PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT
Nominees: Dan Carter, David Pocock, Ayuma Goromaru, Agustin Creevy, Ma’a Nonu, Schalk Burger
To be honest, the list above is far from exhaustive and could have been a lot longer. There were several stars of the tournament, but there was one man that categorically stood above all the others. When David Pocock played for Australia, the difference in their level of performance was seismic. His limpet-like ability over the ball made the breakdown such a dangerous place for any opposition side, and he proved once and for all the value of a ‘true’ fetcher.
Winner: David Pocock
GAME OF THE TOURNAMENT
Nominees: South Africa vs Japan, Canada vs Romania, Argentina vs Ireland (QF), Australia vs Scotland (QF), New Zealand vs Australia (F)
Again, plenty of worthy nominees – including Canada’s game with Romania which, while not that high on quality, featured a stunning comeback from the Romanians – but this is a category that can have only one winner. Japan’s win over South Africa defied sheer sporting logic – the giant, mighty Springboks up against a tier two minnow renowned for having smaller players than everyone else. Literally no-one gave them a chance. And yet they won in stunning circumstances, building phases patiently in the final play of the game in a way New Zealand would have been proud of before capitalising on space out wide. It was one of the most astonishing things ever seen on a rugby pitch and it set the tone for a brilliant tournament.
Winner: South Africa vs Japan
TRY OF THE TOURNAMENT
Nominees: Ayuma Goromaru (Japan vs SA), DTH van der Merwe (Canda vs Italy), Julian Savea x2 (New Zealand vs France), Bernard Foley (Australia vs England), Tommy Seymour (Scotland vs South Africa)
There were far too many world class tries to list in one go, and the above list has undoubtedly missed some pearlers that have escaped the memory right now. To my mind, though, none were better than DTH van der Merwe’s effort against Italy, which included pace, power, skill and awareness to make the initial break, give the pass inside and then collect the offload again. Sensational stuff.
Winner:
Video credit: Fantasy Rugger
TIER 2 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT
Nominees: Ayuma Goromaru, DTH van der Merwe, Leone Nakawara, Michael Leitch, Mamuka Gorgodze
The performance of the tier two nations was one of the real joys of this tournament, and the gap between the top and bottom is truly closer than it ever has been before. Again an incredibly strong field and there could be several worthy winners; but for his warrior spirit that embodied everyone’s favourite second team, Michael Leitch has to take the award for best second tier player.
Winner: Michael Leitch
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT
Nominees: Vasil Lobzhanidze, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Mark Bennett, Lood de Jager
There was plenty of youth on show at this World Cup, and most of it did extremely well. Mark Bennett was in lethal form for Scotland – not least when almost sending them into a semi-final with his interception score – while Lood de Jager was joint top of the tackle stats and Nehe Milner-Skudder looks likely to become the most prolific scorer of the next decade. But this one goes to young Georgian scrum-half Vasil Lobzhanidze. And when we say young, we mean it – he was born in 1996. He became the youngest ever player to play in a World Cup in the opening game at the age of 18 years and 340 days, and not only that, but he actually played very well – one searing break against Namibia sticks in the memory.
Winner: Vasil Lobzhanidze
VILLAIN OF THE TOURNAMENT
Nominees: The TMO, The Disciplinary System
It’s an immensely tight two horse race for this one, and in the end it’s a tie. The use of the TMO was woefully inconsistent and swung from wild extremes – the excrutiating overuse that led to stop-start affairs like the opening England vs Fiji game, to the complete ignorance shown at times by the end of the tournament. The disciplinary system was a complete farce, handing out a ludicrous five week ban to Samoa’s Alesana Tuilagi (later reduced to a still-too-long two) while giving Michael Hooper just one week for a hugely dangerous shoulder charge and David Pocock a warning for a knee to Scott Baldwin’s back. As fans, all we want is consistency as there was a glaring lack of it in both processes – they combined to be the one tarnish on an otherwise superb World Cup.
Winner: We’re all losers here.
