Should have introduced Dupont as ‘the Squarespace of scrum halves’

This is the 6th edition of the Squidge team of the year, and it's the 4th time Antoine Dupont has be part of the team

If I worked for World Rugby and had a brain I would fund Squidge on a permanent basis to keep doing what y'all do. Your love of global rugby at all levels is so wonderful and infectious.

Would love to see a video based on the referees. They definitely should be given more credit and respect from the fans.

It's so refreshing to have a rugby commentator who actually knows what they're talking about. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

"South Africa's team approach....." Real team of the year.

Agree whole heartedly about the reffing, Wayne was superb

Would love to see a video based on the DoR or Head Coach of the year. Behind the scenes work is just as important as on field performance and it would be fun to see a showcase of both the game's best and most unsung coaches

Thanks squidge you've been a joy to watch abd really helped me improve my own game.

Great job, look forward to your videos full of passion and enjoyment and always leave me smiling and upbeat. I appreciate you. Thank you.

It was Russell for me. I watch bath/Scotland games just for his magic

Personal highlight of the year for me was when some rugby was played by some people.

Never apologise Squidge: We are lucky (& grateful) to be living in the Squidge Rugby era 👍

Really like this series. Thanks Squidge

Love your work! Almost dropped some tears when you talked about Dupont.

Where handre he came late and was arguably the best possible timing he won the world cup with only playing two games in it and those two were the most important

barnes gets my vote every year for red carding dylan hartley

Great choices and mentions!

Love the referee tribute. Rugby refereeing is excellent. It's transparent and clearly reasoned. Some people might not feel it's always 'correct', but no-one can deny that it's transparent and reasoned. Compare with other sports. It's night and day.

Brilliant videos, thank you. Have you designed a kit for the Squidge XV, by the way?!

Richie was amazing! I don't mind Ireland's captain missing out on this accolade. I didn't know dupont was gonna play some sevens so i'll be tuning into to that! Thanks for the Great Videos! loving TOTY

JGP doesn't get enough plaudits in general - he's a huge contributer to Ireland's current style with his speed and was a big part of their rise to number 1 Also Luke Pearce has quietly become the best ref in the world imo

Sid Going was phenomenal in the day of compulsory sideburns - watched him at Newlands !

Crazy how not a single Springbok is in this team yet-I expect at least one in this team ngl

Hey!! that was a cheeky dig at the scarlets at the end. just because we're actually incapable of winning a game even when the opponents are trying to had it to us

It's a gift to have Dupont as the flagship of today's rugby like the very popular Kolisi who is probably one of the best captains i have ever seen ( and also a fantastic player). The game lacks stars and big names to grow when football has Messi or Ronaldo and many more.

Hit the notification harder than Quarter Finals hit Ireland

It looks like Dupont may be playing Fly Half in sevens (based on training footage)

Merci ❤

Agree Wayne Barnes is a good ref - but his penalty against Ardie Savea for a completely legitimate jackal turnover was an expensive outcome for NZ - Pollard slotted 3 points - NZ went on to loose by 1. Whilst Barnes may not have apologised for his on-field mistake (he said sorry he didn't see the release rather than sorry I made an error) - the facts of the legitimate jackal were in the replay for all to see (and which Barnes did look at) - but the video ref chose not to intervene despite piping up in many other situations and over-ruling Barnes's calls. Similarly Barne's call to play on from Savea's knock on in the attacking line out from which Aaron Smith was ultimately over-ruled by the video ref's intervention, thus negating Smith's try, which again was a clear error and one in which World Rugby has admitted fault. A 'perfect' ref, as described here, would have understood the primacy of his own call and allowed the try, understanding that multiple phases have now elapsed, over-ruling later intervention from the video ref. In simple Barnes got it wrong on penalising Savea, the video ref did nothing, and Barnes got it wrong on missing the fairly obvious Savea knock on and then doubled down on it by allowing the video ref to over-rule him and rule out Smith's try, instead of shrugging his shoulders and saying it was too late......the video ref was very determined to be an equal to Barnes in the game, rather than a subsidiary assistant.... Still, Barnes did a better job than in the 2007 France V NZ game....

lovely vid squidge

I am very suprised to see no mention of Pollard, for me he clutched the world cup for S.A.

Best ref of the world, nice

Is the 2023 world cup final video on patreon?

"Couch Nigel couch owens". In saying that Wayne is a close second.

Gonna miss the Sexton humor! Also not sure Barnes is the best ever ref. Think that goes to Nigel Owens.

For 10, I think Ntamack is underrated. Obviously les bleus have missed Dupont, but I think they have also missed Ntamack enormously. He is incredibly solid, great kicker and can pull rabbits out of the hat.

