World Player of the Year Nominees 2018

[big ginger 8]

Ireland team of the year, now to see if Sexton can make it a clean sweep for the main ones.

 

[CraigWarrior]

Joe is magic. Sexton is the best. The lad gets whacked all over the place and still he cannot be stopped. Any awards for people associated with Ireland are well and truly deserved. They are creating history all the time.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Come on Sexton...

Edit: Well deserved

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Well done Sexton.

 

[big ginger 8]

Sexton first Irishman since Wood got the inaugural award. Not for lack of trying.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Johnny. I love you.

 

[jcahill1]

Who won the breakthrough?

 

[big ginger 8]

Who won the breakthrough?

Dyanti.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Delighted with that, well deserved.

One of our best ever players and one of the best 10s of the Pro era.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Bet James Ryan's wishing he didn't play that game against USA last year or he'd have walked the Breakthrough POTY award.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Bet James Ryan's wishing he didn't play that game against USA last year or he'd have walked the Breakthrough POTY award.

He's an absolute freak, at his current level he's not far off the standard you'd be looking for in the senior award.

Dyantyi is very good, well deserved award for him as well.

 

[dullonien]

Fully deserved.

Would have been crazy for Sexton not to have won it, but they've made crazy decisions in the past so wasn't going to put it past them.

 

[munstermuffin]

More for Leinster fans. Butbafter tonight would we say Sexton is a better ranked hero than BOD. Not sure how to word it per se but in International level and Club level would we say Sexton much better than BOD?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

More for Leinster fans. Butbafter tonight would we say Sexton is a better ranked hero than BOD. Not sure how to word it per se but in International level and Club level would we say Sexton much better than BOD?

I reckon we have to wait and see. Hard to judge while it's still ongoing.

No Leinster fan will use this award as something to champion sexton in the argument considering it should have been BOD's in 09.

 

[munstermuffin]

I reckon we have to wait and see. Hard to judge while it's still ongoing.

No Leinster fan will use this award as something to champion sexton in the argument considering it should have been BOD's in 09.

No not basing on this alone.
More who has made inpacts on bigger games. BOD had his days of course for Leinster but Sexton in games like HEC final vs Northampton etc spring to mind.
Obviously Sexton looks alot better as his career has been more on Leinsters ups compared to BOD.
Both superb players as I say just it is an interesting debate.
Personally myself I rate Sexton higher but it a debate with no real right or wrong answer

 

[Leinster Fan]

More for Leinster fans. Butbafter tonight would we say Sexton is a better ranked hero than BOD. Not sure how to word it per se but in International level and Club level would we say Sexton much better than BOD?

Not really, BOD should have won in 2009, he was the ultimate 13 in every facet of the game and he was one of the best players of the Pro era/all time depending on how you look at things. He inspired a generation of young Irish players and gave Irish rugby a figurehead it badly needed through the 2000s. His career moved pretty much along the trajectory of Ireland's during the Pro era, going from our lowest point in losing to Argentina in the 1999 WC all the way to the Schmidt era. This is turning into an unnecessary BOD tribute so I'm going to stop, be grateful it's stopping now because I could go on about how brilliant he was at great length.

Sexton is more of a big game player though, and he's been hugely significant in the transformation of Irish rugby over the last few years. Unlike the previous generation he's never been happy with being second best and he could never be accused of being a bottler the way the BOD/ROG/POC team could.

At the end of the day O'Driscoll is a better player, but they're both very much deserving of legend status.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I wouldn't be so quick to say BOD was a better player, but it's neither here nor there and it's not worth discussing until Sexy retires.

 

[munstermuffin]

I wouldn't be so quick to say BOD was a better player, but it's neither here nor there and it's not worth discussing until Sexy retires.

Rumours are he will be gone from Ireland after RWC too.
Butvequally as you say a debate for down road but I do think he is best Leinster player of pro era. Which is impressive as being honest the season he broke through he was close to being cut loose.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Rumours are he will be gone from Ireland after RWC too.
Butvequally as you say a debate for down road but I do think he is best Leinster player of pro era. Which is impressive as being honest the season he broke through he was close to being cut loose.

That's the amazing thing. If Felipe hadn't gotten injured in that game against Munster, Leinster would probably have brought in another import 10 to replace him and Sexton would probably have ended up in Connacht or the English second tier. Given that I was close to tears watching Contepomi go off at the time it's actually ridiculous how well it turned out. If you take out Sexton there's no way Leinster win the Heineken Cup in 2009 or 2011 or that Ireland win the GS in 2018 (these get precedence because there was at least one moment or performance in all of them that we wouldn't have won without). We'd probably be waving goodbye to the 2014/15 6N ***le, both wins over the ABs, the 2012 and 2018 Heineken Cups as well and it's likely both of the last 2 Lions tours would have ended in defeat without him. Don't think you can say the same about BOD for anything except the Grand Slam and Heineken Cup in 2009.

Despite all this, I think O'Driscoll is just a better player. He's our all time highest try scorer, our most capped player and he was captain for a very long time. He's easily got the best highlights reel of any Irish player ever and he massively lifted the profile of the game here. I'd give him 10/10 on every attribute you'd look for in a centre except for kicking and even there he was an 8 at worst.

In terms of significance to Irish rugby Johnny could well be ahead especially if we do well in Japan but I'd say BOD is a better player. Definitely a debate for another day though.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I remember when Sexton started to replace ROG and came under a lot of criticism in his first year or so as he used to make silly mistakes. Matured well though and I think the whole cop out of being in a good team is hardly fair as the same could be said of pretty much everyone who has won the award.