They’ve been ignored yet again for the official prizes, so the time has come to celebrate props and their thunderous impact on the sport, by launching awards solely for the unheralded titans.
And it is an important subject. Frankly, it is mind-boggling that 117 players have been shortlisted for World Rugby’s Player of the Year award and never once has a prop been among them. That is a blatant misrepresentation of the value of these sturdy cornerstones of the sport.
So, why have they been so criminally overlooked? Perhaps they are not deemed box-office enough. Playmakers, finishers and dynamo back-rowers tend to dominate the nominations, year after year.
The judges should venture over to France, to gain a different perspective. There, the top props are deified. On one recent occasion at La Rochelle, the mighty tighthead Uini Atonio had been replaced but was then called upon to do another brief stint while a head injury assessment took place.
He rumbled on again, won a scrum penalty and retired straight back to the bench, to a mass ovation as the sellout crowd chanted his name.
Joe Marler’s abrupt retirement last Friday cast a spotlight on the colourful world of the props, who epitomise the physical diversity which the sport prides itself on; with its regular assertion that rugby union is ‘for all shapes and sizes’. But the role has shifted so much. No longer is it just about shoving and resting – now there is heavy lifting (check out the size of some locks they have to help into the sky) and carrying, tipping and offloading.
Joe Marler’s abrupt retirement last Friday cast a spotlight on the colourful world of the props
On Saturday, Cian Healy (right) became Ireland’s most-capped player, while on one recent occasion at La Rochelle Uini Atonio (left) had been replaced but was then called upon to do another brief stint
Props have become tacklers and jackalers, turbo-charged runners and canny decision-makers. The latter point was illustrated when Sam Warburton recently argued that Gethin Jenkins was among the savviest players he had ever lined up with – armed with an unsurpassed grasp of tactics.
Yet, these pack anchors still have to perform their bread-and-butter tasks with the same commitment and core strength and cunning as ever. Does anyone else have a harder job than props? I’ll wait…
On Saturday, Cian Healy became Ireland’s most-capped player. Dan Cole is now second in England’s all-time list, just ahead of Jason Leonard. James Slipper stands No 1 for Australia. Jenkins is second in the Welsh hierarchy.
Tendai ‘the Beast’ Mtawarira is the fourth most-capped Springbok. There is a clear pattern of remarkable longevity despite the punishing demands of the position.
There is a close bond between the combatants, which is another precious feature of the sport. Leonard would always seek out his opposite number for a post-match pint and while the modern game doesn’t allow so much time for that, the giants still share respect.
They also look out for each other, such as in the famous case when New Zealand’s Kees Meeuws stopping driving when his opposite number, Ben Darwin of Australia, shouted ‘neck, neck, neck’ during a World Cup semi-final in 2003.
Darwin spoke warmly of his gratitude after doctors told him that, if Meeuws hadn’t eased off, he could have ended up a quadraplegic.
2024 Top of the Props
Best in the world: Ox Nche. The Springbok rock is perfectly built for his job of scrum destroyer-in-chief. A key man in World Cup and Rugby Championship title success. A modern-day icon.
Dan Cole (left) has been a brilliant servant to England over the years and was another dominant figure in recent Autumn Tests
Mail Sport’s Chris Foy names South Africa’s Ox Nche (pictured) as the best prop in the world
Fin Baxter takes the title of best newcomer after announcing himself on the fast track to Test rugby
Best newcomer: Fin Baxter. The Harlequins rookie delivered a statement performance in Bordeaux to announce himself on the fast track to Test rugby with England.
Scrum rout: Soyaux Angouleme’s young pack bulldozed Biarritz in a Pro D2 fixture in October, led by reserve props Georgy Balakarev and Seydou Diakite. Chapeau.
Best send-off: Afolabi Fasogbon had made his mark in England’s Under 20 World Cup success, then he waved off Ellis Genge after a scrum blitz at Ashton Gate.
Prop brand: Nche again. His Ox Kraal range of Christmas jumpers bear the cake lover’s now famous slogan: ‘Salads don’t win scrums’.
My Prop Hall of Fame
All-time favourite scrum performance: Andrew Sheridan for England versus Australia in the World Cup quarter-final in Marseille in 2007. A legendary demolition job.
Prop pass: Tadhg Furlong is a powerful figure but dexterous too, as he proved with a stunning, long pass to release Hugo Keenan as Leinster thrashed Toulouse in 2022.
