{"id":660844,"date":"2025-12-29T19:00:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T19:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/660844\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T19:00:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T19:00:14","slug":"wallaby-duo-break-into-top-20-while-englands-resurgence-dominates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/660844\/","title":{"rendered":"Wallaby duo break into top 20 while England’s resurgence dominates"},"content":{"rendered":"

The official Planet Rugby Top 50 men\u2019s players of 2025 continues. In the run-up to the new year, we reveal the players who have made it into our list. <\/strong><\/p>\n

After naming our 30-21 a few days ago<\/a>, let\u2019s see who has made our latest section.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s 20-11:<\/p>\n

20. Dan Sheehan (Ireland, hooker)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season:<\/strong> Sheehan\u2019s dynamism supported Ireland\u2019s four Six Nations wins and autumn successes whilst also securing the British and Irish Lions starting hooker spot. On the club scene, Sheehan helped Leinster win the United Rugby Championship title, eventually beating the Bulls in the final.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight:<\/strong> In Ireland\u2019s Six Nations victory over England, Sheehan scored two tries from mauls.<\/p>\n

19. Fraser McReight (Australia, flanker)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season<\/strong>: McReight\u2019s breakdown work was central to Australia\u2019s two Rugby Championship wins and solid autumn performances, while he also impressed for the Reds domestically. McReight\u2019s jackal threats pilfered turnovers in Australia\u2019s brighter 2025 moments, a breakdown bandit who turned possession and momentum.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight:<\/strong> Across the Rugby Championship, McReight made 86 tackles and secured 11 steals. Against Argentina in their close Rugby Championship victory, McReight made four steals and completed a remarkable 19 tackles.<\/p>\n

18. Harry Wilson (Australia, number eight)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season:<\/strong> Wilson captained the Wallabies with grit through a tough 2025, his hard carries and tackles earning a Dream Team number eight nod despite mixed results. He led from the front all year.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight:<\/strong> In Rugby Championship matches, Wilson was top of the pile in both carries and metres in contact, showing his dynamic ability. In the Rugby Championship victory over New Zealand<\/a>, Wilson carried 18 times for 105 metres and made 16 tackles.<\/p>\n

17. Cam Roigard (New Zealand, scrum-half)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season:<\/strong> Roigard\u2019s electric tempo and sniping runs turbocharged New Zealand\u2019s 2025 efforts, earning Dream Team scrum-half honours with Hurricanes flair \u2013 a massive riser. Roigard\u2019s speed and control helped New Zealand to three Rugby Championship wins and autumn victories over Italy and Scotland, alongside standout form for the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight:<\/strong> In New Zealand\u2019s victory over Ireland, Roigard scored a try to seal victory for the All Blacks, weaving through the defence after a quick break to dot down and extend the lead in a hard-fought rematch in Chi<\/p>\n

16. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland, lock\/flanker)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season: <\/strong> Beirne\u2019s intelligence and work-rate bolstered Ireland\u2019s competitive 2025 campaigns, landing a Dream Team lock berth in the process. He was excellent for the British and Irish Lions and once again a key cog for Munster.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight: <\/strong> Player of the Series for the British and Irish Lions in Australia says everything about his abilities.<\/p>\n

Planet Rugby\u2019s Top 50 men\u2019s players of 2025: Ex-England star \u2018excelled\u2019 while Springbok lock \u2018instrumental\u2019 in club success as 50-41 revealed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

15. Maro Itoje (England, lock)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season:<\/strong> Itoje\u2019s dominance in the lineout underpinned England\u2019s four Six Nations victories and autumn wins, as well as Saracens\u2019 strong Champions Cup showing. He captained the British and Irish Lions for the first time, leading them to their first series victory since 2013.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Six Nations, Itoje ranked second in lineout takes and completed tackles \u2013 and of course became a winning Lions skipper in Australia as he led by brilliant personal example.<\/p>\n

14. Tom Curry (England, flanker)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season<\/strong>: Curry\u2019s breakdown excellence powered England\u2019s Six Nations campaign and autumn streak, and put in some world-class performances during the British and Irish Lions Test matches.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight: <\/strong> Two tries in two Lions Tests, two Player of the Match awards in the series. A titan.<\/p>\n

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as\u00a0a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a>\u00a0for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n

13. Thomas du Toit (South Africa, prop)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season:<\/strong> Du Toit brought brute force and precision to the Springboks\u2019 dominant 2025 packs, earning Dream Team tighthead honours. He shone in the Rugby Championship and Autumn Nations Series, throwing in outstanding shifts for Bath in the Champions Cup and Prem to boot.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Autumn Nations Series matches, Du Toit won six scrum penalties across the series and was a try-scoring machine for Bath.<\/p>\n

12. Ben Earl (England, number eight\/flanker)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season: <\/strong> Earl rampaged relentlessly for England, the British and Irish Lions and Saracens in 2025, his carries and tackles powering strong Six Nations, Lions and unbeaten autumn campaigns, including statement wins. He\u2019s a one-man engine room who led carrying metres and defensive hits among his fellow forwards.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight: <\/strong> Across the Six Nations, Earl topped the forwards with 63 carries and 418 metres gained.<\/p>\n

11. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa, wing)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2025 season:<\/strong> Kolbe\u2019s mesmerising step and opportunism sliced defences apart in 2025. He was key to South Africa\u2019s double success in the Rugby Championship and autumn, landing him a Dream Team wing spot. Pure evasion artistry.<\/p>\n

Performance highlight: <\/strong> In the Rugby Championship blowout against Argentina in Durban, Kolbe scored a try and beat eight defenders in another classy display.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0Planet Rugby\u2019s Top 50 men\u2019s players of 2025: George Ford and Finn Russell feature as four Argentina stars make our 30-21 section<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The official Planet Rugby Top 50 men\u2019s players of 2025 continues. In the run-up to the new year,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[186,748,393,126,4884,225,90462,678,704,12,2196,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-660844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-features","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-home-page","14":"tag-internationals","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-new-zealand","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-south-africa","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115804400846937350","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}