Completely forgot to add the World Rugby team on screen! Blame fatigue at the end of the World Cup 😂 that’s my excuse anyway… 1. Baille 2. Sheehan 3. Furlong 4. Etzebeth 5. Barrett 6. Doris 7. Ollivon 8. Savea 9. Dupont 10. Mo’unga 11. Jordan 12. Aki 13. Ringrose 14. Penaud 15. Ramos

As a Saffa, I'm ok with Savea winning. He's a fantastic player and ambassador of the game.

Funny fact. If this World 15 played the Springboks they'd lose by one point! Ha Ha! 😆

If Eben was going to lose to anyone, it was going to be Savea. He deserves it. Whoever has a problem with Savea winning, hasn't been watching enough Rugby. It was either Savea or Etzebeth.

As a Bok fan, I'm happy with Savea. Eben was immense this year, but so was Savea, so no complaints.

As a Bok fan and as a Saffa, being not recognised by the old institute does nothing to us. What it does is make our resolve even harder. Big ups to Savea, what a player! IRB can go.... See you in four years, we never forget!!!

As a NZer, apart from Savea and S Barrett, the rest of the forward pack dream team should have been dominated by South Africans. Even Kriel is unlucky not to get 13.

We felt the rest of the world against South africa from day one of the WC, during the tournament we had everything stacked against us and we overcame them, something that the higher powers might be did not keep in mind, having said that, they can keep the acalades for themselves, we keep the trophy and world champions another 4 years, all that matters

As Saffas we've been watching Ardie do this year after year after year. Massive respect for the guy and how he didn't win it before is beyond me. As for the team of the year, Malherbe and Lomax were much much better than Furlong. And PSdT had an awesome year. And how i'd love to see a team with both Ardie and Siya. A north vs south game would be immense.

Savea has been incredible and think he was unlucky not to have it back to back. Incredible player. How Andy Farrel got it over Nienaber is beyond me. Farrel did not rotate his players in the world cup that was one of the main reasons they did not pull through against the All blacks, That was a massive Coaching error and that alone should have taken it from him.. IF you look at the team of the year Nienaber had to win a worldcup with only 1 player deemed world class by World rugby. That should have won it for Nienaber by itself.

Honestly, as a Springbok fan, I feel this WC squad was the epitome of more than the sum of its parts to be frank. Other teams have great individuals, exceptional, can't fault the awards, but as a team, the unit, Springboks far exceed the sum of their individual parts.

Savea should have won it before……it’s massively deserved. He’s a phenomenal player.

We don't win awards. We win Cups. #4MoreYears

Ardie Ardie Ardie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️🇳🇿🇳🇿 A deserved win! We love him, we love his nation and his people! We celebrate this with him! 🇿🇦🇿🇦 Elizabedi is a CHAMPION in his own way! We love him, he is us, he is people, he made us so proud!! ❤❤❤😊 There are no losers in this situation!

As a SA fan I am really happy for Ardie. Like Kolisi said in an interview, "it's long overdue, he deserves it"

Thanks for your honest opinion - fully agree with your views! The panel shows their biase - as Saffas we are getting used to be snubbed, but the lack of recognition hurts. None of the other coaches had to take on what Nienaber had on his plate. He won the World Cup. It appears like a Northern hemisphere "private party" - added Savea just to pay a little respect to the AB's.

We love Eben, but Savea is a great player as well. So no complaints there.

As a South African, I wholeheartedly endorse the commendation of Ardie Savea for his exceptional skill on the field. Nonetheless, the conspicuous absence of South African players in their best 15 lineup reflects a concerning lack of regard for South Africa from World Rugby. This glaring oversight points to the necessity of reevaluating their selection processes, especially considering that a World Cup-winning team should ideally be represented by more than just a single player.This glaring omission sends a disconcerting message, suggesting that the significance of the World Cup might not hold the same weight for them and that other tournaments take precedence over this pinnacle event. It's crucial for them to acknowledge that some teams are willing to forgo winning other tournaments through experimental strategies, all in the pursuit of singularly focusing on the World Cup. Evidently, their current systems are flawed and inadvertently undermine the credibility of their own prestigious tournament.

Agree with you there Alfred I do think Kolisi got snubbed, to think he came back from a horrific injury to make it back for the WC and then lead his team to a back2back WC title is greater than any other player in the world in my opinion.

