By Matt Hardy
While many have taken the final week of the year to look at their best Premiership XV of the season so far, I have used this week to ponder over my XV of the entire calendar year.
The last 12 months have seen Leicester win the Premiership, Saracens surge back into contention and some traditionally big clubs falter.
Here is my Premiership rugby XV of 2022.
Forwards – Front Five
1 – Val Rapava-Ruskin (Gloucester): The West Country prop has been sensational throughout the year at loosehead and will be someone new England coach Steve Borthwick will have an eye on. He’s a brute force but great in the loose, too.
2 – George McGuigan (Newcastle/Gloucester): Arguably one of the players of the season in 2021-22, McGuigan has carried that form through to this year. The try-scoring machine has made a mid-season move to Gloucester, where he should thrive.
3 – Dan Cole (Leicester): The stalwart tighthead of the Premiership has continued to churn out solid and stable performance after solid and stable performance. Picking up his 300th Premiership appearance in December, Cole has outshone any young gun prop.
4 – David Ribbans (Northampton): People finally saw what Ribbans can bring to a side when he picked up a couple of caps for England this year but he’s been solid for Saints all year. He’s powerful and rarely makes bad decisions on the pitch.
5 – Jonny Hill (Exeter/Sale): Hill has been a key cog in the Sale pack having transferred from Exeter in the summer. The British and Irish Lion has done the basics well and offered real physicality to Sale under Alex Sanderson.
Forwards – Back Row
6 – Theo McFarland (Saracens): Arguably one of the best ever Premiership signings, former basketball player McFarland has been a one-man tutorial in forward athleticism this year. His recent injury may rule him out for the rest of the season but his last 12 months have been stellar.
7 – Ben Earl (Saracens): Last year’s Premiership player of the season, it still baffles me when I see an England squad without Earl in it – though that may change in the coming months. He is the best seven in the league by a mile and the first name in my XV of 2022.
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester): Billy Vunipola came close to taking this spot after his recent resurgence at No8 but Wiese has been outstanding all year for Leicester. He was a key player for them in their title-winning season and has played his part this season too.
Backs – Nine to 12
9 – Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester): Van Poortvliet is one of a number of pocket rocket No9’s in England at the moment but it’s clear he has already learned so much at Leicester under Ben Youngs and Richard Wigglesworth this year. There’s so much growth to come from the nine and he takes his spot in my team just ahead of Alex Mitchell.
10 – Adam Hastings (Gloucester): The Premiership No10 spot was a difficult one to pick from, there have been some solid options over the last 12 months. For me, though, I have been really impressed with how Hastings has pulled the strings at Gloucester – albeit behind a strong pack.
11 – Cadan Murley (Harlequins): Murley has the strength and pace to be a long-term option for England going forward. The winger cannot stop scoring but comes across selfless in attacking plays when he’s not the best option in any given phase.
12 – Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins): There hasn’t been a standout 12 for me so far this season so Esterhuizen holds the shirt for his monumental efforts in the Harlequins jersey from last season. Nick Tompkins is my honourable mention here.
Backs – 13 – 15
13 – Ollie Lawrence (Worcester/Bath): Lawrence has been an option at 13 for England for a couple of years now but he’s playing at a level which could see him add to his caps at the moment. He was always a leader for Worcester but has been equally pivotal for Bath since his move down south.
14 – Mateo Carreras (Newcastle): Carreras has sheer pace and is just a joy to watch as a former back and Newcastle player. He’s scored countless ‘try of the season’ contenders and generates a fizz and buzz around him every time he touches the ball.
15 – Max Malins (Saracens): Malins, as per usual, has been class this year. Since his return from a loan spell at Bristol he has only added to his game and is definitely knocking on the door as one of England’s long-term squad members.
Head Coach/Director of Rugby
Alex Sanderson (Sale): It’s difficult to see who could have challenged Sanderson for coach of the year. Borthwick took a very capable Leicester to the top but they’ve since uncharacteristically faltered while George Skivington has revolutionised Gloucester but they remain pretty inconsistent. Sanderson has turned Sale into a scary side again, and that will set him up for an exciting 2023.
China Sevens head coach Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development and behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
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