Super Rugby’s top 50 players in 2024, 20-11: All Blacks next generation shines through

There is a lot of opportunity for Emoni to excel in the back three for Waikato in 2024, and he looms as probably the most exciting bolter of the whole competition. Scoring eight tries in the 2023 season, this flying Fijian went on to earn his first cap for the All Blacks, as they demolished Los Pumas in Mendoza to kick off their Rugby Championship campaign. Anyone can contribute to The Roar and have their work featured alongside some of Australia’s most prominent sports journalists. What was most remarkable was how, despite rotating and changing the team almost weekly, their efficiency remained incredibly high. The Springboks have an established way of playing that continues to yield results. The emergence of young loose forwards like Carlo Tizzano and Fraser McReight was a huge plus, while the growth of Harry Wilson was impressive.

Springboks over a point clear at top of World Rugby Men’s Rankings

Here we take a look at five stars expected to grab the headlines when the tournament kicks off on February 2nd. “Dan Sheehan might not be a kicker but he is incredibly quick for a hooker, his set piece is good, a leader in terms of what he does, very explosive, good skill set, try scorer,” Jackman marvelled. Ex-Ireland hooker Jackman highlighted one of his fellow countrymen and a superstar of the 2024 Six Nations.

• Respect for team-mates, opponents, match officials and those involved in the game is paramount.
• Aki possesses the rare skill of being able to generate tremendous power from a standing start, even against a defence as robust as South Africa’s.
• Sexton’s actions to Peyper was misconduct, and for the exact same reason Ioane’s actions to Irish supporters are citable as misconduct.
• He followed this by scoring a try during England’s semi-final against France at the World Rugby U20 Championship.
• We got insight from one of Scotland’s all-time greats, Chris Paterson, who was quick to praise Toulouse star Blair Kinghorn.
• The Leinster co-captain was previously referred to as ‘the next Brian O’Driscoll’, a claim that added undue pressure.
• There has been a lot of change in the Italy camp heading into this tournament and so Michele Lamaro will want to be the consistent, guiding force as they look to try and finally avoid the wooden spoon.

Hugo Keenan (Ireland) & Finn Russell (Scotland) – 19.0 stars

He was a good footballer though, fast and tough and smart and brave, the kind of player who could play anywhere and find a way to do a good job of it, and that was more than enough. Plus Brodie Croft wasn’t really working at halfback and because Craig Bellamy is Craig Bellamy and he very rarely misses an opportunity, he got Hughes feeding the scrums a few weeks before the 2019 finals series began. Slater retired at the end of 2018, Drinkwater won his job in the next pre-season only to be injured in the final trial and Hughes assumed the role. Nathan Cleary, whose head-to-head battle with Hughes is the best individual showdown the grand final has to offer, thought so. The voting body is made up of a select group of ex-players only we don’t know which ones anymore because their names aren’t made public anymore, which was supposed to increase the integrity of the votes somehow. 6 – Alex Mann – 6.5Scored his Test second try after as many matches thanks to lovely supporting run for Williams after Tommy Reffell bust through a gap.

Damian Penaud, wing, France

Previous captain Owen Farrell is unavailable, saying he wants to «prioritise his mental wellbeing», so Jamie George takes over the role, leading the squad as the new captain. Ireland, who won the Six Nations last year, come into this year’s tournament with something to prove, having gone into last year’s World Cup with high expectations, only to lose out in the quarter-finals. France joined the tournament in 1910, with five teams competing for 90 years until Italy were invited to join the competition in 2000. The latest edition of the men’s Six Nations is fast approaching, with the 2024 championship starting the first weekend of February. He is up there as one of the best No 8s in world rugby and will be key to Les Bleus navigating the tournament without Antoine Dupont.

England captain praises Springboks ‘freak’ who ‘genuinely had everything’

That didn’t change in 2021, a year of which he earned a World Rugby Player of the Year nomination, and one could argue Hooper can feel hard done by that he wasn’t the outright winner of the award. Antoine Dupont needs no introduction, and few would disagree that he is the best player in the world right now. Not only can he display his skills on a 15s stage, but he has also started his 7s career with a bang, scoring a try on his debut for France. So far in his career, he has won the Six Nations with France and three top 14 titles with Toulouse.

France and Ireland dominate

And when fielding under pressure he demonstrated the strength to keep the ball alive. Gets extra points for a one-on-one tackle on the much larger Tommy Freeman that saved a try early in the second half. But a distinct lack of quality, as well as enough heft, meant they couldn’t get the better of England’s rush defence. Red runners were smothered by white shirts and when the match coalesced into a struggle of will, the team with more nous won out. Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast.

Our Sports

Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Fans will disagree on who they believe would make the top 10, with all manner of factors to consider – with trophies, scoring ability and leadership skills all involved.

