At almost the halfway mark of this year’s Super Rugby competition it is only fitting to recognise the players that have been truly outstanding.Let’s start with the obvious, Sonny-Bill “SBW” Williams. Who in their right mind can ignore the impact this beast has had on not only Super Ruby, but rugby union as a whole? He has burst onto the scene giving consistently epic performances week in and week out. He has been one of the many factors contributing to the Crusaders’ potent backline and has broken the line more times in his first few games than Bryan Habana has caught the ball this season. SBW has trademarked the pass out the tackle and just oozes coolness that everyone wants to be a part of. Who wouldn’t want to be SBW??
Another player who has to be mentioned for his consistently good form is Adam Thomson. He has been the workhorse behind the Highlanders’ impressive performance this year and the team can thank him for not having their usual place on the log, just ahead of the Lions and Cheetahs. Thomson seems to turn over the ball more often than not and is believed to be the cousin of the greased up deaf guy from Family Guy as a result of how easily he seems to squirm out of tackles and brush off defenders.
A little dark horse player for me has been Sarel Pretorius. Despite being in the worst team of the competition, he seems to perform well every week and has brought his less than inspiring team close to victories in many instances. Although the Cheetahs find themselves at the bottom of the log (for a change) Sarel has impressed me immensely and I believe he would be even more effective in a team that could actually win a game.
An unsung hero and possibly the best lock in Australian rugby at the moment is Sam Wykes. He is a hard worker and strong ball carrier; often seen breaking the line. He also possesses the skills of a backline player and as a result has set up many tries when not scoring them himself. Although he looks like the long lost son of Tarzan, I think this man has a bright future ahead of him but as long as “cue ball” Nathan Sharpe is in the mix, he is going to struggle to persuade the selectors. With that being said I think he would be a good selection for the upcoming World Cup squad.
Ok, I know this is a bit of an obvious choice and an extremely biased one because of my manly love for this player but I struggle to see how people don’t think Drew Mitchell is the best all round rugby player at the moment. He is hard working, a strong ball carrier and has gas to burn! He, for me, is the only wing in the world who constantly finds himself in the centre and at first receiver on a number of moves resulting in his high score tally. Drew can score a try from anywhere and out of nothing and despite people saying that he just looks like a prick, I would do a lot to meet Drew…. A LOT!
A player who has had limited opportunity but seems to capitalise every time is the New Zealand- born Mike Harris. He is unfortunate because of the situation at the Reds where they have a lot of players who have cemented themselves in permanent positions, resulting in Harris being shuffled around the backline like Frans Steyn. However, he seems to be convincing in every position. I would love to see Harris settle into a position and get a lot of game time. I think he is a creative player and can bring a lot to the type of rugby the Reds play.
My last player to mention has to be to Willem Alberts. I know I have an extremely bias view of him because I support the Sharks, but you cannot deny that he is having one hell of a season. With his bullocking runs that seem to take out at least 5 players at a time and his guns that are as big as many people thighs, he has created a lot of opportunities for the Sharks on which to capitalise especially on attack. Although he has managed to drop the ball over the line a few times because of the absence of someone to run over, he still has a good try tally for the season and he isn’t done just yet…
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