Full-back Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
The lovely individual try Hogg scored against Georgia in Kilmarnock earns him this award, a 70-metre solo effort which required a neat chip and regather in addition to pace and vision. Rob Kearney and Mike Brown both have their warrior qualities and Ben Smith enjoyed a great Rugby Championship but Hogg is in pole position to be the Lions Test full-back in New Zealand.
Right-wing Israel Dagg (New Zealand)
For someone who missed last year’s World Cup and has supposedly been shovelled out to the wing to make room for the wonderful Smith, Dagg has made quite an impact. He remains a top‑quality athlete and, after 60 Tests for the All Blacks, knows precisely what is expected of him at international level. An extremely dangerous customer when on song.
Outside-centre Jonathan Joseph (England)
A tough call on Australia’s prolific Tevita Kuridrani and Scotland’s Huw Jones but Joseph has been an integral part of England’s 13 successive wins this year. The tries he scores are often described as lucky but how many lucky tries does it take before people start looking at the swiftness of his reactions, his excellent defensive positioning and the improvement in his kicking that helped set up Marland Yarde’s crucial try against the Wallabies.
Inside-centre Owen Farrell (England)
Eddie Jones reckons Farrell is “the spirit of the team” who have amassed England’s record-equalling sequence of Test wins. The head coach also said the Saracen was only at 80% of his potential match fitness this autumn, which he spent operating in a different position to the one he occupies for his club. His goal-kicking makes him pretty much undroppable either way; at 25 years old he is already on course to challenge Jonny Wilkinson’s England points record.
Left-wing Jonny May (England)
With Wales underperforming and no one else making a truly compelling case, this position boiled down to a straight fight between May and New Zealand’s Julian Savea. The latter’s try‑scoring record speaks for itself but May’s enthusiasm and desire on his return from a long-term knee injury deserve recognition. He scored against South Africa and Argentina and his defensive work is improving all the time; extremely popular with his team-mates.
Fly-half Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
They seek him here, they seek him there. Barrett has been a joy to watch all year and showed strength of character, as well as his trademark pace, to ensure New Zealand won their rematch with Ireland in Dublin. The Lions will still hope they can rattle him and his goalkicking is not a patch on Farrell’s but, given half a yard or a couple of sluggish defenders, there is no surer assassin around.
Scrum-half Conor Murray (Ireland)
Along with Billy Vunipola, Murray was the player of the autumn. His performance against New Zealand in Chicago suggested he is approaching the peak of his powers: as well as being strong he is tactically smart and technically excellent. Will Genia was very good for Australia and Ben Youngs was consistently sharp for England but Murray even better than both of them.
Loosehead prop Mako Vunipola (England)
Four Tests in succession would have had the big man gasping not so long ago but his improved fitness and growing maturity have presented England with an increasingly key performer. Not yet an entirely destructive scrummager but a handful in the loose and forms a formidable double act with his younger brother. With Ireland’s Jack McGrath and Cian Healy also available, the Lions have plenty of depth at loosehead.
Hooker Dane Coles (New Zealand)
A long year for him but class is permanent. On harder, faster surfaces, in particular, he gives New Zealand another dimension and would appear to have plenty of Test rugby left in him. Rory Best and Dylan Hartley deserve massive plaudits, however, for leading their respective countries with such distinction. England’s Jamie George is fast becoming the nearest equivalent to Coles in the northern hemisphere.
Tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
At the heart of everything good about Ireland this autumn. Furlong is only 24 and in the early stages of his Test career but looks to have all the ingredients to be Ireland’s long-term tighthead. If he maintains the bullocking form he showed against the All Blacks the Wexford man will be extremely prominent in Warren Gatland’s thoughts for the Lions tour next summer.
Lock Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
The title of ‘New Zealand’s Most Irreplaceable Player’ is always closely fought but the field is slowly diminishing. TJ Perenara is even giving Aaron Smith a run for his money but the absence of Retallick and Sam Whitelock clearly played its part in Ireland’s historic Chicago win. If they could pick one All Black to sit out the series next June the Lions would probably choose Retallick.
Lock Devin Toner (Ireland)
To be a human skyscraper like Toner is not always an advantage; it is an awfully long way down to your bootlaces. The 6ft 10in Irishman has shone like a lighthouse this autumn, though, making his presence felt far beyond the lineout. England have a clutch of fine locks, with Scotland’s Jonny Gray and Wales’s Alun Wyn Jones also in Lions contention, but Toner is one good Six Nations away from wearing a red jersey next summer.
Blindside flanker CJ Stander (Ireland)
A closely fought category, as ever. Australia will miss David Pocock massively during his sabbatical and the way Chris Robshaw has fought back from his World Cup disappointment has been an object lesson to all aspiring professionals. Again, though, Ireland were the most elemental force of the autumn and the energy, physicality and attitude of Stander have been remarkable.
Openside flanker Justin Tipuric (Wales)
Gone are the days at Test level, according to Eddie Jones, of slightly built old-style opensides; defensive stoppers who can lend a hand in the lineout are more in vogue. Maybe so, but a back-row forward capable of scoring a try as outstanding as the one Tipuric contributed for Wales against South Africa is still priceless. A Lion in waiting?
No8 Billy Vunipola (England)
Kieran Read has been the best No8 in the world for so long that picking anyone ahead of him, even fleetingly, is a serious call. Anyone who has watched England this year, though, will be aware how much progress Vunipola has made and how influential he now is for England. Harsh on Jamie Heaslip and Lopeti Timani, too, but Vunipola, before his injury against Argentina, was monumental.
Autumn international XV: S Hogg (Scotland); I Dagg (New Zealand), J Joseph (England), O Farrell (England), J May (England); B Barrett (New Zealand); C Murray (Ireland); M Vunipola (England), D Coles (New Zealand), T Furlong (Ireland), B Retallick (New Zealand), D Toner (Ireland), CJ Stander (Ireland), J Tipuric (Wales), B Vunipola (England).
Trouble ahead
No question about the weekend’s most troubling photograph. The sight of George North face down in the turf, apparently out for the count again, was a grim one for anyone familiar with the Welsh winger’s history of concussion issues. But wait. According to his club Northampton – and the player himself – he had simply landed on his neck and stayed down as a precaution. He duly reappeared on the field six minutes later. North is a fine player and engaging company but something is profoundly wrong. If he was knocked out, even briefly, he should never have been permitted to return to the field. If he was play-acting, whether to get another player into trouble or not, he should be severely reprimanded. This particular story cuts to the heart of rugby’s attitude to head knocks and the findings of an ongoing independent investigation will be fascinating.
And another thing …
Victory in French rugby’s presidential elections has gone to the former French national coach Bernard Laporte. Among other things he wants to see central contracts for France’s international players, a major shake-up of grassroots coaching, the cancellation of France’s proposed new national rugby stadium on the outskirts of Paris and a return to internationals being played at regional venues. The power struggle with the wealthy Top 14 clubs looks set to be spectacular.
