Picking the Best Player in the World at Every Age (19-39)
Rugby NewsSaturday, 26 September 2020 at 08:58
Who is the best player at every age in world rugby?
RUCK took on this peculiar but entertaining task to bring you the answers, starting at age 19 and moving all the way through to 39.
The selection process is as simple as it should be: The player picked is the outright, current, best player at that age right now, taking into account a healthy balance of form and overall class.
We've added honourable mentions for some ages in the form of "other candidates" for picks that brought about dilemmas, but not for all—some picks were just automatic.
19: Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales
20: Jordan Petaia (Australia)
Honourable mention: Tupou Vaa'i (New Zealand), Arthur Vincent (France)
21: Romain Ntamack (France)
Honourable mention: Marcus Smith (England), Caleb Clarke (New Zealand)
22: Tom Curry (England)
23: Antoine Dupont (France)
Honourable mention: Rieko Ioane (New Zealand), Jordie Barrett (New Zealand)
24: James Ryan (Ireland)
25: Maro Itoje (England)
Honourable mention: Damian McKenzie (New Zealand), Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
26: Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
Honourable mention: Anthony Watson (England), Ardie Savea (New Zealand), Ross Moriarty (Wales)
27: Finn Russell (Scotland)
Honourable mentions: Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Elliot Daly (England), Charles Ollivon (France)
28: Semi Radradra (Fiji)
Honourable mentions: Faf de Klerk (South Africa), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa), Sam Cane (New Zealand), Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
29: Owen Farrell (England)
Honourable mentions: Liam Williams (Wales), Manu Tuilagi (England), Mako Vunipola (England), Beauden Barrett (New Zealand), Siya Kolisi (South Africa) , Taulupe Faletau (Wales)
30: Vincent Koch (South Africa)
Honourable mention: Jonny May (England), Joe Marler (England), CJ Stander (Ireland)
31: Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
Honourable mention: Courtney Lawes (England), Peter O'Mahony (Ireland), Willie le Roux (South Africa), Rhys Webb (Wales)
32: Jonathan Davies (Wales)
33: Dane Coles (New Zealand)
Honourable mention: Ken Owens (Wales)
34: Duane Vermeulen (South Africa)
Honourable mention: Devin Toner (Ireland)
35: Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
Honourable mention: Johnny Sexton (Ireland), Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
36: John Afoa (New Zealand)
37: Sergio Parisse (Italy)
Honourable mention: Jimmy Gopperth
38: Dan Carter (New Zealand)
39: Schalk Brits (South Africa)
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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