Joe McCarthy – Ireland – Secondrow

With Manly bowing out of the premiership race, Woods enjoyed his last ‘Mad Monday’ as a professional rugby league player recently. It was “pretty tame” compared to when he first entered the NRL world. With game time now under the belt, ALB will be perfectly primed for a strong year as Waikato look to go one better, and will plenty on the line to play for with positions in the All Blacks starting XV open. Sharing the record with Telea with 12 tries last season, Codie Taylor is a formidable veteran at the head of a dangerous Crusaders pack. With 2024 NFL training camps on the horizon, the league’s true insiders made their voices heard.

Caitlin Clark Sets One Last Viewership Record on Her Way Out

With Scott Barrett also captaining the Crusaders, Jordie will also be desperate to get his hands on a Super Rugby title. This will be a year of significant growth for the talented loose forward, with spots now wide open and a chance to impress his former coach, Scott Robertson. After a strong year in Super Rugby that saw the Crusaders retain their title, Blackadder was called into the All Blacks squad for the World Cup as an injury cover. While he only featured in one Test, Blackadder looms as one of the All Blacks most exciting prospects coming through the ranks, and certainly has already established himself in the Crusaders line up. A shoo-in for the Blues starting XV, he looms as one of their most dangerous attacking weapons and one of the best finishers in the competition.

George Martin – England – Utility Forward

Ordinarily, Ross Byrne would have been the choice here, but the rock-steady Leinster stalwart picked up an unfortunate early-season injury and has yet to return to action. So, as the rugby world awaits the imminent squad announcements, here are three fly-half options for each nation who should get the first crack at the whip in 2024. But now it is Hughes who stands tallest, Hughes who leads the way, Hughes who the Storm turn to the most. He does not crave the spotlight and he has never chafed at not receiving the same headlines, but the glory is upon him now because he has earned it many times over. He doesn’t play State of Origin, which means he misses out on the shine afforded to that arena and despite playing some great football for New Zealand that’s often not celebrated as much as it should be.

• Very few players, if any, throughout the world of rugby exude leadership, passion and dedication like Michael Hooper does whenever he plays for the Wallabies.
• He’s earned 129 Super Rugby caps and 85 international caps for a reason.
• Smith shows an instinct for attack and courage to play beyond any of his rivals for the jersey, but he must also prove he can guide England through choppier waters.
• His form is always consistent, and some may have thought he could not get any better, then his performances at the 2023 Rugby World Cup happened and he proved there is no limitation to his talents.
• Fresh from his mid-season break, Alldritt is expected to lead from the front for France, his power and commanding presence in the pack giving his side confidence.
• The trio came together in an interview to expose alleged corruption occurring behind closed doors at Fiji Rugby Union (FRU).
• In 2022 Ireland beat England, Wales and Scotland but didn’t win the Six Nations tournament overall.
• A shoo-in for the Blues starting XV, he looms as one of their most dangerous attacking weapons and one of the best finishers in the competition.
• Bestowed the crown of World Rugby Player of the Year in 2021, the recent renaissance of French rugby has largely centred around halfback Antoine Dupont.

In response to these allegations, he FRU has disputed claims the bonuses weren’t paid or that players were left without their paychecks for long periods of time. They have also recently authorised an audit of player payments in response to the allegations made by its star players. List of England national rugby union players is a list of people who have played for the England national rugby union team.

• Like Crowley, Cian Frawley is a versatile operator who can play fly-half, center and fullback to a high standard.
• Some of the changes he made, like the elevation of Tomás Albornoz, gave the team more control in terms of game management, resulting in major improvements.
• His leadership has brought about some of Italy’s best performances in their history and 2024 could be the year they take it to the next level.
• 16 – Ryan Elias – 5Hit first jumper but missed his most important throw when Wales had to chase the game.
• “For some players it could be out of the blue and for other players they could be preparing for it …
• Aki possess the rare skill of being able to generate tremendous power from a standing start, even against defence as robust as South Africa’s.

Top 10 defensive tackles

• The unrelenting loose forward’s powerful ball-carrying, committed defence and immense work ethic have made him an integral player for the Kiwis, as reflected by his captaincy appointment for the Rugby Championship.
• He does not crave the spotlight and he has never chafed at not receiving the same headlines, but the glory is upon him now because he has earned it many times over.
• Needed to have more of those impacts with ball in hand, but his larger frame was a weapon on the counter ruck.
• It was “pretty tame” compared to when he first entered the NRL world.
• McReight looked very good against the ABs but I think that’s the first time I’ve seen him excel against top opposition.
• England, who finished fourth last campaign, have not won the tournament since 2020.
• He will likely vie for pitch time alongside Alex Dombrandt, with Steve Borthwick adding both players to his Six Nations squad.
• In short, NZ rugby did not take responsibility for the disrespect shown to Irish players, Irish supporters and Ireland.