As a Springboks supporter I'm fine with this team mostly, could have features Pieter-Steph at the bare minimum but whatever. The thing I am completely shocked about is, How can a World cup winning coach not be coach of the year?? Especially since from the team of the year it's clear that the Springboks had no particular individual performers but they won the ultimate prize meaning their victory is even more owed to the coaching. mind blowing to be honest. But the team I'm okay with it and especially SUPER HAPPY FOR ARDIE!

So apparently no French management or players attended.. even as hosts.. that’s a disgrace

Both Ardie and Eben are hugely influencial in their teams' results. As a Saffa I am happy with either. Coach of the year is a bit of a joke. Your team gets knocked out of the world cup quarter finals = coach of the year? World rugby has just belittled their own premier event. No other way of looking at it.

I'm a South African. The way the Boks play lends itself to a team game (23 team), not necessarily giving space for individualist style to show. And fans don't appreciate the dark arts of the pack, the scrums, rucks and mauls. I'd include Malherbe, Kitsoff and Mbonambi and Pieter Steph. Libbok must have a nomination for breakthrough player.

It’s fine 😂 we won the World Cup and it doesn’t really mean much if Pieter steph dutoit gets picked for the team of the year or not

Dan from South Africa put it very well and I quote "South Africa doesn't have many players in the team of the year, because everyone is absolutely incredible in their respective positions, if you include one, you might as well include everyone. It shows you that they aren't dependent on single person and that tells you they themselves are dream team" and we aren't being flashy here, I'm okay with the selected team although some might argue. Congrats to Savea what an incredible guy. From a Saffa here. Thanks for great vid Alfie.

Saffa here. Ardie Savea is an absolute beast and I'm super happy for him.

Firstly, Alfred, thank you for a wonderful channel and excellent content. Your thoughts are well expressed, balanced and insightful. I'm so glad the World Cup let me find it. Thank you. Then, the World Rugby Awards really do feel like a snub in the face of just what the Springboks achieved. It is - and, in the centuries to come, will remain - a legendary achievement...and a legendary achievement is not only completely ignored, but also not dignified in a single award. South Africans often display a siege mentality...and this will play into that and does have the feel of World Rugby just being"against" them. I love Ardie Savea and respect him highly and he is a deserving recipient of the Player of the year award...but, jeepers, it is quite something to ignore the combined elements of the year Etzebeth has had and both the outcome and his impact on the highest stage at the World Cup. I agree with your views about Coach of the year...pretty baffling. PSdT not featuring in the World team is also...difficult to understand. It must mean Saturday's achievements were not considered...and that does seem to defy the point of all this. Be that as it may, South Africa would take a win at the World Cup over what happens at these awards every single time. Getting to that final: just wow! Many pundits are not giving the Springboks due credit and are only talking about the All Blacks fluffing it. I think losing Bongi in the third minute and STILL finding a way was titanic. I also think the All Blacks deserve massive credit for the way they responded to going a man down - they have confirmed that they deserve the huge respect that South Africans - and hopefully all rugby-loving people - have for them. Hats off to them. And well done and congratulations to South Africa.

As a Springbok supporter I must say we have been up and down for a while now. But we’ve won the World Cup! Ireland and France have had an immense Year they have both consistently been good. The quarter final was the first match in 18 matches that Ireland lost. That includes 2 matches that they won against the All Blacks in New Zealand. That is an amazing record. I would love to see the Springboks be more dominant during the 4 year cycle. Listen I’m not complaining I’m amazed and in awe of what the Boks have done but I can see why there are so many Irish and French players in that team. Well done to them all!

These are based on an entire years work. As a saffa, I'm okay with the decisions. Really happy Savea got his dues finally. We got our big shiny gold star for the year on Saturday.

Except for Ardi Savea's nomination I am of the opinion that these awards are a farce.

As a South African, this was a clear display of what the boys were up against. Makes me now wonder if the group stages were also setup to ensure we don't win.... 🤔 But that being said... For us, this is also a good thing that no individual player was really selected because our theme continues to be about working as 1. No egos, no-one better than the other. The awards continue to provide a case that I hope eventually will form part of a bigger conversation in SA, that we all what we go really.

