Fans have been reacting today to the brand new list of the world’s top men’s players released by RugbyPass. Titled the ‘Top 100 Men’s Rugby Players of 2024’, the list has already created plenty of controversy among fans.
How RugbyPass created the list
Chaired by Long Reads editor Owain Jones, they aimed to make the list as rigorous and fair as possible, aiming to capture the full picture by melding consistency, leadership, innate talent and even the players’ impact on the game beyond the white lines.
They covered both hemispheres and multiple angles, from Argentina’s Frankie Deges to South Africa’s Jon Cardinelli, France’s Gavin Mortimer to New Zealand’s Gregor Paul. With 11 writers from nine different countries, this truly was a global effort backed up with over 21,000 words, blending seasoned analysis and subjective insight to showcase rugby’s finest players, from household names to rising stars. 
Despite the extensive planning and thought process that went into designing the list, and having still only released a fifth of the overall final 100 players, there has already been plenty of discussion between fans over the placement of their favourite players. Springbok fans in particular have raised their question marks over Bongi Mbonabi’s particular position in the table, with one fan even suggesting that the list was written by Tom Curry.
Michael Oats on X said: “What a load of ol bollox that is. The fella who gets paid to write and/or publish these has conned all his employers, and for that, all I can say is fairplay”
What a load of ol bollox that is. The fella who gets paid to write and/or publish these has conned all his employers, and for that, all I can say is fairplay 🤣
— Michael Oats (@mikey_oats) December 4, 2024
Philip Andrew added: “Manie Libbok ahead of Robbie Henshaw, Courtney Lawes and Mack Hansen is hilarious.”
Mannie Libbock ahead of Robbie Henshaw, Courtney Lawes and Mack Hansen is hilarious.
— Philip Andrew O’Reilly Photography (@PhilAndrewPhoto) December 4, 2024
Here is a snapshot of the Instagram comments:
Thomas Durack: “Angus Bell 89 !? He’s one the best prop in the world right now”
Natalie Botha: “Wouldn’t have thought that Bell, Matera, Wiese and Clarke all don’t make the Top 50 at least?”
Dean Wickham: “Your list hasn’t even gone below 50 and there are already question marks. This is going to be interesting”
Luke Smith really wasn’t happy, saying: “This person who selected this should be fired”
The Rugby Column: “Ikitau at 95 is diabolical!!!”
Pieter Anker joked: “Libbok is definitely the best player in the world at the moment. He’s the only player that can make the Boks lose”
Roscoe Gomm: “Lamaro at 86th is wild this year he broke the tackle record for the 6 nations and got 0 recognition”
Dafydd Jones: “I don’t think any welsh players deserve to be in the top 100”
Arrant Frost: “Len Ikitau and Bongi Mbonambi underrated imo. Ikitau put in solid shifts for the Wallabies even before they started to improve. They played him at 13 for how long and moved him to 12 for the Autumn series and he took to that jersey like he’d played inside centre for years.”
So, without any further ado, here is the first release of players:
100-81
100 – Robbie Henshaw
99 – Tomos Williams
98 – Bongi Mbonabi
97 – Mack Hansen
96 – Sabastian Negri
95 – Len Ikitau
94 – Pablo Matera
93 – Ange Capuozzo
92 – Courtney Lawes
91 – Jasper Wiese
90 – Jiuta Wainiquolo
89 – Angus Bell
88 – Marcos Kremer
87 – Manie Libbok
86 – Michele Lamaro
85 – Caleb Clarke
84 – Davit Niniashvili
83 – Dewi Lake
82 – Julian Montoya
81 – Sam Cane
Find the original RugbyPass article here.
Comment below to let us know your thoughts!
In this episode of Walk the Talk, Jim Hamilton chats with double World Cup winner Damian de Allende about all things Springbok rugby, including RWC2023 and the upcoming Ireland series. Watch now for free on RugbyPass TV
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