At the end of an outstanding year of rugby at both club and international level, ASN selects its best XV of 2015 – and they are not only All Blacks
15. Ayumu Goromaru (Japan; Queensland Reds)
New Zealand’s Ben Smith can feel hard done by, but a rugby fan would need to have a heart of stone to prefer the World Cup winner over Goromaru given what he and Japan achieved in England during the autumn.
The Yamaha Júbilo goal-kicker, who is set to move to Super Rugby’s Queensland Reds in 2016, contributed 24 points in helping Japan to an historic 32-34 defeat of South Africa in Brighton; he became the first tier-two nation player ever to pass the 700 international points mark as Eddie Jones’ side beat the USA and the guile and creativity of the 29-year-old’s kicking game gradually came to embody all that was so attractive about the Cherry Blossoms at the World Cup.
14. Nehe Milner-Skudder (New Zealand; Hurricanes)
A worthy winner of World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year award in September, Milner-Skudder has risen from the relative obscurity of the New Zealand provincial game in 2014 to become an automatic starter both for the All Blacks and the Hurricanes over the last 12 months.
The Taihape native scored four tries in 15 starts in Super Rugby last season to force his way into Steve Hansen’s World Cup squad despite having only been capped twice at senior level. The 24-year-old went on to start the All Black’s pool stage opener against Argentina and never looked like relinquishing the 14 shirt to the recovering-from-injury Waisake Naholo.
Milner-Skudder finished the World Cup with six tries from six starts, scoring in both the quarter-finals and final. Argentina’s Santiago Cordero was also outstanding at 14 in England but Milner-Skudder was a cut above the competition, including Australia’s Adam Ashley-Cooper.
13. Jonathan Joseph (England; Bath Rugby)
Based purely on World Cup form, this position would have Conrad Smith’s name (New Zealand) written all over it; however, the fact that Joseph missed England’s critical Pool A defeat against Wales through injury can be seen as key to hastening the host’s premature exit and the poor performance of Stuart Lancaster’s side during the autumn cannot be seen to diminish the outstanding nature of the 24-year-old’s season.
Joseph scored eight tries in 17 appearances in helping Bath to reach their first Premiership final since 2004 in May and scored four tries in five matches as England came within seven points of winning the Six Nations in March. He was a worthy recipient of the Rugby Players’ Association Player’s Player of the Year award.
12. Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand; Toulon)
Even at 33, the Wellington native can lay persuasive claim to having been the best outside back at the World Cup and his rampaging 50 metre solo try against Australia in the final was a fitting end to a glittering 103 cap, 155 point All Black career.
Nonu has arrived in the Top 14 as arguably the most complete second-five eighth in world rugby, and the fact that he was commonly regarded as lacking the panache and versatility of his teammates upon breaking into the New Zealand set-up in 2003 makes his development into a complete midfield player all the more remarkable.
Nonu can tackle, run, carry, kick, offload and side-step with the best in the world game and he has already made a big impact at the Stade Felix Mayol.
11. Julian Savea (New Zealand; Hurricanes)
The romantic’s choice would be one of Canada’s DTH van der Merwe or Argentina’s Juan Imhoff, both of whom enjoyed outstanding World Cups; however, Savea’s eight try contribution to New Zealand’s Webb Ellis triumph and his seven try haul in last season’s Super Rugby campaign make him impossible to overlook.
With 38 tries in 41 international appearances, Savea is well on course to become the most prolific winger in the history of the international game and the peerless nature of his World Cup quarter-final hat-trick against France gave powerful expression to the unique physical advantage he enjoys over most all of his contemporaries.
Savea is worthy heir to the late Jonah Lomu’s 11 jersey.
10. Dan Carter (New Zealand; Racing Metro 92)
Australia’s Bernard Foley was outstanding as was Wales’ Dan Biggar, but in a year when we witnessed the return of the world’s greatest ever out-half to the top of his game, there was only ever going to be one winner.
Although Carter had a quiet pool stage at the World Cup, he was in a class of his own in the knock-out rounds. The veteran scored 17 points in the quarter-finals against France and 12 of the All Black’s 20 in their two point semi-final victory over South Africa; a fixture in which the 33-year-old scored an outrageous snap drop-goal from range and gave a masterclass in how to control territory under pressure.
In the final, he was the indisputable man-of-the-match; scoring 19 points with the boot, including a 40-metre drop-goal when Australia had drawn to within four points of parity with 10-minutes to play.
He has already made a hugely positive impact at Racing.
9. Aaron Smith (New Zealand; Highlanders)
Almost universally regarded as the best scrum-half in the world, 2015 saw Aaron Smith offer a compelling demonstration of why that is the case.