The amount of South African honourable mentions is crazy 😂 hopefully some will make the squad

How is Russell still underrated in 2023

So at this point it might become interesting to discuss who the nr 2 scrum half is. Apparently the entire world agrees Du pont is untouchable. Some really good other players that deserve to be mentioned at least 🤷🏼‍♂️

The refs are getting such abuse for missing the smallest tbings, when years ago you could do whatever you wanted in a Ruck

Frank Lomani easily gets an honorable mention

mo'unga will be missed big time

There are many videos from French rugby enthousiast/analysts that discuss wether Antoine Dupont playing at 7 would be good for: him; Toulouse, the 15 team, the 7 (if he is selected in), the 7 rugby that is not professional in France yet (in the sense that players are not paid to play only at 7 rugby, but the federation pays the internationals and their clubs a modicum for their abscence in national 15 competitions).

@1:12 Nailed it kid.

Disagree on Wayne Barnes being the best ever Rugby Ref. That honour goes to Nigel Owen's inarguably in my mind.

dude, I know posting really often helps the algorithm and what not, but at this point most likely you know what kind of an impact your videos make, how intensely awaited, enjoyed and loved your videos are, so don't worry about how often you post. Take your time to make videos you can be proud of rather than posting them as quickly as you can, conceding video quality. We are here m8, we can wait. We are not going anywhere. Take your time and enjoy the video making process that's taken you so far

Rassie must be amazing doing what he did with a squad of no hopers that can't make anyone's team of the year.

MLR MENTIONED 😤🫡🥳🦅🦅🦅

Dupont is the Goat!!

I think Sextons amazing season should have been talked about more, I think at 38 he was was easily up there with Mounga, ofc the latter one in the end but still...

Excellent you're also bang on about Barnes

Even if he was Spanish, Portela only has one L so it'd still not end in "-yah". It's "Poor-TEH-lah" for future reference.

See your last statement was very interesting. In both the world cup top 10 lists and in other top five lists, South Africa is always very under represented, while yet being the best (or at least in the top five teams) in the world. As their emphasis is placed on TEAM Sport. So it is great that people are amazing at their position, but means very little if their success is not at team level. And while I am typing. Can a team really be considered an amazing team ("Cough" NZ) If the only way to stop a try is by breaking the law and forcing a penalty or racking up 2-3 cards/game. Can they still be as good playing within the laws?

while most of the year i'd choose mo'unga as my starting 10, if i were building a team to win a WC, give me Pollard

I love this channel but if can you make the text pop ups last at least a second instead of 1/20th of a second? even if I go back and try to pause I miss them half the time.

No love for the world champions..

I thought you were going to put Handré god dam pollard

if we put together all our "Team of the year" they would still lose against the team of the decade (Green and Gold)

Handre Pollard?

Russell.....

Great vid. But anyone else getting those Ewan McGregor travel ads? So cringy.

Still for England, MArcus should play at 9 with Farell at 10. But don't tell their coach, we (FRA) want to crunch them again.

Squidge is yet again continuing his woke agenda by including men in his team of the year. In all seriousness I probably would have picked Aitchison for 10 considering she's barely played there before and had to come in as a last resort and then played brilliantly

Richie was good but choked in the final when it mattered most. That took him off my list, but guess that's why opinions differ.

Let us agree to disagree

Haven't watched yet but i have to.......This video is sponsored by 'squared space, Thé Antoin Dupont of website builders' so i guess that will be his 9 of the year😉 just joking Du Point is thé best no joke and I'm a Springbok fan

With every list that comes and goes, and with every South African not getting the nod, it can no longer be argued that the 2018-2023 Boks are not the greatest team ever, because we never get the nods and yet still win.

My bet woulda been on Jonny Sexfirework

Barnes going imo is fine personally he was really bad esp in the world cup in the ireland nz and the nz sa game

Wayne Barnes? Pull the other one mate: its got bells on it. One can certainly see that you come from the northern hemisphere.

It’s a real shame that Wayne Barnes was overshadowed by the TMO in that RWC, Aussie BTW and I really think the ABs should’ve won that, regardless of their misses at the post

Viva Barnsey.. will be missed, with all the wankers online these days abusing refs, who would want to step up and fill his boots anymore..

I baffles me that Moanga is regarded as the best for 2023. He featured in the weakest All Blacks Teams in the history of the game, and as much as rugby is a teamsport, the half backs are the generals of the game. Sexton, who guided the Irish to the nr one ranking for most of the year, is surely a better choice.

First

Bogus

Honorable mentions aside, the lack of Boks are seriously questionable. I will however respect your opinion on this one Squidge as you have proved you are probably one of the worlds best rugby thinkers in general over the last few years.

Squidgey…😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂…still a hater!

It's crazy how NZ fans say he favored South Africa when he was also the ref for them against Ireland.

While everyone is agape at the razzle dazzle, the best flyhalf has won two world cups (and would probably have won 2015 as well, but for two points), scored two tries on debut against the All Blacks and also won an under 20 world cup. He might still be there in 2027, still outshining the ones you have lauded. Not even a mention? Poor analysis.

As wonderful as du Pont is I would take Faf any day...the guy just keeps producing huge winning moments. Crucial turnovers, crucial tackles or breaks. All that rolled up into a teribbly irritating ball of mongrel.