Smaller stalwarts: In a special category for the men who have dominated giant rivals, it is a tie between Tom Smith, the Scottish Lion, and Thomas Domingo of France.
Tadhg Furlong is a powerful figure but dexterous too, as he has proved on countless occasions before
All-time favourite scrum performance: Andrew Sheridan for England versus Australia in the World Cup quarter-final in Marseille in 2007
Prop beards: A crowded field, full of Georgians. The stand-out is Davit Zirakasvili, who played 337 games over 16 years for Clermont Auvergne.
Fly-half in disguise: These days, so many props demonstrate classy distribution, none more so than Cyril Baille of Toulouse and France.
Prop personalities: So many characters to choose from. Here are a handful of the best – Marler, John Afoa, Adam Jones, Jamal Ford-Robinson, Max Lahiff, Adam Jones and Martin Castrogiovanni.
Viral shove: Brazil’s props became global sensations in 2018 when their scrum marched the Maori All Blacks back 15 metres to spark jubilation in a large crowd.
Newcastle end historic losing run against Saracens
Newcastle’s stunning victory over Saracens at Kingston Park on Friday night not only lifted them off the foot of the Premiership table, it ended the longest losing run against a particular opponent in the history of the league.
Rugby statistician Stuart Farmer confirmed the feat, after the Falcons broke a sequence of 24 consecutive defeats against Sarries, which started in 2009.
The Tyneside club also nailed the social-media post of the season, linked to a clip of the squad and staff having a celebration sing-along. Targeting the triumphant director of rugby, it read: ‘Steve Diamond will appear before an RFU disciplinary panel on Tuesday, charged with not knowing the words to the “Blaydon Races”.
Newcastle’s stunning victory over Saracens at Kingston Park on Friday lifted them off the foot of the Premiership table
‘The sanction for this offence ranges from three to six pints. The club will be making no further comment.’
The way Newcastle are going now, Diamond better brush up on those lyrics as more wins are bound to follow, and the victory songs will be broadcast.
This column is very, very glad to keep gorging on humble pie after saying the Falcons faced another winless season and were struggling to justify their place in the elite.
Ireland reveal huge multi-million losses
Days after the RFU released its incendiary financial report, their Irish counterparts revealed losses of £15million and complained that taking part in World Cups doesn’t pay well enough. Seriously.
Kevin Potts, chief executive of the IRFU, talked about the global showpiece as a ‘value transfer’ from leading unions to World Rugby, in that there are no autumn Tests in these parts when a World Cup takes place, meaning a significant drop in income.
During Potts’ lament about the impact of World Cups, he said: ‘It’s also being used to develop the game globally. It’s not working and World Rugby are aware that we and other unions are challenged by this and need to look at, is there a better way.
‘We certainly can’t continue to have World Cups every four years that are having such a major impact in that year on our finances.’ That’s the spirit; to hell with all the developing nations, just think solely of your own bottom line, Kevin. How infuriating that vital revenue must be shared around, to aid poorer rugby countries, every once in a while.
Days after the RFU released its incendiary financial report, their Irish counterparts revealed losses of £15million
Ireland complained that taking part in World Cups doesn’t pay well enough as they revealed their losses
Firstly, if Ireland had actually won the Webb Ellis Cup, as expected – after going into the 2023 tournament top of the rankings – they would have earned £4.8m in prize money, rather than £600,000 for being ejected at the quarter-final stage yet again.
Maybe the IRFU should invest in expanding the Aviva Stadium, given that the 51,000 capacity there critically limits what they can make from ticket sales.
Or they could just do what they’re doing, which is have the audacity to demand greater compensation for the inconvenience of taking part in World Cups.
Last Word: A new Six Nations logo has been unveiled and it is an abomination. If you haven’t seen it, spare your eyes.
A new Six Nations logo has been unveiled and it is an abomination with orange and black colours featuring
It is clearly an attempt to align the men’s and women’s tournaments, in terms of branding, but it just looks like a graffiti artist has done it, without any briefing about the event’s identity.
The teams wear blue, white, green and red – so, hey, let’s market it with orange. It doesn’t say what it is and the only discernible word is the name of the sponsor; another sign of the hyper-commercial times.
It just looks awful. Some have said it is like a cross between a chocolate bar wrapper, the title screen for a cartoon, or a garish energy-drink brand.
What it doesn’t look like is a symbol of the Six Nations, but maybe a younger audience will love it and all that investment in a rebrand will be justified.
