Springbok powerhouse prop Ox Nche has enjoyed a brilliant year, but did not receive the recognition he so obviously deserves, when the World Rugby Player of the Year nominees were announced earlier this week. Picture: Paul Harding/Getty Images
It is absolutely ridiculous that Springbok prop machine Retshegofaditswe ‘Ox’ Nche was overlooked as a nominee for the World Rugby Player of the Year awards despite him enjoying a brilliant season.
In fact, props in general should have plenty to gripe about as in 23 years of the awards being held, since the inaugural edition in 2001, not a single prop has received a nomination.
That is an incredible statistic, especially when you consider that every other position has had multiple nominees.
In total, 117 nominees have been selected for the much coveted award over the years, with hooker (five nominations) and fullback (six nominations) the only positions not in double figures, other than prop with zero.
This year’s nominees were announced on Monday, with the Boks dominating as Eben Etzebeth (lock), Pieter-Steph du Toit (flank) and Cheslin Kolbe (wing) were picked along with Ireland’s Caelan Doris (eighthman).
Having enjoyed an incredible year, the Boks deservedly lead the nominations, and it is hard to argue against any of Etzebeth, Du Toit and Kolbe being undeserving.
However, it has to be asked whether World Rugby added Doris to the list to ensure it wouldn’t be a complete Springbok shutout of nominations.
But even if Doris fully deserves to be on the list, it is strange that World Rugby couldn’t just add Nche to make it five nominations.
Since 2021, World Rugby have only nominated four players for the award, but they used to usually nominate five players, while they have nominated six players on five occasions, and even in 2009 nominated seven players, so it wouldn’t have been strange for them to add another name.
Nche can feel extremely hard done by having enjoyed two seasons of brilliant rugby, with him currently the world’s best loosehead prop.
He made massive contributions in the Boks winning the World Cup last year, with him helping win key scrum penalties in crucial games.
This year Nche has possibly been even more immense, dominating every player he has come up against, and it hasn’t just been his scrumming, with his all-round game, including tackling and carrying, also hugely impressive.
Whether Nche, or props in general, will get their deserved recognition, we will have to wait and see, but for another year at least a prop won’t have a chance to win World Rugby’s most coveted individual title.
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