Respect Ardie Savea. 🇿🇦

Ardie has been incredible for quite a while now, he's my favourite player even though I'm a saffa. I like the skill set he brings to the game. He's also an incredible human being as well.

As a bok fan, Savea winning that one is just fine with me, fully deserved.

Alfred. You have been one of the revelations of the world cup, your fair objective clear commentary has added value to watchers like me. I am a South African and really realty understand what the Springboks mean to SA in the cities, townships , farms and country. It's more than rugby much much more , it's about belief unity, hope and more. YES l am biased in terms of our team BUT have appreciated your commentary for your objective and crisp reporting. Thank you. I can fairly say in a world full of predudice , lies and misinformation your reporting has been a welcome respite. Consider yourself an honoury South African by the value you promoted , ie balance and perspective. THANK YOU

So if the IRB says Eben is the only good player in the springboks squad.....🤣does that not indicate that our coach is the coach of the year since he won the world cup with 1 good player out of 15?🤔🤣🤷‍♂Even the Portuguese and the Fiji coach deserve this award more! But by Friday people would have forgotten about this awards but they will never forget that we won our 4th world title.

As a South African I would have prefered not having a single player in the team. But there should be a team of the year award and that would without a doubt have gone to us. Good video, thank you.

My only gripe with the world team is Pieter Stef not being in it. He has played well the whole year and is almost always a force in every game. As mentioned in some of the other comments SAs strength lies in their ability to play as a team. And its a team game. You can have brilliant individuals but that does not assure you of victory (Lomu excluded of course). It also takes more than skill to win a WC. I said it was going to be ABs vs SA in finals all a long. I rejoiced when we were going to play France in the quarters and not the ABs. I knew ABs were wounded and would come back with a vengeance. I actually bet my friends NZ would beat IRL. Its funny to me how the Northern hemisphere just thought it was a foregone conclusion. SA lost to Fra and Irl within the last year but it was on their home grounds and both of those games were scraping by (3 and 4 points respectively) and one had a controversial red card and the other a controversial disallowed try. But they celebrated like they had just won the world cup. If you are truly the no.1 or 2 team in the world you are expected to win games at home. It should not be such a big deal. I think IRL and France are great teams and I am happy to have them so strong but I also think their reputation was a bit inflated because of the teams they were playing against. Yes IRL beat NZ in NZ but it was 2/1 and might have gone the other way. If they did that again and then came down and won a series in SA we can start talking about world beaters and best team in the world etc. both NZ and SA have won several series in FRA and IRL. And several WCs. Count them out at your peril. Got to say I loved this World Cup even had SA lost. Much appreciation to all teams involved and all the other great rugby fans! Best sport in the world!

Thank goodness somebody is covering this. The team of the year is beyond a joke- no PSDT, Cheslin, Kwagga, Ox, Pollard or Bongi

Ardie you deserve the award just for giving your kit away at Ellis Park to that laitjie fantastic rugby player and an even better man.

The pure HATRED WR has for SA - we're sick of it! They robbed the WC hosting from us for '23, now this. That is why Springboks HAVE to win the WC to give them the "Groen Kant".

I dont get why France had 5 players in there. Didn't win the 6 nations, lost the QF and have been good-but-beatable for ages. Very much feels like the "Participation awards" ceremony. I'm Fine with Ardie Savia winning, he's been amazing. I'm actually ok with Andy Farrell being Coach of the year, Ireland have been exceptional and only lost 1 game in the RWC. Breakthrough player..., Tele feels fair enough. But that team of the year is very very odd.

As a Saffa I'm not too unhappy with this. The selection of these is a bit tough. I think Malcolm Marx a bit unlucky not to make this team. PSDT also. But the rest It's really a bit subjective and the margins are tight, a bit like the games themselves. The rest of the SA team, just good together. Aki selects himself. Aaron Smith also I think. Mo'unga too.

Someone else put it perfectly, this perfectly epitomizes the Springboks system and philosophy of its all for the team, not for any individual. On the surface no one individual stands out, but rather the sum of its parts makes the Springboks the RWC winners. Therefore, they dont make a dream team, because you cant take individual players out when its an entire package being considered.

The Springboks have made their point, no once ,not twice, three times. We don't need to make any other points..