I love your work Squidge, but Mo'unga, really? I find it ironic that you highlight his goalkicking, since his primary contribution to the All Blacks performance in the final (outside of the disallowed try) was to put what would've been the match-winning conversion wide of the posts, just as he did in the 30+ point smashing his team copped from SA in the warmups, as well as the opening round loss to France. Ritchie's a player whose showy, bag-of-tricks style makes him a hero when he pulls it off, but in the real heat of test rugby he too often fumbled the basics with poor tactical kicking, missed kicks at goal, bad defensive reads or attempts to conjure miracles that ended with him isolated, turned over, and his team conceding points in past games against France, England, Ireland and SA. His Super Rugby reputation is based on the weakest standard of opposition in that competition's history, and this year he was twice badly outplayed by international bench utility Damian MacKenzie. While 2023 may have been a better year for him at international level, and Joe Schmidt's guidance obviously helped, he still blew it when it could've made the difference, and has now - while still in his prime - slid off to play in Japan, making big money for soft footy. These are not the hallmarks of a world's best player, in any position. As for Wayne Barnes, erm, no. Consistently the most whistle-happy ref in the game, he's been one of the chief contributors to the impression that rugby is becoming a boring, overly complex and stultifyingly dull sport with his constant self-imposition on matches. He allowed the TMO to take over the WC final, and was starkly inconsistent in his rulings, not to mention technically incorrect on several calls. At least we agree on Dupont. 😂

Nope. Pollard ✅

Barnes was the second worst Ref in rugby...

Wayne Barnes is a good ref, very clear and fair. Except when it comes to Ireland. He targeted Andrew Porter in the QF v the All Blacks and just gave scrum penalties against Ireland. I’m afraid his bias against Ireland is a little too strong.

If Dupont were so great, surely France would have won something meaningful. Especially given the talent around him. Either he's overrated or he's not a great teammate and/or captain.

Wayne Barnes is an admitted cheat and a complete joke too the sport

Jesus bru, calm down. You talk so fast i get stressed out just listening

Squidgey, are you no longer Welsh(you sound English)? Wayne Barnes best ever...? Really? Hes good, maybe the current best but Nigel Owens was better & IMO best of professional era. Nigel ruled to the spirit of the laws. Wayne, being English, always ruled to the letter but occasionally Nigel contradicted the letter but never the spirit of the laws. Honourable mention Wayne Ericsson -Aus. Legends: Paddy O'Brian & Colin Hawke who invented yelling instructions to the players pre professionalism.

Ford?? 😂😂😂😂 oh Squidge, maybe stop watching so much women’s rugby eh.

Dupont, can do anything, but win a World Cup. Faf has two World Cup medals now by the way 😏

After sharing a different opinion to what you (and it seems a lot of your current subs) share I got taken to task in the comments. Fair game. But I prefer my sport to be without politics and left ight wing talking points. As such, this is au revoir Squidge. Thanks for all the entertainment (especially around 2019 which was the high point for me of this channel). Best of luck and I hope you get that pesky copy mark strikes sorted out. I have removed my subscription now. It really is fine to have different teams for men and woman, it isn't a crime against humanity and it has given woman the opportunity to get the exposure and show their skills. It is just an opinion, not something that requires a death sentence.

Wayne Barnes ? the best referee ? He is terrible, he is obviously not objective. I'm not sure why, but maybe his mother was $hagged by an Paddy in the 1970s and because of this he bears a grudge. Its obvious that he bears a massive grudge against Ireland. We would heave a collective groan in Ireland when we heard that Barnes was the Ref. He is not fair and impartial when it comes to Ireland. Once again, I don't know why, maybe he begrudges the fact that in 2024 we have an economy and the UK doesn't. But for whatever the reason he should never have been allowed to ref a game involving Ireland, its obvious that he is biased and has impaired judgement. Good riddance and I hope he enjoys his long overdue retirement from trying to ref Rugby games.

I think these videos are pointless to be honest. I like you and I really love your videos mate . But I just have to say that I completely disagree with you. The best fly half, the best scrum half or the best 15 of the world is pure bullshit. It should be all South Africa….. there you go… you win it all, goodnight. Don’t you want your team of the year to win the ultimate prize, like if they didn’t…. You would be a bit gutted…. My team just wasn’t good enough to win this time, cause you didn’t, you didn’t win the rugby World Cup. The springboks won the rugby World Cup. Because they had the best team in any position and they have the proof. I’ll put my money on SA vs world 15 any day mate

The relentless wokeness, the northern hemisphere bias, and the lack of understanding of and respect for the southern hemisphere teams (ie, the people who, unlike you, your country men, and your bloody awful referee actually know how to play the game) has got to the point where I have to say bye bye. Unsubscribed. I found you very entertaining last world cup, but this one - no thanks.

Please don't mix MEN' and WOMEN'S rugby.

Barnes was shit 👎🏽