Which player has impressed the most in the first five days at the Rugby World Cup.
Which player has impressed the most in the first five days at the Rugby World Cup.
Welcome to the second edition of the PPRs. The first was, by necessity, compiled largely on reputation. We can get a little more scientific now that we have actually had some matches.
The PPRs will be assessed by a mixture of stats, game-changing interventions and, yes, reputation andinfluence. For example, Richie McCaw is not going to slip from 1 to 26 just because he gave away a bone-headed yellow card against Argentina. But he will slip some.
Of the trends these rankings have noticed, the one that sticks out the most is the relatively poor decision-making coming from numbers nine and 10. They're meant to be the key positions, yet relatively few feature here. Instead it has been No 8s and fullbacks that have done the most to control the tempo of matches.
Don't stress too much if your favourite player has missed in week one. Chances are the cream will start rising to the top, if not next week, then certainly by week three.
A very English fullback in some ways - brave and disciplined - yet mould-breaking in others. His stat line was off the charts against Fiji, crossing the line twice and making 191m on the ground, which included six clean breaks. Six! He occupies this lofty ranking because at this early stage he appears more crucial to England's campaign than any single player is to another contender.
Could England win without Mike Brown? Photo / AP
2. Kieran Read - NZ - No 8
Read is still not at his most damaging best, but projecting forward he is shaping as the All Blacks' most influential player. An eclectic stat line doesn't tell the whole story but he was NZ's highest ball carrier, made two breaks, threw six offloads, won eight lineouts and won three turnovers. Balancing that was two missed tackles (something that has crept into his game lately), and conceded four TOs.
Kieran Read put in another solid performance in the black jersey. Photo / Brett Phibbs
3. David Pocock - Australia - No 8
Midway through the Rugby Championship, there was probably the thought that Pocock's role at the World Cup would be largely a peripheral one, having been usurped by Michael Hooper at openside. Now that Michael Cheika has discovered they can play together, look out. Pocock was brilliant against Fiji and will be a menace to the ambition of anyone who plays Australia.
Wallabies no.8 David Pocock was devastating against Fiji. Photo / Getty
4. Mamuka Gorgodze - Georgia - No 8
Truth be told, in PPRs week one there will be a rogue element that will soon be quashed and the old order restored. However, there is no way that you can deny the Georgian backrower his place in this pecking order. After the opening weekend he had the most tackles (24), sixth-most lineout wins (5), fifth-most defenders beaten (5) and second-most offloads (8). Oh, and he scored a try, yelled at his players and was generally awesome.
Georgia captain Mamuka Gorgodze is tackled by the Tonga defence. Photo / Getty
5. Sonny Bill Williams - NZ - Midfield
Has anybody's stock risen so sharply after half an hour? It is unlikely that any player in the long history of rugby has packed quite much into 35 minutes as SBW did against Argentina. To summarise, 13 carries, 11 offloads, a try assist, two breaks and one bone-shuddering tackle. He turned the game and at this early stage has marked himself down as potentially the tournament biggest difference-maker.
Sonny Bill Williams turned the game. Photo / Brett Phibbs
6. Iain Henderson - Ireland - Lock
Paul O'Who? Ireland appeared to have unleashed a beast in the second-row that more than makes up for any downturn his illustrious captain might be suffering in the winter of his career. He has 20 test caps already, but in many ways this could be a coming out party for Henderson in terms of a Southern Hemisphere audience. His 19 tackles and four offloads pointed to an impressive day in Cardiff.
Iain Henderson of Ireland scores his teams second try agains Canada. Photo / AP
7. Leonardo Senatore - Argentina - No 8
Argentina are shaping as a darker horse than Black Caviar dressed in an All Black jersey. All going to plan they will win the rest of their Pool C matches and meet either Ireland or France in the quarters. If Senatore stays in beast-mode and drags some of his ageing warriors with him, chuck some lazy cash on Argentina to make the semis. There's a lot of ifs and coulds in there, but this is not debatable: Senatore is key to their hopes.
8. Louis Picamoles France No 8
A strong opening weekend for No8s; a strong opening weekend for France. OK, Les Bleus win against Italy was a pretty ordinary spectacle but this was projected as a potential banana-skin game for the French who, as was shown in 2011, can be pretty fickle in pool play. With Picamoles playing the leading hand, France absolutely trampled on the disappointing Italians.
9. Israel Folau Australia Fullback
A fresh Australia get handed the luckiest of 'lucky' draws, meeting Fiji on short-rest after the islanders had played England in the opener. They didn't play that well and Folau showed only glimpses of what he can do. Be certain of this, however, he has a lot more up his sleeve for better opposition.
Israel Folau of Australia makes a break against Fiji. Photo / Getty Images
10. Dan Carter - NZ - First-five
Everything about this screams "too high", but then you look dispassionately at what he did and try to find a first-five that was better during the opening weekend. Here's a clue, you won't find one. He kicked 100 per cent, threw four offlaods, carried a bit, tackled quite a bit and gave SBW room to move when he came on.
