Highlanders favourite Fabian Holland has been nominated for World Rugby’s breakthrough player of the year award.
It follows a remarkable first year playing for his adopted nation as the first Dutch-born All Black.
The 23-year-old lock has appeared in 11 of the All Blacks’ 12 tests, starting nine of them and often playing 80 minutes or close to it, and only missing the Twickenham test last weekend due to illness.
Holland’s aerial skills, physicality and relentless workrate have helped him make a seamless step up from Super Rugby to the test arena.
Southern bias dictates we declare Holland a favourite for the breakthrough player award but it is hard to see how he can be beaten.
Lip-licking young loosie Henry Pollock was an exciting find for the Lions and England, Ethan Hooker has shown his power and versatility for the Springboks, and Joseph-Aukoso Sua’ali’i made a thrilling conversion from rugby league to the Wallabies.
None, however, can match the consistent impact made by Holland.
His nomination and a nod for lock/No 6 Tupou Vaa’i in the try of the year category — Holland made the final pass for that try against France — helps make up for another concerning trend for the All Blacks.
For a second straight year, no All Blacks feature in the World Rugby men’s player of the year finalists.
Three Springboks forwards — Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Ox Nche and Malcolm Marx — will attempt to trump French try-scoring sensation Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
The winger was named player of the Six Nations as he scored eight tries in five games to power France to the title.
Bielle-Biarrey, 22, also scored 21 tries in 22 games for his Bordeaux-Begles club.
Loose forward Du Toit won the premier award last year and in 2019, while Nche becomes the first prop to be nominated for the award.
All Blacks greats Richie McCaw and Dan Carter each won the award a record three times.
Nominees for the awards, to be announced this weekend, were selected by an eight-person panel including former All Blacks captain Kieran Read.
Canadian star Sophie de Goede has already been named women’s player of the year following the World Cup.
Black Ferns winger Braxton Sorensen-McGee was named women’s breakthrough player of the year.