BIGGEST OVERACHIEVERS
Nominees: Argentina, Japan, Scotland, Georgia
Both Argentina and Scotland had encouraging campaigns and the future of their respective national teams looks bright. Georgia did brilliantly to finish third and secure automatic qualification for 2019, which should allow them to spend the next four years building rather than worrying about qualifying. However, had you said before the tournament that Japan would get three wins in a group that contained South Africa, Scotland, Samoa and USA, you would probably have been sent to the asylum. But the Brave Blossoms were utterly brilliant and confirmed that, if they can keep improving, they will be a force to be reckoned with when they host the next tournament in 2019.
Winner: Japan
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Nominees: Italy, France, England, The Pacific Islanders
Italy and France redefined mediocre while for whatever reason, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga made little impact on their pools (none of them finished higher than fourth, meaning all will have to go through qualifying for 2019) despite all having good chances to do so. But let’s be honest, this can only go to one team. The hosts crashed out in spectacular fashion, self-imploding in the dying minutes against Wales before redefining insipid while being blown away by the Wallabies. After four years of build-up, it was a bitter blow to fans that was made all the worse by how different they looked from the team that played so well in the Six Nations.
Winner: England
Disagree with any of the above? Let us know below!
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
Player of tournament for me Brodie Retallick. Every team needs an engine room but NZ gets one with great hands, skill and pace. Immense in the final my man of the match.
Try of the tournament, Gonevas for Fiji vs Wales was pretty special.
Can’t disagree that England’s tournament was a disapointment and that they deserve that award, but we are kidding ourselves that Ireland and Wales shouldn’t be included in that.
Villain? I’d add the virtual lynch mobs on Craig Joubert led by Matt Dawson and Gavin Hastings. Even if he’d made a mistake their reaction was hysterical and over the top and they should be ashamed of themselves.
For tier 2 player I’d add Jacques Burger who defined an entire nations effort in making sure Namibia were not the whipping boys of previous years. Even when not playing he still cut an inspirational figure.
I fail to see Scotland as over-achievers at this World Cup. If you look at their record, they beat Japan, Samoa and USA (and you could say the scheduling robbed Japan of a fair crack) and lost to South Africa and Australia. Unless you believe they belong in that “tier 2” bracket, they haven’t over-achieved, they’ve done the minimum expected. They may have pushed Australia close and been 30 seconds away from a semi-final, but wins are all that matter, you can’t look at valiant defeats.
Scheduling might also take a bit of criticism as villain of the piece – as noted above. World Rugby did try to even it up by giving some of the top teams short turn-arounds, but they always ended up with the top team playing the bottom seed in the second game of their turnaround. But you want your biggest matches in the weekend spots, therefore you don’t want England vs Australia or New Zealand vs Argentina on a Wednesday night, so it has to be a minnow in there somewhere.
It’s not an issue that can be easily solved, with 5 teams in a pool. 6 would be a bit excessive given the quality of teams 21-24 and the extension of the pool stage which will be necessary, while no-one will want to see the tournament cut to 16 teams. 5 pools of 4 like the Champions Cup might create controversy with debates about strength of pools and “softer” second places than others. However, despite these issues, it certainly hurt Japan in this tournament.
Final note for the fans, who have been incredible across the tournament despite the host’s awful showing. I went to 3 matches this tournament, and each had a phenomenal atmosphere. Same with the ones I saw on TV.
No argument on any of the winners, but I’d add the Argentina/Tonga game plus at least 2 of its tries (1 each in particular) to the nominees.
It may not have had the dramatic conclusion or David v Goliath script of Japan/SA but it was one of the most attacking games of international rugby I have ever seen. Great advert for the sport… plus Maradona was there!!
Bit of a logical inconsistency to have Goromaru up for the player of the tournament award and then proceed to not give him the tier 2 player of the tournament award but other than that all worthy winners.
Scotland Vs Samoa was pretty epic as well, for me it would displace Argentina Vs Ireland, but not alter the winner