With Malcolm Marx being crowned world’s best of last year, we’ve eyed out five individuals who should be right in contention in 2026 in what will be a stacked international season headlined by the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
Antoine Dupont (Toulouse and France)
Let’s get the most obvious selection out of the way first. Dupont is considered by many to be the best player on the planet by default. The 29-year-old does things on a rugby pitch that nobody else can, and his GOAT status will surely be cemented should he lead France to the Rugby World Cup title in Australia in 2027.
Having claimed this award back in 2021, the Toulouse captain could put himself in the same bracket as fellow double winners Pieter-Steph du Toit and Beauden Barrett if he can add to his already bulging trophy cabinet this year. While he was sidelined for much of 2025 with a ruptured ACL he sustained in the Six Nations, he has exploded back onto the club scene with Toulouse over the past few months and scored twice in their 77-7 Champions Cup pummelling of Sale Sharks on the weekend.
While a Top 14 title is par for the course for Toulouse these days, another Champions Cup or Six Nations crown will make Dupont the favourite for the official mantle of world’s best.
Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears and Springboks)
Given what we saw from him in 2025, who’d bet against Marx going back-to-back? The Kubota Spears hooker hit career-best form in tandem with his ever-excellent fellow Bok front rankers on their way to dominating the international landscape last year, and with Bongi Mbonambi not getting any younger and no clear-cut successor in line to take over, the more minutes Malcolm gets, the better his chances will be of making it two on the bounce.
Nobody loves a Test against the All Blacks more than the former Lion, with his performances against the Kiwis in the past up there as arguably his very best. With four coming up in the months ahead, he should be champing at the bit/
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers and Springboks)
Many pundits’ pick for Player of the Year last season, Sacha has been tearing up trees over the past 12-months or so and will doubtless be in the conversation again if his early season form for the Stormers is anything to go by. He’ll be 24 in February, and while many still view him as a youngster, he’d still be three years older than the youngest ever recipient of the award, that being some fella called Schalk Burger back in 2004.
Despite having played just 19 Tests, the nine tries he scored in 2025 means the flyhalf has already touched down more for the Boks than any other player in his position in history. As he is increasingly given more game time by Rassie Erasmus and his coaching staff, we should see even more SFM magic in this year and, if the Stormers go on to win silverware, he could be a shoo-in.
Maro Itoje (Saracens and England)
The British & Irish Lions captain has already been nominated three times and could well be in contention again this year if Steve Borthwick’s red hot England can make a fist of the Six Nations. The Roses came on in leaps and bounds last year as Borthwick’s coaching philosophy has slowly begun to sink in, and “The Pearl” should be leading the charge for his nation again.
While Saracens’ inconsistency makes more club silverware unlikely this season, the second rower’s influence at international level has long set him apart and more success in white could be the turning point.
Cam Roigard
Along with the indomitable Ardie Savea, Roigard was the one shining light for the All Blacks in a season of struggles last year that ultimately cost Razor Robertson his job. Amid major upheaval in Kiwi country just two years out from the next World Cup, plenty will rest on the performances of true talents like the 25-year-old Roigard in 2026, especially on what is becoming an increasingly daunting tour of South Africa.
Long touted as a future great All Black by those in New Zealand, expect the Hurricanes scrumhalf to be given even more responsibility this season as the three-time world champions aim to steady their course. And if he can inspire a win or two in the Republic in August/ September, he could be too difficult to ignore.
List of winners
2001 Keith Wood Ireland
2002 Fabien Galthié France
2003 Jonny Wilkinson England
2004 Schalk Burger South Africa
2005 Dan Carter New Zealand
2006 Richie McCaw New Zealand
2007 Bryan Habana South Africa
2008 Shane Williams Wales
2009 Richie McCaw New Zealand
2010 Richie McCaw New Zealand
2011 Thierry Dusautoir France
2012 Dan Carter New Zealand
2013 Kieran Read New Zealand
2014 Brodie Retallick New Zealand
2015 Dan Carter New Zealand
2016 Beauden Barrett New Zealand
2017 Beauden Barrett New Zealand
2018 Owen Farrell England
2019 Pieter-Steph du Toit South Africa
2020 No award (COVID-19) —
2021 Antoine Dupont France
2022 Josh van der Flier Ireland
2023 Ardie Savea New Zealand
2024 Pieter-Steph du Toit South Africa
2025 Malcolm Marx South Africa