While the 27-year-old was not quite at his best during the World Cup (Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw and South Africa’s Fourie du Preez were arguably as good), his Rugby Championship and Super Rugby form make him a shoe-in for the No.9 shirt in this 15.
The pace and precision of Smith’s passing, the accuracy of his box-kicking and sniper’s instinct at the fringes of the breakdown mark him out as a cut-above any of his challengers.
8. David Pocock (Australia; Brumbies)
A worthy nominee for World Rugby’s Player of the Year award, Pocock has been in a league of his own in terms of back-row play over the last 12 months.
A specialist open-side moved to No.8 in order to accommodate the comparably gifted Matt Hooper at No.7 at the World Cup, Pocock’s performances against England, Wales and Argentina were key in helping Australia to the final and he arguably now matches the historic effectiveness of New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw on the deck.
7. Schalk Burger (South Africa; Suntory Sungoliath)
That Burger even made it to the World Cup after having contracted a potentially fatal bout of bacterial meningitis two years ago is remarkable; however, the fact that he outperformed Richie McCaw and Matt Hooper at open-side flanker despite specializing as a No.6 makes him nailed-on for a starting spot in my seasonal XV.
Burger made a staggering number of carries for the Springboks in England and his quarter-final and semi-final performances against Wales and New Zealand were among the finest of his career. Like the wines from his native Stellenbosch, Burger seems only to improve with age, and one feels that there are a couple more elite-level seasons left in the backrower’s legs after his lay-off through illness.
6. Mamuka Gorgodze (Georgia; Toulon)
Whatever the country’s level, any player who leads a national side in terms of carries, clean breaks, tackles, offloads and turnovers in a World Cup pool-stage is clearly something special and Gorgodze did just that in England in the autumn.
The 31-year-old scored a crucial try in helping Georgia to a historic matchday one victory over Tonga in Pool C and the backrower went on to win man-of-the-match against the All Blacks despite his side being on the receiving end of a 43-10 thumping.
Gorgodze is the embodiment of Georgia’s claim to form a part of an expanded Six Nations and he accomplished all this after having helped Toulon to win a third consecutive European Cup in May.
5. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand; Chiefs)
Australia’s Kane Douglas and Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones both excelled at No.5; however, the remarkable athleticism and ball-skills Retallick exhibits in open play is unique among the second-rows of the leading Test nations while his contribution at set-play time and at the breakdown is as good as that of any of his contemporaries.
A potent force with and without the ball, Retallick is arguably the most complete forward player in world rugby and his form over the last 12 months more than justified the World Player of the Year award with which he was conferred at this time last year.
4. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa; Stormers)
This was arguably the most difficult position to pick given the quality of the performances of New Zealand’s Sam Whitelock, Ireland’s Iain Henderson and Fiji’s Leone Nakarawa among others (the Argentina duo of Tomás Lavanini and Guido Petti Pagadizábal are hugely promising); however, the sheer physicality and work-rate of Etzebeth made him at times appear irresistible at the World Cup and he enjoyed a fine Super Rugby and Rugby Championship season, too.
At 24 and 23, Etzebeth and Lood de Jager form a second-row partnership of great potential for the South Africa, and the fact that the pair succeeded in knocking the vastly experienced Victor Matfield out of Heyneke Meyer’s first XV for the knock-out stages of the World Cup is testament to the level that they have already reached.
3. Ramiro Herrera (Argentina; Castres)
A beast in the front-row, 2015 saw Herrera establish his credentials as arguably the finest scrummager in world rugby. The 26-year-old’s effectiveness at the breakdown and set-pieces went a long way towards providing the Pumas’ outside backs with the platform on which they flourished, most strikingly in the quarter-finals against Ireland.
Scotland’s WP Nel and Australia’s Sekope Kepu similarly impressed at No.3
2.Agustin Creevy (Argentina; Worcester Warriors)
In possession of all of the ability at the coal-face that Dylan Hartley has as well as the temperament to match his technique and brawn, Agustin Creevy is arguably the game’s perfect hooker.
Creevy’s performances as captain were key to leading Argentina to the World Cup semi-finals and a Rugby Championship defeat of South Africa and he leads perhaps the finest pack in world rugby at set-piece time.
1. Scott Sio (Australia; Brumbies)
The most powerful illustration of the 24-year-old’s importance to Michael Cheika’s Australia side came when he was absent for their semi-final clash against Argentina and the scrum was on the ropes throughout.
The Brumbies loosehead has arguably been the most important discovery of the Cheika era and the coaching of former Argentina frontrower Mario Ledesma has brought his game to another level. Sio’s dominant scrummaging performance against England was a highlight of the World Cup.