Savea is a passionate and powerful player who is a credit to the Jersey. A consistently good bloke. Ardie well deserved.

The World Rugby Dream Team pick only having 1 South African in is a fair call IF you then give the coaching award to the South African coaching team - the logic being that the Springboks won the world cup with a team low on World superstar players, but forming a whole bigger than the sum of its parts (not to mention going the toughest road to a World Cup final) - that is ultimately a victory in player management and coaching. BUT if you don't really have any South Africans in the Rugby Dream Team AND you don't consider their coaching team worthy of accolades, how then did they manage to win a back to back world cup? Seems a tad schizophrenic to me xD Obviously this will be seen as somewhat of a snub.

I love Ardie, and Telea. deserved that recognition

Thank you for such an in-depth and well articulated analysis of the great game....you are so knowledgeable and I learnt a few things thanks to you,keep up the great work.All the way from South Africa.

As the saying goes, the hardest thing in world rugby is to give the springboks credit. Real shame that many people can’t appreciate what it took to win this World Cup. It was a superhuman effort, only 1 player in the team of the year? Doesn’t make sense to me. How did nienaber not win coach of the year with the most difficult route to the final EVER? You have to wonder who is on the jury, probably that idiot Matt Williams who couldn’t win jack in his whole ‘career’. Really turns me off TBH shame the respect for each other is disappearing, the differing styles and respect for how each team plays was what made our game great in the past😢 all these keyboard warriors with a chip on their shoulder is ruining the game

Look, for whatever reason, the Boks aren't everybody's cup of tea, however I think I speak for all Bok fans when I say, "we'll gladly forego the World Rugby awards every time, if it means we get to win the Rugby World Cup."

We must understand that these individual awards were decided on, at the same time that the 2023 RWC pools were decided … approximately 4 years before the tournament took place. How were the N.Hemisphere rugby administrators to know what was going to happen ???

I have enjoyed immensely your commentary, especially insofar as your technical attributes are concerned. You are an exceptional sports (and especially) a rugby luminary. Thank you for your amazing input and insights!

Safa here, player of the year were all excellent options and maybe being from SA I’m used to monsters smashing people because I thought Antoine Dupont is absolutely outstanding & ahead of Eben. He is that French team and if he wasn’t there, it would have been a cake walk for us in that match. His tactical play made life very difficult

Great break down Al. Savea deserves it, every day and twice on Sundays! I'm sure Eben doesn't mind losing to him. The only omission from your list IMO would be Kwagga Smith. Also, just want to say, the selection was definitely made mostly revolving around the 6 nations, that's obvious. World Rugby put way too much emphasis on that tournament and usually forget about the rest of the tests from around the rest of the world.

You're brave to pick Aaron Smith over Dupont. But I think you're right. Well done.

Sad for Etzie but Ardie is a beast and worthy recipient of the award. Same with Telea over Manie. Also got to say how proud I am that so many SAFFAs here are taking the same attitude!

As a Bok fan i think Ardie deserves player of the year, he's one of the best loose forwards of the 21st century. To be fair Eben could easily have nominated in his first year of test rugby many years ago now. But like the original Highlander movie, ' there can be only one.'

The title is best player of the year and Savea deservedly won because of his massive interaction of the game. To be honest and many believe the same, the final was an unfair game. We can point fingers but it honestly wasn't and things need to change. It is not about who won or who lost but how decisions were chosen . If one head bang becomes a red card so should the other.

Great comments great selections on your side - its kinda odd though that your winning coach comes from a losing side that did not get out of the quarters - otherwise no problem further.

Thanjs for a great podcast 👌👏 🇿🇦

Good for Ardie but in some of the other awards??? It''s times like this that we as Saffers gets more determined to proof them wrong and go and win another WC. That''s where our true grit comes from.

Saffa here, not worried about the awards. We won the WC, that speaks enough. Savea deserved it!!

I would have liked to also see Handré Pollard, Pieter Steph Du Toit, Frans Malherbe and Cheslin Kolbe in the IRB team of the year.

You’re on point, the RWC is the pinnacle and more should be factored wrt the players consistency in their performances. The Boks showed with star performances through this WC. Ox Nche, Eben, Colbe and PSDT should have been in the dream team. The Boks were the only team that showed different ways to outplay their rivals.

