2026 Investec Player of the Year award nominees: Winners and losers as ‘mind-blowing’ inclusion ‘raises questions’ while ‘wrecking ball’ tops the list

Jack Tunney 21 Jan 2026 2:11 PM

The 10 nominees for the 2026 Investec Player of the Year award have been announced, recognising the players who delivered outstanding performances during the pool stage of the Investec Champions Cup.

Selected by a distinguished panel of rugby legends and broadcast experts, here is the list of nominees:

2026 Investec Player of the Year nominees

Alfie Barbeary (Bath Rugby)
Louis Bielle-Biarrey (Union Bordeaux Bègles)
Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors)
Caelan Doris (Leinster Rugby)
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers)
George Hendy (Northampton Saints)
Matthieu Jalibert (Union Bordeaux Bègles)
Thomas Ramos (Stade Toulousain)
Finn Russell (Bath Rugby)
Tom Willis (Saracens)

Not everyone who performed well has been included, however, and various inclusions have raised eyebrows.

Here are our winners and losers from this year’s selection:

Winners

Finn Russell

Not to say the Scotland international has been playing poorly, but he’s been well below his usual high standards. Outshone by many of his Bath teammates, this feels more like a popularity inclusion rather than one based on the genuine impacts he’s made in the pool stage.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Once again, no one is doubting his quality, but to include a player who has played in just two games during the pool stages is bizarre. Admittedly, his performance against La Rochelle was simply mind-blowing, but after being rested against Bayonne and Harlequins, his inclusion raises questions.

Alfie Barbeary

The powerful number eight has truly stepped up for Bath this season after somewhat plateauing since his arrival on the professional scene. Spurred on by last season’s treble-winning success, Barbeary has evolved into the wrecking ball we were all promised, achieving consecutive player of the match awards against Castres and Edinburgh.

Tom Willis

The 27-year-old is off to play in the Top 14 next season, and boy, will Saracens miss him. Over the past couple of seasons, he has established himself as one of the most complete number eights in world rugby, able to showcase his talents on the domestic, European and international stage. It was his performance in Saracens’ shock victory over Toulouse that solidified Willis’ position in this list, outperforming his remarkable brother Jack with a match-leading number of carries, a huge tackle count, and game-altering work on the ground.

Louis Bielle-Biarrey

The young French flyer reinforced his position as arguably the greatest winger in the world during the Champions Cup pool stage. The stats speak for themselves – six tries from four games. Admittedly, Bordeaux-Begles are free-scoring and unbeaten in this year’s competition, but that takes nothing away from the immense work that the 22-year-old puts in, both in attack to support others and in defence.

Losers

Paul de Villiers

The Stormers flanker has got through as much action as any player in the competition and picked up two player of the match performances along the way. That’s correct, in two-thirds of the games he’s played, he’s been selected as the best player on the pitch, yet he’s been omitted from this list.

Billy Searle

His hat-trick performance against Bayonne was something to be marvelled at. He assisted the first two tries with two nigh-on identical long passes and went from provider to scorer, grabbing a second-half hat-trick. He is playing with clarity, confidence, a real swagger and an infectious smile. The 29-year-old has appeared in all four matches so far and has been in fine form throughout, despite his Leicester side struggling in the competition.

Henry Pollock

The cheeky Northampton Saints star gets through a mountain of work and has a special ability that very few others have. His incredible individual try against rivals Bordeaux-Begles in the third round summed up what the young man can do. He’s played in all four matches and has made a giant impact in each one.

Julien Marchand

The in-form hooker this season scored three tries in the pool stages, one more than both Gregor Hiddleston and Dan Sheehan. His performance for Toulouse against the Sharks in the opening round set the tone for the rest of the squad, as he dominated the close quarters and the set-piece, getting on the scoresheet twice.

Jefferson Poirot

The Bordeaux-Begles prop was one of the stars of the match against the Scarlets, getting on the scoresheet and dominating in the collisions. It’s been his work in the scrum that helped his side to create such a solid base from which to work off, to give the backs the freedom to run.

Roll of Honour

2025: Damian Penaud (Union Bordeaux Bègles)
2024: Antoine Dupont (Stade Toulousain)
2023: Gregory Alldritt (Stade Rochelais)
2022: Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby)
2021: Antoine Dupont (Stade Toulousain)
2020: Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)
2019: Alex Goode (Saracens)
2018: Leone Nakarawa (Racing 92)
2017: Owen Farrell (Saracens)
2016: Maro Itoje (Saracens)
2015: Nick Abendanon (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
2014: Steffon Armitage (RC Toulon)
2013: Jonny Wilkinson (RC Toulon)
2012: Rob Kearney (Leinster Rugby)
2011: Sean O’Brien (Leinster Rugby)
2010: Ronan O’Gara (Munster Rugby – best player of first 15 years of European club rugby)

The nominees were selected by a renowned judging panel following the conclusion of the pool stages of both the Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup, including Simon Zebo (Premier Sports, former Munster Rugby and Racing 92 player), Dimitri Yachvili (France Télévisions, EPCR Challenge Cup winner), Elma Smit (sports presenter and producer), Ryan Wilson (Premier Sports, former Glasgow Warriors player) and Topsy Ojo (Premier Sports, former London Irish player).

Public voting for one of the most prestigious individual honours in world rugby is now open at epcrugby.com/ipoty and will remain open until the end of the quarter-finals on Sunday, 12 April. A shortlist of five players will then be determined through a combination of public votes and the judges’ selections, before fans are invited to vote again to decide the 2026 Investec Player of the Year alongside the judges.

The winner, who will receive the Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy, will be announced following the Investec Champions Cup Final at Bilbao’s San Mamés Stadium on Saturday, 23 May.

Bath