He was not a halfback until he was and once he was he willed himself into being one of the best of all time. Hughes’ rugby league story begins in Queensland, where he spent years wandering through underage and lower-grade football. Memories can fade, but medals don’t and accolades like the Dally M are how we talk to each other about rugby league history across time, so getting it right matters. The new voting system, where a player can get six points in a single match, means a late-season run can overshadow a season of consistency, as we saw with Kalyn Ponga pipping Shaun Johnson last year. The Dally Ms aren’t always an easy thing to believe in and they can be even harder to set your compass by as you wade through rugby league history, trying to sort things out.

More Six Nations 2024 Rugby News

• Two front rowers have been putting themselves about too, in prop Pierre Schoeman (36) and hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi (34).
• However, some players are physical beasts on the pitch, and we got insight from ex-England back-rower Nick Easter about who the most powerful player in the 2024 Six Nations is.
• Fellow back rower Aaron Wainwright for Wales has also underlined his exceptional Championship – in an otherwise disappointing year for his country – with 38.
• They also expected transparency from FRU and everything to run smoothly, noting that this is not an issue that should be experienced in international rugby.
• For example, Jonny Wilkinson made his Test debut off the bench as a Wing, but is more famous as a Fly-half.
• If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp.
• In the last minute before the final try, teammate Kristi Kirshe said she just had to «stay in it.»

8 –  Aaron Wanwright – 7Wales’ best player last week continued his form here. Rangy runs, athletic grabs under high balls, he also offered a target at the line-out. Having just carried up-field a minuter before half-time, he got up, carried again, stepped, off-loaded and found Williams on his inside.

The first game of the tournament is between two sides tipped to win this year’s competition with France taking on Ireland in Marseille on Friday 2 February. Now, if he impresses new head coach Gonzalo Quesada, Varney could be the danger man as Italy look to fire in attack like they never have before to challenge the likes of Wales, England, and Scotland. Stephen Varney was brought up in Wales but opted to represent Italy to honour his grandparents. A good friend of newest NFL recruit Louis Rees-Zammit, Varney has been a consistent player in Italy’s squad since 2020. There has been a lot of change in the Italy camp heading into this tournament and so Michele Lamaro will want to be the consistent, guiding force as they look to try and finally avoid the wooden spoon.

His kicking game, especially his positional kicking, has improved out of sight. His versatility as a playmaker, like his ability to act as a first receiver, second receiver or sweep runner, makes him dangerous anywhere and everywhere. Melbourne Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes beats James Tedesco to the NRL Dally M Medal by one vote, while Roosters back rower Olivia Kernick is named the NRLW’s best player. Note that the «position» column lists the position at which the player made his Test debut, not necessarily the position for which he is best known. For example, Jonny Wilkinson made his Test debut off the bench as a Wing, but is more famous as a Fly-half.

4 – Dafydd Jenkins – 4.5A totem at the line-out, he lacked enough grunt to punch holes through the rush defence. 11 – Rio Dyer – 6.5This felt like a more senior, accomplished performance from Dyer. His darting runs – like the one where he reached the safe ty of his 22 after collecting a pass under his own poles – weren’t just brave, they were calculated.

All Blacks ‘livid’ over French move that ‘devalues mega series’ by standing down stars from 2025 NZ tour

A successful try is awarded with an additional conversion opportunity (which sees a team attempting to kick the ball over the other team’s goal-posts) for two points. The main way is by scoring a try – carrying the ball over the opponent’s goal-line, https://just-bet.org/ which scores five points. Wales have finished fifth in the Six Nations for the past two years having won just two of their last 11 games in the Championship. England, who finished fourth last campaign, have not won the tournament since 2020.

Handrè Pollard is the definition of a clutch player – always there to depend on in the tough moments. Aaron Woods always wanted to be a rugby league player – but the talented media performer, unsurprisingly, would’ve been talking people’s ears off if he wasn’t one. For some of the boys playing in the national team, playing for the Flying Fijians is how food gets put on the table for their families and they can’t support their families if they don’t get paid. I wholeheartedly agree with Botia’s statement that FRU should not expect the best out of their players if they are not able to pay the players who decided to join them. He also noted that had FRU kept their promises, the players that represented their country would be more focused on the upcoming games rather than the payments that FRU had either failed or refused to give them.

Aki possess the rare skill of being able to generate tremendous power from a standing start, even against defence as robust as South Africa’s. Ben Earl is far and away England’s main man when it comes to carries. So much so, in fact, that he’s the only Englishman in the top ten here, and is the overall leader with 42. Fellow back rower Aaron Wainwright for Wales has also underlined his exceptional Championship – in an otherwise disappointing year for his country – with 38. Welsh fans may also be heartened by the precocious presence of fullback Cameron Winnett, who for many will have come from nowhere and sits third with 37 carries (see below for another impressive Winnett-related feat). Captain of two-time European Cup-winning Stade Rochelais, Alldritt is a key leader for the French national side.

Like Reed, Scotland’s Six Nations squad features three other uncapped players. Most noteworthy is loosehead prop Alec Hepburn, who earned six caps for England in 2018. Additionally, Will Hurd and Harry Paterson will make their debuts.