Super Rugby Top 20 players: Michael Hooper, Israel Folau, Aaron Cruden, Beauden Barrett, Brodie Retallick — who clinches top spot?
WHO is the best player in Super Rugby? Our Top 20 countdown reaches its peak with numbers 5-1. Check out who comes in at No. 1 and have your say!
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WHO is the best player in Super Rugby?
To celebrate the return of rugby’s top provincial competition, we’re counting down the Top 20 Super Rugby players — and today we reach the best of the best.
Our panel of experts — The Courier-Mail’s Jim Tucker and The Daily Telegraph’s Jamie Pandaram and Iain Payten — have cast their vote, from which our final top 20 was formed.
On Monday we revealed numbers 20-16, including Kurtley Beale and Henry Speight.
On Tuesday we revealed numbers 15-11, including Richie McCaw and Willie le Roux.
On Wednesday we revealed numbers 10-6, including Bernard Foley and Sonny Bill Williams.
Today we finalise the countdown with numbers 5-1. So who’s the best player in Super Rugby? Read on to find out.
What do you think of our Super Rugby Top 20 players list? Check out our interactive which includes the full list of players, and vote on every player.
5. BEAUDEN BARRETT (Hurricanes)
JIM TUCKER says: His star rose in 2014 when he played 12 times for the All Blacks to lift his cap tally to 28. In a short space of time, the All Blacks have groomed another young Test No. 10 of quality. Barrett loves to run the ball and the adventure to the Hurricanes game is a perfect fit.
Scored more points (209) in Super Rugby than any other Kiwi last year so both potent with the boot and scooting himself (5 tries). Has some real pace to his game so defences have to be wary of the moments he picks to dart himself.
He revealed last year he was a fan of the way the NSW Waratahs play the game with plenty of ball movement and back-yourself style. He’s a Kiwi you’d enjoy having a beer with because his favourite films are the Hangover series.
What do you think of our Super Rugby Top 20 players list? Check out our interactive which includes the full list of players, and vote on every player.
4. MICHAEL HOOPER (Waratahs)
JAMIE PANDARAM says: The human energiser bunny has been registering stats that are off the charts for a couple of years now, and his influence in the Waratahs’ winning title run was pivotal.
Hooper played the most minutes (1440) of anybody in the comp in 2014, and made the most metres (929) and tackle busts (41) by any forward.
His leadership is rapidly developing and his cover defence is astounding — the full package.
What do you think of our Super Rugby Top 20 players list? Check out our interactive which includes the full list of players, and vote on every player.
3. AARON CRUDEN (Chiefs)
JIM TUCKER says: Coaches prefer he plays big games in his home town so there is no chance of him missing the plane. Very cruel but Cruden copped far worse barbs last year when he missed an All Blacks team meeting after a boozy night and was scratched from the team’s flight to Argentina for a Test.
The jolt from that disciplinary stick changed his whole year after he’d seemingly entrenched himself as the All Blacks top No. 10 with Dan Carter injured.
That background just serves to highlight how much Cruden has to play for in a World Cup year and that the Chiefs are likely to have a super-motivated performer running the team. Cruden showed his quality as the general in the 2012-13 title wins by the Chiefs and he has Sonny Bill Williams back to use as a dynamic midfield weapon.
Expect a big season from Cruden and his sidekick SBW beside him.
What do you think of our Super Rugby Top 20 players list? Check out our interactive which includes the full list of players, and vote on every player.
2. BRODIE RETALLICK (Chiefs)
IAIN PAYTEN says: Hypothetical: if All Black coaches could pick only one of the two, would they choose Brodie Retallick or Dan Carter? Five bucks on Retallick would not be the worst bet of your life.
Where Carter can these days be covered by Cruden or Barrett, the monster Chiefs lock is fast-becoming irreplaceable to New Zealand rugby. Retallick is a rugby machine.
His size and strength is an asset at set-piece, naturally, but Retallick was voted the best player in the world last year based on everything else. The 23-year-old is hugely mobile, and has the engine of a man half his 2.04m, 123kg size. Retallick was one of only two locks to run more than 100 times and make over 140 tackles in last year’s Super Rugby season, and he routinely displays delicate balls skills that a giraffe has no right to make. He is arguably the most brutal clean-out merchant in Super Rugby, to boot. A crucial cog in the Chiefs campaign.
What do you think of our Super Rugby Top 20 players list? Check out our interactive which includes the full list of players, and vote on every player.
1. ISRAEL FOLAU (Waratahs)
JAMIE PANDARAM says: His ability to find the tryline is unmatched for cross-code converts and those who have been playing rugby all their lives.
He was equal top try-scorer last season, but Folau’s value extends well beyond that.
He is the safest pair of hands under the high ball in the world, and draws and beat defenders with ridiculous ease, making him the competition’s most potent player.
What do you think of our Super Rugby Top 20 players list? Check out our interactive which includes the full list of players, and vote on every player.
Originally published as Super Rugby Top 20 players: Michael Hooper, Israel Folau, Aaron Cruden, Beauden Barrett, Brodie Retallick — who clinches top spot?
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