Top 5 Rugby Players in Each Position

[cillianmontgomery]

any thoughts? Feel free to write a list

 

[Leinster Fan]

Off the top of my head

Loosehead (none of these are in any particular order)

Healy
Vunipola
The two South Africans
Moody


Hooker

Coles
Taylor
Marx
George
McInally


Tighthead

Furlong
Sinkler
(Big gap after those two, cant think if anyone else)


Lock

Retallick
Whitelock
Ryan
AWJ
Itoje (very very hard to squeeze that down to five)


Backrow as a whole (giving myself a few extra hereL

Vunipola
Watson
Leavy
Faletau
Hooper
Pocock
Savea
Du Toit (could also be at lock)


Scrumhalf


Murray
Smith
Perenara
Faf
Dupont


Outhalf

Pollard
Sexton
Farrell
Barrett
Ford (genuinely)


Centre

Ringrose
Henshaw
Tualagi
Davies
Crotty

Back Three

Stockdale
Barrett (again)
May (on current form)
Kolbe
Hogg


All done very quickly with a decent NH bias, definitely missed some obvious candidates but that's the best I've got.

 

[cillianmontgomery]

1. Off the top of my head
   
   Loosehead (none of these are in any particular order)
   
   Healy
   Vunipola
   The two South Africans
   Moody
   
   
   Hooker
   
   Coles
   Taylor
   Marx
   George
   McInally
   
   
   Tighthead
   
   Furlong
   Sinkler
   (Big gap after those two, cant think if anyone else)
   
   
   Lock
   
   Retallick
   Whitelock
   Ryan
   AWJ
   Itoje (very very hard to squeeze that down to five)
   
   
   Backrow as a whole (giving myself a few extra hereL
   
   Vunipola
   Watson
   Leavy
   Faletau
   Hooper
   Pocock
   Savea
   Du Toit (could also be at lock)
   
   
   Scrumhalf
   
   
   Murray
   Smith
   Perenara
   Faf
   Dupont
   
   
   Outhalf
   
   Pollard
   Sexton
   Farrell
   Barrett
   Ford (genuinely)
   
   
   Centre
   
   Ringrose
   Henshaw
   Tualagi
   Davies
   Crotty
   
   Back Three
   
   Stockdale
   Barrett (again)
   May (on current form)
   Kolbe
   Hogg
   
   
   All done very quickly with a decent NH bias, definitely missed some obvious candidates but that's the best I've got.

   
   I agree with most of that. I'd switch smith with Laidlaw and Ford with Russell.

 

[BPM]

Haha. I'm really sorry, but there is no way in hell that Laidlaw is one of the top 5 9s in world rugby.

I agree with those on the list, as well as a good few more before Laidlaw.

 

[Reiser99]

Laidlaw is one of the issues holding Scotland back. He often halts the momentum after a break/mainline success by being so slow to get the ball from the ruck. Takes far too long to assess the situation and gives defences time to settle.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Haha. I'm really sorry, but there is no way in hell that Laidlaw is one of the top 5 9s in world rugby.

I agree with those on the list, as well as a good few more before Laidlaw.

The 5th best halfback from New Zealand is better than laidlaw

Smith
Perenara
Weber
Ttt
Hall
Kerr-Barlow

1. Healy, beast, moody, sio, Vunipola
2. Mbonambi, Coles, Taylor, Marx, creevy
3. Laulala, Nyakane, furlong, Sinkler, franks
4. Ryan, whitelock, itoje, Snyman, psdt
5. As above
6. Psdt, savea, matera, someone welsh, someone Irish ( honestly all northern hemisphere people are the same)
7. Savea, cane, Todd, pocock, tipuric or other generic northern hemisphere player
8. Savea, Vermeulen, billy v, read, pocock
9. Smith, tj, faf, Weber, probably not even Conor Murray at the moment
10. Farrell, barret, mounga, pollard, probably not even sexton at the moment
11. I'll reserve prejudgment here so I don't bias myself for the important selection I have to make later. But see the 14 below.
12. Ngatai, alb, sbw, Crotty, Laumape
13. Ngatai, alb, Crotty, goodhue, davrose
14. Nkosi, Ione, bridge, may, Hogg
15. Barret, Smith, le roux, Hogg, Williams

 

[BPM]

Some interesting selections in there ... are they listed in order of preference? I'm surprised at no Retallick given the clear NZ bias.

