Rugby Union, or simply rugby, is a close-contact team sport that dates back to the first part of the nineteenth century in England. It is one of two rugby football codes that is focused on sprinting with the ball in hand. In its most basic form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular surface called a pitch with an oval-shaped ball. Both ends of the field have H-shaped goalposts.
Rugby union is a popular sport practiced by men and women of all ages all over the world. Here are the best rugby players of 2021.
Owen Farrell
Owen Farrell, born in 24 September 1991, is an English rugby union player who is presently the captain of Premiership team ‘Saracens’ and is the captain of the England National Team. Since 2012, Farrell has represented England in international rugby. The player is one of the greatest point scorers in test history, with 1053 points from 98 tests. Farrell celebrates every point he scores by joining his index fingers together to form a ‘JJ’ symbol, often known as the Joining Jack salute.
Beauden Barrett
Beauden John Barrett who was born May 27, 1991, is a rugby union player from New Zealand. He is a fly-half as well as a fullback for the Taranaki team in the Mitre 10 Cup, the Blues in Super Rugby, and New Zealand team, the All Blacks. He was a significant player of the side that won the Rugby World Cup in 2015. Watching this star on the rugby pitch is definitely a sight to behold, and definitely thrilling for all his fans. Many can re-create that thrill from Platin Casino by playing some sports-themed slots like Rugby Star.
Aaron Smith
Aaron Luke Smith, born November 21, 1988, is a rugby union player who represents New Zealand in international rugby as a member of the All Blacks. Smith debuted for the Mori All Blacks in 2010 and was named to the All Blacks for the first time in 2012. He was an integral part of the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning squad. He also plays Super Rugby with the Highlanders, where he is the club’s all-time caps leader, and the ITM Cup for Manawatu.
Antoine Dupont
Antoine Dupont is a professional rugby union player from France. He was born on November 15, 1996. He now represents Toulouse in the Top 14 as a scrumhalf. Dupont joined Castres in the Top 14 in 2014 when Auch was relegated in the 2013–14 Rugby Pro D2 season. Antoine Dupont was signed by Stade Toulousain for the 2017–18 season in November 2016.He was named to France’s U-20 team for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in 2016.
George North
George Philip North, born April 13, 1992, is a Welsh international rugby union player. Currently North forms part of the Ospreys rugby team, playing in the Pro14. He also played for the British & Irish Lions and presently holds the record for most tries scored by an active player in international rugby. In addition, he is Wales’ second-highest try-scorer, after Shane Williams. North usually plays on the wing, although he has also played at the outside centre position. North
Cheslin Kolbe
Cheslin Kolbe, born October 28, 1993, is a professional rugby union player from South Africa who presently plays for the South African national team and Toulon in the Top 14 in France. Kolbe was a part of South Africa’s bronze-medal winning Sevens squad at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was a member of South Africa’s World Cup-winning squad in 2019. He is onsidered as one of the world’s top players.
Pablo Matera
Pablo Nicolás Matera, born July 18, 1993, is an Argentinian rugby union flanker for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition. He formerly played in the Top 14 League for Stade Français, the Leicester Tigers in England, the Pampas XV in the South African Vodacom Cup, and the Jaguares in Super Rugby. Matera has started every game for Argentina since his debut in 2013, and he has appeared in nearly 50 tests for his country.
Conclusion
In this article, we have listed and briefly discussed the best rugby players of 2021. The list considers different aspects of a player including number of games played, tries scored and consistency in performance. This list takes into account the recent pandemic and therefore top long-standing performance is key. Other notable mentions that were not included in the article are Justin Tupiruc, Eben Etzebeth, and Faf de Klerk.
