World Rugby Dream Teams perplex fans

There were plenty of talking points at the World Rugby awards in Monaco on Sunday – with Josh van der Flier and Ruaheu Demant being named players of the year a big talking point. Hey, it’s a game of opinions.

But if that got tongues wagging, then some of the selections for the Dream Teams dropped a few jaws.

Take a look at the sides below.

In fairness, it was largely the makeup of the men’s XV that had fans up in arms – the two glaring omissions being Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth and stand-out New Zealand back-rower Ardie Savea. How could they possibly miss out on inclusion?

A few accounts wondered if World Rugby were aware of the existence of Savea.

What has also been suggested before the awards, is that Ireland’s series win in New Zealand has been held by the governing body and their judging panels as the crowning moment of the season – even though France men have won ten out of ten in 2022.

What did you make of the side? Would you like more transparency about who was voting for whom, amongst the judges? Either way, it gave us all something to talk about.

There was less vocal tearing down of the women’s Dream Team – although comments have been raised about a few selections, and you could wonder if some players have been moved around just to get them in the team. It’s not quite the same as our Women’s Rugby World Cup Team of the Tournament – where is Gabrielle Vernier?! – but there’s definitely some crossover!

What did you make of the teams? Hit us up at rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com or via social media.

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