I'd go with (mix of pedigree and form):

1. M. Vunipola / Healy / Beast / Kitshoff / Moody
2. Coles / George / Taylor / Marx / Creevy
3. Sinckler / Furlong / Franks / Nyakane / A. Ala'alatoa
4. Retallick / Itoje / AWJ / Ryan / Mostert
5. Whitelock / Etzebeth / Kruis / Henderson / Lawes
6. Matera / PSDT / Navidi / O'Mahoney / Leitch
7. Savea / Cane / Pocock / Hooper / Tipuric
8. B. Vunipola / Read / Vermeulen / Mata / Isa
9. A. Smith / Perenara / de Klerk / Dupont / Murray
10. Barrett / Farrell / Pollard / Russell / Sexton
11. Ioane / May / Mapimpi / North / Stockdale
12. Kerevi / ALB / Tuilagi / Crotty / Serfontein
13. Radradra / Davies / Goodhue / Slade / Ringrose
14. Kolbe / Nkosi / Tuisova / Watson / Penaud
15. Williams / B. Smith / Beale / le Roux / Daly*

*better as a winger IMO, but still deserves a mention

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

*better as a winger IMO, but still deserves a mention

Not ahead of Rob Kearney or Stuart Hogg though!

 

[BPM]

Fair point - Hogg is better (I knew I missed someone obvious, but got bored after listing 75 players!).

Not sure about Kearney TBH. He's certainly better than Daly under a high ball and in defence but hugely inferior in attack, so I'd say their strengths and weaknesses negate each others'.

Either way, if I'm putting Hogg in, neither would make my top 5.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Fair point - Hogg is better (I knew I missed someone obvious, but got bored after listing 75 players!).

Not sure about Kearney TBH. He's certainly better than Daly under a high ball and in defence but hugely inferior in attack, so I'd say their strengths and weaknesses negate each others'.

Either way, if I'm putting Hogg in, neither would make my top 5.

I'd take Kearney ahead of Le Roux, and probably Beale too but that's more of a stylistic decision, as well as Daly. What RK is good at, he's the best in the world at and what he's bad at, he's not as bad as people say. I reckon a good 80% of my posts on here are defending Robbo though so I'm not really fussed saying anymore and know there'll be disagreement!

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

1 Healy / Beast / Kitshoff / Vunipola / Alaalatoa
2: Marx (some assumptions made here) / Coles / Taylor / George / Creevy
3: Furlong / Sinkler / Tameifuna / Nyakane / Nel (not sure here, the pool seems quite shallow whereas other positions are near impossible to choose)
4/5: Itoje / Retallick / Snyman / Wyn-Jones / Nakarawa
6/7/8: Savea / Du Toit / Matera / Kolisi / Poledri / Todd / Vermeulen / Leitch / Hooper
9: Jantjies / De Klerk / Reinach / Perenara / White
10: Farrell / Barrett / Pollard / Mounga / Sexton
12: Lienert-Brown / Crotty / Kerevi / Laumape / Serfontein
13: Davies / Tuilagi / Goodhue / Ringrose / Henshaw
11/14: Kolbe / May / Radradra / Bridge / (dunno, Stockdale has a ton of hype but can't say I've seen overly much so my SA bias will call out for Nkosi but its probably) Reece
15: Smith / McKenzie / Beale / Nanai / Havili (Ja, sure I have 4 NZ fullbacks here but I think they go that deep TBH- Give me the option between Hogg and Havili and I'd go Havili)

Disclaimer: I don't know the French at all ATM. Teddy Thomas still there? Fofana and Picamoles in form?

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Some interesting selections in there ... are they listed in order of preference? I'm surprised at no Retallick given the clear NZ bias.

I'd go with (mix of pedigree and form):

1. M. Vunipola / Healy / Beast / Kitshoff / Moody
2. Coles / George / Taylor / Marx / Creevy
3. Sinckler / Furlong / Franks / Nyakane / A. Ala'alatoa
4. Retallick / Itoje / AWJ / Ryan / Mostert
5. Whitelock / Etzebeth / Kruis / Henderson / Lawes
6. Matera / PSDT / Navidi / O'Mahoney / Leitch
7. Savea / Cane / Pocock / Hooper / Tipuric
8. B. Vunipola / Read / Vermeulen / Mata / Isa
9. A. Smith / Perenara / de Klerk / Dupont / Murray
10. Barrett / Farrell / Pollard / Russell / Sexton
11. Ioane / May / Mapimpi / North / Stockdale
12. Kerevi / ALB / Tuilagi / Crotty / Serfontein
13. Radradra / Davies / Goodhue / Slade / Ringrose
14. Kolbe / Nkosi / Tuisova / Watson / Penaud
15. Williams / B. Smith / Beale / le Roux / Daly*

*better as a winger IMO, but still deserves a mention

Not listed in preference. Somewhat are because they were first that came to mind but i did this very quickly. I also did it based on form, and retallick doesn't have it in my opinion. There are a lot of good locks and I only picked 5, as I figured those 5 are probably the best in either a 4 role or a 5 role. And I haven't watched a lot of French rugby so I really had no idea. I guess I could have guessed Thomas and potentially du pont. Nakarawa was potentially unlucky as I've seen him twice and in one game he was easily good enough to be in the top 5, the other not so much. Id also have to see more of mata. I also like Russell. Omahoney and navidi were my first choice of the nameless Irish and Welsh but both of those teams have so much competition in the loose forwards it could just have easily gone to other players. I obviously think left wingers could all play right wing, since I picked 3 left wingers (And a fullback) I'd be interested to know how nadolo is playing these days.

