World Cup's young bolters
With some of the world's exciting young players leaving their mark on this year's World Cup, the three nominees for this prestigious award are Scotland centre Mark Bennett, Georgia scrumhalf Vasil Lobzhanidze and New Zealand wing Nehe Milner-Skudder.
World Cup 1999 winner and panel member George Gregan said: "All three nominees have been outstanding in their own individual performance and shown consistency which has seen them contribute in a huge way to how their teams have performed this year.
"They are all worthy candidates for this award but unfortunately there can only be one winner. I'm sure all three players have a bright future not only for their teams and the countries they play for but for world rugby in general. I really look forward to watching their careers."
In order to be eligible for the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year award, players must have played less than one year of senior international rugby.
The nominees were selected by an independent panel, comprising former Wallaby scrumhalf Gregan, former Argentina captain Felipe Contepomi and journalists Stephen Jones, Sarah Mockford and Jim Kayes.
The nominees:
Mark Bennett
The highly-rated centre made his test debut in the win over Argentina last November, having previously represented Scotland at age grade level and sevens. One of only five players to start every Six Nations match in 2015, Bennett recovered from a shoulder injury to make the Scotland World Cup squad squad and has again proved a danger in the Scottish midfield in the tournament, scoring twice in the win over Japan and once against Australia. The 22-year-old has started all 13 of his tests in a young Scottish backline.
Vasil Lobzhanidze
The diminutive scrumhalf made his test debut against Germany in the European Nations Cup on 7 February and has quickly established himself as his country’s number one. He wrote his name into the Rugby World Cup history books when he started Georgia’s opening win over Tonga, becoming the youngest player in the tournament’s history at 18 years and 340 days. Lobzhanidze also played against New Zealand and Namibia to help Georgia secure qualification for the 2019 World Cup, all only four months after he inspired his country to a first World Rugby Under-20 Trophy title.
Nehe Milner-Skudder
A stand-out for the Hurricanes in his debut Super Rugby season earlier this year, earning comparisons with his childhood idol Christian Cullen. The fullback cum winger forced himself into the mind of All Blacks selectors as a result and made the most of his chance, scoring twice on his debut against Australia in The Rugby Championship. The 24-year-old has started five matches at in this year's World Cup and continued his penchant for try-scoring doubles, crossing twice against both Namibia and Tonga in Pool C and then once in the quarter-final against France.
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