Top 100: Guess who's No.1?

SPOTLIGHT: The Top 10 of Rugbypass‘ Top 100 has been revealed

Five Springboks made the top 10 but all of them missed out on the top spot.

It is not South Africa’s Pieter-Steph du Toit – this year’s World Rugby Player of the Year.

This selection will get the tongues wagging, just like the omission of Rassie Erasmus as Coach of the Year did.

One would think that Du Toit would ace this, but the utility forward comes in at No. 3 on the list and is even topped by another Springbok, Cheslin Kolbe at No. 2.

RugbyPass’ top player for the year is French scrumhalf Antoine Dupont.

The diminutive captain of France won a Top 14 and Champions Cup double and months later inspired France to gold at the Olympic Sevens.

His transition to Sevens also won him Sevens Player of the Year and it is this move that seems to have inspired his pick in the No. 1 spot on the Top 100 list.

Dan Carter is quoted as saying: “Few people understand how difficult it is to switch from 15-a-side to seven-a-side and to do it so easily shows what a unique athlete Dupont is. “

There is no denying that Dupont is a unique specimen, but so are Kolbe, Du Toi,t and Springboks like Eben Etzebeth and Ox Nche.

They all feature on the list, in the following order after Du Toit (3): Etzebeth (4), RG Snyman (6), and Nche scraping in at 10.

Kolbe has become the head boy of small rugby players all over the world. He is not just an amazing wing and prolific try scorer. He throws in at the line-out, kicks at poles, charges down conversions, feeds the scrum, and can trade blows with players twice his size.

Du Toit is similarly a remarkable player who just never stops, even switching to three different positions in the pack in one game. His work rate, dominance, tackle stats, speed, and power is unmatched in the modern game.

Sit back and enjoy all 28 Pieter-Steph du Toit tackles from the #RWC2023 final 💥#WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/v93tyRGXMj

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) November 25, 2024

He is quite simply the best. But he will happily contend with the No. 3 spot, he is that type of player, not looking for and chasing accolades. Humble to the core, the gentle giant is number one in many people’s eyes.

Take a look at the rest of the list to see who shares the Top 10 with the Springboks.

* You can now view the list, as Rugbypass gradually releases more players: Top 100 Men’s Rugby Players 2024.

Who would be your top ten selection?