Fair point - Hogg is better (I knew I missed someone obvious, but got bored after listing 75 players!).

Not sure about Kearney TBH. He's certainly better than Daly under a high ball and in defence but hugely inferior in attack, so I'd say their strengths and weaknesses negate each others'.

Either way, if I'm putting Hogg in, neither would make my top 5.

I too forgot hogg, initially. Had to go back and edit my post.

Edit: the first player in each position was potentially my number 1.

 

[BPM]

I should have included Nakarawa too ... another one I forgot.

How does someone like Ngatai make your side on form?

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I should have included Nakarawa too ... another one I forgot.

How does someone like Ngatai make your side on form?

Well, tbh i havent seen charlie ngatai play since leaving NZ. Is his form poor? I'm just guessing because he was clearly the best midfielder in the world over a few years when not injured

Strictly speaking, I am picking based on my prediction of how good they would be in a game played today in a team made from players in the list against a team made from other players on the list.

Form is just my main evidence backing up that prediction. There is plenty of other evidence.

 

[BPM]

Ngatai's form hasn't been bad, but certainly hasn't been stellar and he's definitely not someone that would feature in most people's top 10 centres right now (I know it's top 5, but as he plays 12 or 13 ...).

TBH, while form can vary, I think consistency is what sets the really top players apart. The best players on that list might switch from 1st to 5th in the pecking order based upon form, but will still be in the top 5 for their position.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Ngatai's form hasn't been bad, but certainly hasn't been stellar and he's definitely not someone that would feature in most people's top 10 centres right now (I know it's top 5, but as he plays 12 or 13 ...).

TBH, while form can vary, I think consistency is what sets the really top players apart. The best players on that list might switch from 1st to 5th in the pecking order based upon form, but will still be in the top 5 for their position.

OK, but so I can assess the credibility (in terms of alignment with how I assess players) of your judgement of his form, did you rate him best in the world at any point in time?
I'm not sure that what most people think has a lot of relevance to what i should think. If people that rated him number 1 when i was watching him now think he isn't top 5 material that will make me reconsider. As long as they have deliberately considered him. because that tends not to happen for players who aren't in the conversation for a national team. I could have told you that most people wouldn't pick him in their top 5, because most people wouldn't even if his form suggested he should be number 1.

For example, During the 8 years 20018 - 2015, whenever people were asked who the best tightheads in the world were, Carl Hayman almost never got mentioned. Yet anyone who actually knows what they are talking about and has taken the effort to consider everyone in the world would have named him in their top tightheads every time; most would have named him number 1.

W.r.t. Ngatai there is another major factor preventing most people naming him: Most people don't know who he is or what he is capable of.

 

[Leinster Fan]

OK, but so I can assess the credibility (in terms of alignment with how I assess players) of your judgement of his form, did you rate him best in the world at any point in time?
I'm not sure that what most people think has a lot of relevance to what i should think. If people that rated him number 1 when i was watching him now think he isn't top 5 material that will make me reconsider. As long as they have deliberately considered him. because that tends not to happen for players who aren't in the conversation for a national team. I could have told you that most people wouldn't pick him in their top 5, because most people wouldn't even if his form suggested he should be number 1.

For example, During the 8 years 20018 - 2015, whenever people were asked who the best tightheads in the world were, Carl Hayman almost never got mentioned. Yet anyone who actually knows what they are talking about and has taken the effort to consider everyone in the world would have named him in their top tightheads every time; most would have named him number 1.

W.r.t. Ngatai there is another major factor preventing most people naming him: Most people don't know who he is or what he is capable of.

Didn't really ever see him play in NZ so no idea how good he was then but from what I've seen of him in France he's never stood out as someone who could be considered a best in the world contender. Fully agree that players who aren't playing internationally wrongly miss out on these lists sometimes but I don't think this is an example of it.

 

[Rich Taff]

Look, this is getting ridiculous.

You are aware that a major tournament has just started?

We require some posts from people who's only previous experience of Rugby is what they hear about England's tour of Japan(Sky), or Wales amazing ability and how England are all poo poo heads (Wales online), or how everyone cheats except New Zealand (Herald)*.

Only with these marvelous insights, based on hours of experience, can we truly form a list of best Tuiliagi's..I mean players.

*I've left out any Australian press, as if they don't win it, they'll pretend it never happened.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

I'd take Kearney ahead of Le Roux, and probably Beale too but that's more of a stylistic decision, as well as Daly. What RK is good at, he's the best in the world at and what he's bad at, he's not as bad as people say. I reckon a good 80% of my posts on here are defending Robbo though so I'm not really fussed saying anymore and know there'll be disagreement!

I've always liked Kearney and would take him for England in a heartbeat.