big Ewis]

lol stormer you're officially a Racing fan now ? man....good luck with that !
thx theblindside for that post, interesting to see the differences there.

My only concerns are those:
- 15 Folau miles ahead of HP.
- 3 Adam Jones sure is the best scrummager in the world still. But it's true he's not as efficient elsewhere and other 3's have better work rate, tackle better and help out at the breakdown more. Figallo has had a very good year, and a mention to "the bus" Nicolas Mas.
- 8 has got to be Read because he's probably the best player in the world overall. But Picamoles needs a big mention here. It's quite incredible there's a better no.8 right now, just Picamoles' luck he plays in the same era as Read.
- 4 Etzebeth I haven't seen much of. Is he not being voted based on attitude, reputation and physical stats alone ? just an innocent question. Didn't play against France, was hoping to see him...didn't notice him a lot in any int'l match I've seen this year...
- 9 Genia needs a mention at least.
- 6 Messam looks pretty unanimous. I thought a lot could be mentioned here.
- 12-13: JDV and Fofana or JDV and Conrad Smith. I'm gonna go with Fofana. He's been awesome both offensively and defensively, and he can't score a try like in Twickenham every single test...excellent season in a struggling France side.

 

[Darwin]

- 4 Etzebeth I haven't seen much of. Is he not being voted based on attitude, reputation and physical stats alone ? just an innocent question. Didn't play against France, was hoping to see him...didn't notice him a lot in any int'l match I've seen this year...

No, he is being voted for because he has been outstanding all season. He has been incredibly consistent - probably among the top 3-4 Boks players on the park every match, and he was an absolute standout in both the All Blacks tests. What has really impressed me this season has been his lineout work. He has always been good in that area, but he has really developed into a world class lineout exponent this season. Add this to a big work rate, extreme physicality, and powerful running game you have a pretty hand player! He did also get nominated for IRB player of the the year, so he must have been doing something right Brodie Retallick has had an outstanding season too; his work-rate is phenomenal. I could understand people picking him in these sort of teams, but in my mind Etzebeth just shades him.

- 6 Messam looks pretty unanimous. I thought a lot could be mentioned here.

Blindside flanker is an interesting position, as there are no clear standouts in my mind. If believe if one of Vermeulen or Picamaloes (or even maybe Parisse) had played at 6 rather than 8 they would be a shoe-in for this position. Messam has been good for the AB's this season (his best season in black by far), but hardly outstanding. I would imagine the majority of New Zealanders still believe he has a very tenuous grip on the 6 jersey with the return of Jerome Kaino and the continued development of Steven Luatua. Personally I would have thought Alberts would have got the majority of the nominations. I'm not a fan of his at all, but you can't deny the impact he has made for the Boks this season.

- 9 Genia needs a mention at least.

Genia was poor this year. Very poor. He was very quiet for the Reds, anonymous versus the Lions (barring one break), and dire at times during the Rugby Championship - there was a very good reason why he was dropped to the bench for a couple of matches. He finally started to show some signs of life the last couple of matches of Australia's Northern tour, but overall this will be a season he will want to forget.

 

[Big Ewis]

yeh well Genia's still a solid no9 and there aren't tons of really high level ones atm. I don't watch SR, but he's looked good in stretches for Australia. Sure it's not his best year though, granted. Yeah I remember that huge break you're talkin about against the B&I L just now !..

I see what you mean about Alberts. It's strange, I like brutal force usually, Picamoles' my favorite player atm, but Alberts is just TOO raw. It's just too much. Picamoles has "style" almost he's just nice to watch, the offloads, the patience, the smart choices, some hits on defense...Alberts is just gigantic and a brute. Not a fan, but daaaamn 120kg at no. 6 ?!...
That's what we were talking about on some french boards before the FRA SA game when we thought Picamoles was returning: "yeah we got Picamoles back, but their whole 3rd row is made of Picamoles !..". Pretty funny in comparison we played Wenceslas Lauret with his 95kg...

Anyways:
as for Etzebeth yeh he got nominated, but I don't know for a fact he isn't overrated, but I'll take it he's really good if everybody says so...why not. I'll get a chance to see him sooner or later again.