Its an open secret that World Rugby hates the Boks. It just makes all the talk about SA bribing the refs more ridiculous. And it makes the victory so much sweeter.

Ardie has had a fantastic season. He deserves it

That's fine. We are the best rugby team IN THE WORLD! ❤ 🇿🇦

Alfie, surely it should have gone to Jacques Nienaber. He Coached a team who hadn't played rugby in 18 months to a Lions series Victory under horrid Covid19 restrictions. He took the Boks to their historic 4th Title, playing against all top 6 teams in the world. He built the squad with the greatest squad depth and instilled a culture of winning. He did all of this in his FIRST EVER HEAD COACH ROLE. I cannot understand in the slightest, how Farrell can win the coach of the year. Don't get me wrong he is a great coach but at the end of the day the fact is. he has not managed to achieve anything that coaches in the past have achieved with Ireland in terms of trophies (I'll concede the series win in NZ was an achievement but I'm not sure there was a trophy there, and it was not in 2023). Yes he lead Ireland to a Grand Slam, but its been done before and lets be honest, beating England, Wales and Italy in the last 6 nations was not exactly an achievement, although Wales and England have improved since. His 17 win streak was great. But it lead to a Quarter exit just like every coach before him. That's my two cents. I may be looking through (bok) green tinted goggles though. Valid points?

Ardie has my vote too. Not too bothered about the team also, why is there no TEAM OF THE YEAR…something Ireland would’ve been clear favourites 🇿🇦

I would have Siya Kolisi as the Captain and number 6 as a double World Cup winning captain. It is a bit disrespectful of them not to have included him in the world team. We all know that the Springboks is the team that incense World Rugby the most. Hence the reason why they did not win the Coach of the Year Award. At the end of the day they won what really matters. Ask Ardie Savea which would he prefer? Player of the year or World Cup winning medal.

Fully share your views

I have no problem with Savea - it's a toss up between him and Dupont I think - and a strong case could be made for the rest of the 15. However, it's easy to look good if you play lower ranked teams and South Africa's run to the final was the hardest any team has ever had to take. How well do you think the Irish, All Blacks and French would have done if they had traded placed with the Boks? I, for one, do not think any of them would have won the tournament, because they all choked under pressure when the time came. The French continue to whinge about refereeing as if they hadn't got a lot of good fortune themselves (ask Uruguay). The Irish looked like world-beaters until they strolled out onto the field to face the All Blacks and made handling error after error in the first thirty minutes, thus sealing their fate. The All Blacks had three opportunities to bury the final on Saturday but missed them all - two very kickable kicks and opting for corners and not posts when you can bury the game. That's not mentioning their discipline... This leaves SA, which were not the best side to watch but were the side with the strongest team spirit and mental strength. They were also the best coached. I'd love to see how well Farrell and co. would do without three first-choice starters in their team and a major injury to a fourth player in the poll stages. SA had no Am, Mapimpi, De Jager and Marx. Take the equivalent players from France, Ireland, New Zealand or indeed England, and you'll get a sense of just how great the SA coaching set up is.

Agree with you! MOM Pieter Steph Du Toit is not in??? WTF? Nieneber introduces 7-1 and then calls the mark for a scrum? Which other team has innovated so much in the last 4 years? Nienaber should be coach of the year. World Rugby is a joke

Team of the year, not WC. Ireland have beaten SA last three times and been ahead of SA in world ranking most of the year, along with France. WC awards would be very different. Poland not played all year but have been best 10 in WC for example. Ardie very good indeed throughout season at club level as well

All the way agree with Savea..Great player. Hope he is our captain next year...excited to see what Scott Robinson brings.

The problem is it was a bad idea to have the awards directly after the WC. Off course Boks would think because they win the WC they should win all the awards. Its Awards based of the yearly successes not just the WC.

Hi Alfred, love the RWC coverage, was great having some unbiased opinions for a change. Do you have stats on how many times each team kicked ?

