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Yesterday I wrote on The Roar with acclaim about Daniel Carter’s career. His climax to the Rugby World Cup was a genuine fairytale finish for a great performer.
Does this mean he was the best player in the world in 2015?
Carter’s performance in the clutch moments of the World Cup will become the stuff of legend, but across the entire season he wasn’t the best player this year.
David Pocock should have won the top gong at the IRB awards. The awards should capture form on both the domestic and international stage across 12 months of a calendar year.
In that case Ma’a Nonu might have been a stronger candidate as New Zealand’s nominee. Nonu had a storming Super Rugby season with the Hurricanes and backed that up with a stellar World Cup.
Anyhow, returning to Pocock.
Pocock is the biggest reason why Australia have transformed from rabble to near riches in 12 months.
Australia won the Rugby Championship and beat the All Blacks for the first time in four years with Pocock in the team. The twin attack of Pocock and Michael Hopper presented for the first time in a long time an original and genuine challenge to the All Blacks’ superiority.
Australia was smashed in Auckland when Pocock was strangely regulated to the bench after Sydney. His work at the breakdown is peerless at the moment, while his speed to the ball and his strength and technique over it are immense.
Pocock won more turnovers (17) than any other player at the World Cup – Richie McCaw won seven. Pocock’s ability to spoil opposition ball is perhaps the important facet to the Wallabies’ success.
Pocock was named man of the match against Fiji. His two tries and defensive disruption foiled a fierce challenge. He could have easily received similar recognition against England and Argentina, and that’s an opinion shared by smarter rugby brains than mine.
It’s no coincidence Australia struggled considerably against Scotland in the quarter-finals when Pocock was absent
How did the All Blacks limit Pocock’s effect in the final?
They cleverly attacked the short side, with short passes, quick recycles, low risk, and battered the Wallabies forwards into retreat, thus making it difficult for Pocock to zero in on his target.
The Wallabies didn’t muscle up, simple!
This is hardly Pocock’s fault. He played a strong game. He edged a feverish McCaw in the tackle count and was the last Wallabies defender chasing Beauden Barrett when he scampered away for the winning try. That effort alone epitomises his intensity.
Earlier in Super Rugby, Pocock was an essential figure in the Brumbies’ push to the semi-finals. He played 14 games and was in the top 20 for tackles made and top 10 for turnovers poached.
Additionally he scored eight tries, the most by a forward (tied with Boom Prinsloo). He became the first forward in Super rugby history to score two-hat-ricks in the same season.
Now let’s compare this with the efforts of Carter.
Carter wasn’t bad in Super Rugby, but far from memorable, especially by his own lofty standards.
He played 13 games and scored 127 points. He kicked 45 goals from 57 attempts and played a blinder against the Hurricanes in Nelson when the Crusaders beat the top-ranked round robin side.
The Crusaders missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001 – a massive failure for the fabled franchise. It should be noted the flawed points system meant the Crusaders actually finished on a greater number of points than the top team in the South African conference, but Carter didn’t impose himself on Super Rugby like Pocock did.
What about the international season? Carter scored a valuable 20 points in Apia to help a makeshift All Blacks struggle past Samoa. Yet he was horrible in Sydney – The New Zealand Herald gave him a four out of ten. He got his revenge in Auckland however, playing sublimely.
At the World Cup he was patchy during most of pool play, before transforming into the star he is in the finals. He scored 19 points and won MVP in the decider.
Carter had a great year, but Pocock had the best year.
PS: The coach of the year award was won by Michael Cheika. Steve Hansen’s snub in New Zealand caused some anger, but what about Eddie Jones?
His achievements at this World Cup were remarkable. Japan hadn’t won a game for 24 years. In 2015 they won three matches, climbed to 10th in the World Rankings and narrowly missed out on a first-ever quarter-final place.
Their win over third-placed South Africa must surely rank as the biggest upset in rugby history. Television audiences soared at home growing to reach 25 million against Samoa. Who else could achieve such an improvement with great flair and similar cattle?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.