Age 29 (1.4.90) Position Wing
He might have had a stressful season
with Leicester but the phenomenally
quick May had the time of his life with
England and individual awards came his
way. He scored in five consecutive Tests
last year and bagged six more tries in the
Six Nations, including a hat-trick against
France. England attack coach Scott
Wisemantel has likened him to a Ferrari.Age 24 (13.7.94) Position Hooker
A powerful scrummager and carrier,
Marx is a fine athlete and acts as an
auxiliary loose forward for the Lions
and Boks. He wins penalties by
slowing down ball at the breakdown,
which is why the odd errant lineout
throw is forgiven. If he improves his
throws, he’ll be the complete player.Age 22 (18.3.97) Position Wing
Still only 22, Ioane has racked up 22
tries in 24 Tests for the All Blacks. He’s a
wing who manages to reach top speed
in the relative blink of an eye. A great
sidestep and an improving fend make
him one of the pre-eminent finishers of
the era. A New Zealand Herald report
last year stated that he is probably the
fastest All Black in history too.Age 29 (8.2.90) Position Centre
Scarratt returned to 15s from sevens
on a pro deal at the start of the year
and helped England win a Grand
Slam. A classy operator who makes
powerful breaks and boots the ball
long distances, it’s her vision that
puts her among the best in the game.
Emily Scarratt column: P 19Age 25 (25.5.94) Position Fly-half
So good in guiding the Crusaders
to successive titles that debate has
raged over whether Mo’unga should
start ahead of two-time World Player
of the Year Beauden Barrett. He has
exceptional feet, thrives challenging
the line and his cross-field kicks
regularly break open defences.Age 24 (28.10.94) Position Lock
Perhaps we’re harsh to demote Itoje
since our last top 100, but his propensity
for conceding unnecessary penalties is
holding him back. It’s the only criticism
you could lay on him for in every other
way he is an utter marvel – a muscular
menace to haunt all rivals. His USP? “He
competes for every single moment. He
fights for that extra 1%,” says Pat Lam.29 JONNY MAY
26 MALCOLM MARX 25 RIEKO IOANE 24 EMILY SCARRATT
28 RICHIE MO’UNGA 27 MARO ITOJE
4524 24 789 27100
BEST PLAYERS
Age 27 (15.10.91) Position Back-row
“Rampage.” A word repeatedly used to
describe Watson’s cameo in the final
quarter of the Six Nations match against
Wales. In a 15-minute reintroduction to
Test rugby after a spell out with injury,
the Edinburgh pinball handed off half
the Welsh team. With his five carries,
Wales missed ten tackles on him.
For all the memes, gifs and
commentary this produced, it was not
a one-off. Later in March, a clip of him
did the rounds. In it he is seen against
Leinster, peeling off the back of a drive,
escaping one tackle and handing off
Rhys Ruddock two or three times as heplunged into opposition territory.
When he went down he had attracted
three defenders. He also started six
of Edinburgh’s seven Champions Cup
games as they reached the last eight.
This all stands out because in the past
Watson has faced questions about his
size. In 2017, the 6ft 1in, 16st openside
said: “You just work on your strengths,
and it’s harder for bigger guys to get
down and compete with my jackling.” In
2018 he told SCRUM magazine: “Lining
up in the tunnel, I’m probably one of the
smaller players bar the nines.”
In 2019 we are only talking about the
scale of Watson’s impact.23 HAMISH WATSON
25