11. Johnny Sexton - Ireland - First-five
Only behind Carter on the fact that he played less minutes against much weaker opposition. Looks sharp.
Jonathan Sexton of Ireland scores his team's third try against Canada. Photo / Getty
12. Greig Laidlaw - Scotland - Halfback
The goalkicking halfback reckons the Scots "proved Japan wrong" by running away from them in the second half. Unfortunately all they proved was the draw handed to the Brave Blossoms was sadistic and, frankly, inexcusable. Still, Laidlaw played well and was one of the few halfbacks over the first week to really control the match (and the match official).
13. Michael Hooper - Australia - Flanker
He's a show off - look at my long hair, look at it fly around as I pointlessly smash into rucks - but he can play. And to be fair to him, he picks his moments a lot better than he used to when he thought the sign of a good player was to try to do something spectacular at every breakdown.
Everything points to this being a big World Cup for fullbacks and Smith is one of, if not, the best. So why is there a nagging feeling that he is holding something back? His stat line against a dogged Argentina side was good, but not explosive. He'll always do the basics well, but he can be more than that. Someone get in his ear.
Ben Smith was good, but not explosive. Photo / Brett Phibbs
15. Rabah Slimani - France - Prop
There're only two things prop forwards hate more than lists: referees and low-protein diets. So no one tell France powerhouse he's on here, please. He destroyed the vaunted Italy front row, which he'd care a lot about, and scored a try by following up a grubber kick, which he probably couldn't give two hoots about.
16. Aaron Smith - NZ - Halfback
For a long time on Monday, Smith was content to buzz from breakdown to breakdown, spitting out quick, accurate passes. It was all nice and pretty but not particularly challenging. Then, when the All Blacks needed it most, he changed gear, started sniping, scored a try and put NZ in a happy place.
Aaron Smith dives over to score for the All Blacks. Photo / Brett Phibbs
17. J-M Hernandez - Argentina - Midfield
A lot of intangibles going on here because at first glance his stat line is, well, ordinary. He missed a heap of tackles and didn't carry particularly strongly, but not all involvement can be measured in numbers. When Hernandez kicked it was with purpose and precision and his passing kept the All Blacks defensive line off balance.
18. Ayumu Goromaru - Japan - Fullback
Fullback is such an important position at world cups, where kicking in general play is often king. Goromaru scored an important try, made an average of 12.7m on his six carries (the highest average of any fullback), and that included two clean breaks.
Japan's Ayumu Goromaru kicks a penalty against Scotland. Photo / AP
19. Thierry Dusautoir - France - Flanker
Four turnovers and 11 tackles against Italy and a whole heap of mana that can't be counted on a stats sheet. The World Cup is when Dusautoir comes out to play.
In some respects it is surprising he is being rested from the starting XV against Namibia because by his stratospheric standards, he pretty much took the game off against Argentina. His eight carries won a negligible 11m, he didn't get a turnover and he conceded three penalties and a yellow card. But he did make 12 tackles and catch three restarts... and he is Richie Bloody McCaw.
Richie McCaw was sent to the bin but he did make 12 tackles and catch three restarts.
21. Nemani Nadolo - Fiji - Wing
Something of a one-man band against England, beating seven defenders (the most by a wing) and winning two turnovers. Probably wasn't involved enough, however, with just seven carries and holds his place this high because of reputation and the attention he draws. He needs game-planning help from his coaches.
Nemani Nadolo leaps high to score against England. Photo / Brett Phibbs
22. Chris Robshaw - England - Flanker
A tackling machine (16 made, 2 missed), Robshaw just shades the Samoan back three - Jack Lam, Ofisa Treviranus and in particular Maurie Fa'asavalu - to make this list. His carrying against Fiji was lame, but he remains influential and is the focal point for England's impressive defence.
23. Willie le Roux - South Africa - Fullback/wing
A case of addition by subtraction. The ageing Springboks need a spark and they're not going to get it from the predictable Zane Kirchner, whose 81m on nine carries was not enough against a Japanese team that relentlessly kicked to him.
24. Hallam Amos - Wales - Midfield
So hard to make any judgments against Uruguay, so Rankings suspects will concede 100+ points to England and Australia - even harder when Wales became obsessed by the power game. Still, while injured centre Cory Allen got the hat-trick headlines, his midfield more quietly stacked up an awesome ground game, making 108m on 12 carries, finding three clean breaks, six offloads, a try assist and a try.
25. Tim Nanai-Williams - Samoa - Fullback
A nice try, three clean breaks, loads of defenders beaten and more than 8m per carry point to a game full of trickery. Still spends too long in each game out of the picture. If he can lift his involvement and maintain his deception, he'll make that jump from potentially brilliant to brilliant.
