“Itoje drops out” - How the World XV looks following the 2022 summer internationals

Sunday, 17 July 2022 at 13:20

byRugby Rucker

The 2021/22 rugby season has officially came to a close following the summer internationals.

Naturally, picking a World XV subjective exercise and there are no wrong or right answers, so be sure to let us know your opinion on the best XVI of the 2021/22 season once you’ve looked over ours.

Nevertheless, while it ultimately comes down to the opinion of yours truly, rest assured that the selections will be informed by statistics, the eye test and relative importance to their team overall.

We look at the official World Rugby XV from December and analyse what changes need to be made to bring it up to date.

World Rugby’s best XV in 2021/22

Got it? Right then, in which case, be sure to check out RUCK’s picks for the best male XV of the 2021/22 season down below:

#BACK-THREE:

15. Freddie Steward (England) replaces Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
14. Makazole Mapimpi (South Africa)
11. Will Jordan (New Zealand)

Freddie Steward of England goes over for a try during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Australia at Twickenham on 13 November 2021. Photo: Micah Crook/PPAUK

#CENTRES:

13. Lukhanyo Am (South Africa)
12. Samu Kerevi (Australia)

#HALFBACKS:

10. Johnny Sexton replaces Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
9. Antoine Dupont (France)

Antoine Dupont of France calls for the mark during the Six Nations Championship match between England and France at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on March 13 2021. - PHOTO: Micah Crook/PPAUK

#FRONT-ROW:

1. Ellis Genge (England) replaces Wyn Jones (Wales)
2. Dan Sheehan (Ireland) replaces Malcolm Marx (South Africa)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)

#SECOND-ROW:

4. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland) replaces Maro Itoje (England)

Eben Etzebeth of South Africa during the Autumn Nations Match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on 20 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK