On what proved to be a difficult day for the IRB following the five-week ban handed out to Andrew Hore, the general reaction to Owen Farrell's inclusion on the shortlist of nominees for this year's IRB Player of the Year award has been one of derision and surprise.
First and foremost, Farrell is a great talent who made important progress during his first year in the Test arena, with crucial kicks against Scotland and Italy in the Six Nations leading to England's second place finish.
He is not the type to arrogantly swagger around following the news of his nomination - if anything he will be slightly embarrassed.
Farrell will be around for some time too and will continue to improve, but was he one of the top four players in the world over the last 12 months? Absolutely not.
The Player of the Year award is designed to celebrate the sport, not mock it, yet since Richie McCaw contentiously picked up the award in 2009 ahead of Brian O'Driscoll and Fourie du Preez, the system has left itself open to scepticism.
Although McCaw and 2005 winner Dan Carter have been phenomenal and are clear frontrunners, there are still six or so players whose performances over the last 12 months deserve to be recognised ahead of Farrell and perhaps as well Frédéric Michalak.
The immediate name that springs to mind is Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe. Argentina's talisman has led them superbly throughout the first Rugby Championship and then the November Internationals, with the draw against South Africa and win against Wales in Cardiff both testament to the Pumas' growth in 2012.
In this bold new era for Argentinian rugby, they need a leader who possesses both outstanding leadership skills but is also a world-class talent. Fernández Lobbe's offload for Argentina's first try against Wales defines his talent perfectly.
But what about Kieran Read? The undisputed best number eight in the world, Read's form has not dipped in about two years. On top of that, he has been the best player in the world's best team throughout 2012, with the All Blacks winning 12 tests and drawing one. His team-mate Israel Dagg has also done enough to be involved from full-back.
Then there is Bryan Habana. 2012 has been a renaissance year for one of South Africa's all-time greats, with seven tries in nine Tests including a hat-trick against Australia. His young team-mate Eben Etzebeth is another worthy of recognition, with his performance against England at Twickenham underlining what a promising talent he is.
Finally, despite Wales' slump from the high of a Grand Slam to a winless tour of Australia and three defeats so far in the November Internationals, Leigh Halfpenny has remained constantly impressive. One of the first on the plane for the Lions tour next year, Halfpenny's solidity under the high ball, pace going forward and excellent kicking game make him worthy of nomination.
All of those six players would have been included without great contention, yet now Farrell must prepare to face fellow nominee Carter on Saturday with the added pressure of being labelled as one of the four best players in the world. It has been hard enough alone for him to re-gain the starting fly-half spot for England, only getting his opportunity due to Toby Flood's injury.
For such an esteemed panel of Will Greenwood, Gavin Hastings, Raphaël Ibanez, Francois Pienaar, Agustín Pichot, Scott Quinnell, Tana Umaga and Paul Wallace to opt for a bizarre pick is surprising, but what it makes clear is this.
The IRB Player of the Year award clearly does matter to fans and the media, otherwise there would not be such an uproar over Farrell's inclusion. By continuing in the future to make similar eccentric picks, the award will lose it's value.
by Ben Coles
@bencoles_
Comments
BillyMutt2 says...
Trinats dreaming big time again. Pocock "worlds best 7" my arse.
Posted 20:38 29th November 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
I think Hore hit Davies so hard IRB suffered memory loss re Farrell. They're referring to his dad in league.
Posted 20:37 29th November 2012
powerplay says...
The only reason why McCaw got the award instead of Brian in 09, was because the board were trying to make up for a mistake they did the years before when Richie should've got it then, it wouldve been twice for McCaw at that time. THATS when the award became a joke!!
But the real injustice is, HOW on earth could the Panel Forget to mention, Ned O'Reilly!, and Wilson McCloud??? Let alone the likes of Kurt Cummings, and Ethan-Sean Viller (ESV)??
And the EVEN forgot to nominate, Mike Connolly! Graeme Banaski! Hamish Forsight! and George Tilley!!???.
Posted 20:22 29th November 2012
Ripzy007 says...
I think Etzebeth was ruled out because of his suspension. I would say he would have definitely been one of the nominees, not only on his performance but considering that Farell made the final 4.
Posted 19:20 29th November 2012
kiwilad says...
Trinats, Quade has already recieved his just reward, being dropped..
Posted 19:17 29th November 2012
Trinats2 says...
Quade Cooper would have won it, had he not been injured !!!
"He is not the type to arrogantly swagger around following the news of his nomination - if anything he will be slightly embarrassed.
Farrell will be around for some time too and will continue to improve"
How does PR know all this ???? or too many wines ????
PR is as dodgy with it's selections as IRB.
No Hooper on your list ? He has to be in the top 3. I would Also have Sharpe in there, not saying he would win it, but worth a mention because of the year he has had. Is Etzebeth the saffa lock ? has he played all year ?
As much as we all loathe him, McCaw should win it this year hands down, but IRB may make up for their mistake last time he won it and go for Michalak, to make up for their mistake in RWC final !!!
Still one more test to go, and the worlds best 7 Pocock (although some might say Hooper) is returning from injury and could pip them all !!!
Posted 17:53 29th November 2012
payve says...
I was expecting the only Englishman near the list to be Dan Cole, he's been consistent and we'd have been screwed without him really.
Posted 17:08 29th November 2012
Bosch says...
best player of the year was Sonny Bill Williams... no doubt
Posted 17:00 29th November 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
good article Planet Rugby.
Posted 16:58 29th November 2012
cuw3100 says...
@ TERRY: mate u missed the best in the English League; Nick Evans :)
Posted 16:50 29th November 2012
APV1 says...
@ jonesy2 - I was joking, by the way... But he's been dropped to the bench, so how good is he?
Posted 16:29 29th November 2012
Terry_English says...
I thought it was April Fools Day - Keiran Read, Conrad Smith and Richie McCaw have been the standout players this year, along with Nathan Sharpe and Brian Habana.
I feel a little sorry for Owen Farrell who will be embarrassed. Off the top of my head: Carter, Crudan, Barrett, Sexon, Michalak, Goosen and Flood are clearly better fly halves, and I would rather have McAllister, Slade, Hook, Barnes, Brock James and Morne Steyne as my number 10.
Posted 15:56 29th November 2012
GreenDip says...
A bit like Barack Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize at the start of his first term as US President - in recognition of future performance. Eccentric indeed
Posted 15:47 29th November 2012
BokAvenger says...
Agree 100% with PR on this one. @Jonesey - except Etzebeth? You gotta be kidding me? The kid's been phenomenal. Agree he wouldn't be an outright winner in his debut season but he's certainly worthy of a mention.
Posted 15:42 29th November 2012
APV1 says...
@ jonesy2 - did you mean Hopper? If not, which Hooper?
And let's not pick on the lad for the nomination, eh.
Oh, hold on! Just wait a cotton-pickin' minute, there! I know what this is...
It's a conspiricy to rattle him before he goes head-to-head with Richie and Dan.
Ah-ha!
Those pesky Kiwis have paid off the panel, instigated by Tana Umaga. The rotten scoundrels. All we did was spike the NZ players' food with a little bit of icky-bug stuff.
Posted 15:40 29th November 2012
jonesy2 says...
well done. those are the exact players i highlighted. except etzabeth.
could have put in hooper and sharpe as well as barnes and conrad. there has been many many outstanding players who have played consistently well.
i actually think the farrell selection is mistake but we may never know they might just sweep it under the carpet and everyone forgets about the day they de valued the award to meaning basically nothing. i feel for either richie or dan when the one wins i wonder how he will feel about it. i think he would just be happy if they finish the year off with a win.
Posted 15:12 29th November 2012
heathy says...
That about sums it up. As an Englishman, I really did think it was a printing error. No disrespect to Farrell who is still young and if he keeps improving, will do well IN THE FUTURE. To be honest, he WILL be embarrassed. I can tell you now that his father does and always has kept Owen's feet firmly on the ground. He is a really lovely kid (and yes, I have met him). This is just silly and doesn't help giving him this added pressure on Saturday. A tallent, yes. In the world top 4? Come on, we all know he isn't including himself. A moment of madness from a really good panel. Tsch....
Posted 14:47 29th November 2012
jamesliveinhope says...
Pleasant article, whilst he may be embarrassed about his nomination, an editorial about what an error it is will make him feel a whole lot better. Surely that sort of stuff is best left for people like me on these boards.
My experience of this stuff is that the nomination criteria tends to be a little tighter than "best player". and if it is, I would worry that Leigh Halfpenny was on anyone's shortlist.
The problem is that everybody's got their own subjective opinion as to who's best, the winner is probably going to be a Kiwi so why get too bent out of shape about the nominees?
Posted 14:47 29th November 2012
RugbyLeRoux says...
What about Dagg
Posted 14:45 29th November 2012
Stellenbosched2 says...
Hi Ben,
You raise a good point about how Farrell must be feeling right now. He didn't ask for it (ok, so maybe his dad did?) and now the pressure is really on.
Only a Pom could have described this balls up as an 'eccentric pick'. I love it.
Posted 14:43 29th November 2012