I think Etzebeth said the Boks do not play for individual honours, they play as a team. That said, I agree, and as a Bok supporter I appreciate you standing up for some of the Bok players who deserved to be in the team of the year, as well as the coach. As a South African, I do believe our biggest treasure as a player is Siya Kolisi, and he is the player I am most aggrieved about not getting the recognition he deserves. In my books, if a world team is really selected to play, Kolisi should be the obvious leader. Surely his combination of inspirational leadership and the quality of his game should have made him the obvious choice as 6. We in South Africa believe this was the single biggest achievement by a rugby team ever. If that view is appreciated, yes, the Boks were snubbed. History will show players who made the team will long be forgotten whilst names like Kolisi will forever grace our memories of the game. He is the Lionel Messi of rugby.

We are not worried about the world team selections as we play as a team mostly. Savea is an immense players as well as Dupont, Eben, Pieter Steph, Kolbe, Pollard. The French and Irish teams have been consistently good for 3 years , therefore more players in the team. I am happy with the Web Ellis trophy.

Why can't we do our own version of the Lions with the rugby championship teams and they tour the North every 4 years, 2 years between the Lions?

A rugby World Cup hat trick is the holy Grail of every rugby fan No one can argue with this! Cheers!

With respect to Eben vs Ardie (and I am a South African), by the very nature of the bomb squad, Eben doesn’t play the full 80 minutes and Ardie does so if all things were equal, Ardie had to play much longer than Eben and pips him on that

Really don't mean to sound full of it, but as a South African we are used to being subbed for World Rugby awards. I think the last time was 2007 with Habana.

Alfred I cannot agree more with you about Pieter SDT! Ollivon is good though and Kolisi is always a great pick, but Savea also has to be there

I think Roigard will be a great replacement for Smith and go on to be a great halfback for the AB's. He had a great season for the Hurricanes. He doesn't have a sweeter pass than Smith, but as far as creating something out of nothing and scoring tries, I think he's better.

Fellow South Africans let's share with other kids. Let's show humanity, Ubuntu and let it go. There's always next time, from South Africa 🇿🇦 Joburg South

These things are tricky, and whilst all the selected players are elite, I, like you, wonder when they were chosen. SA absolutely deserve more representation in the front row.

As an Irishman, I am shocked than an Englishman would display such anti-Irish bias in his choices. Shocked I tell you (not shocked). That said, I would rather have a World Cup and zero players in this team. So I doubt many South Africans are too bothered by these choices. Nobody will remember who was in this team in four years time. Happy for Savea (player award) and Andy Farrell (coach award) though. As you said yourself, this was about the past year, not just the past two months.

World Rugby needs total make over, get rid of the fossils and bring in younger representatives of each rugby nation.

Exactly! I feel that in a world cup year, the biggest weighting should go towards the World cup because every match is geared towards it

Can't complain Ardie fair play 👏.

How on earth does Nienaber not winning considering the achievements and the path & how hard it was + back to back wc + 4th wc. It's quite frankly a middle finger to Nienaber

Find it astonishing that Nienaber didn’t get coach of the year; 2nd RWC, toughest pool in history, lost his key hooker, riskily brings in Pollard (who ends up a trump card), introduced various innovations, manages a remarkably diverse side, has unquestionably built a REMARKABLE team ethos out of the latter, functions in a 3rd world environment with limited funding, bags of serious political interference etc etc . . . . . . . . . as the Ukrainians on Snake Is. said “WR g… f… yourselves’.

Savea is the great player. Congrats to him, he deserved it.

We don't mind, superficial stuff for us, we want trophies.

Andy Farrel as coach of the year... after Nienaber threw Ireland under the bus in the Quarter Finals ( that in itself deserve to show that Nienaber is Farrel's boss), then Farrel's amazing inovation with the awesome 5-3 bench split, his amazing awareness of player management by taking Sexton off at precisely the right moment in the QF(o... he didn't?, my bad) , to leading Ireland to the Semi Finals (o not... my bad again), Farrel was the one that got into the other coaches/teams heads and made them lose the plot in the Final (o... yet AGAIN my bad!) It was the average OTHER COACH of the average OTHER TEAM that has done all those things! Congratulations mr Farrel. Keep it up!

Savea is a fantastic player, well deserved..

I think Alfred Reynold's rugby selection for the World Rugby Awards is a much better team than the actual World Rugby Awards winners!!!

9. A. Smith 10. J.Sexton 11.C.Kolbe 12.B.Aki 13.J.Kriel 14.W.Jordan 15.Ramos