Good Day
For Mark Bennett who, at a World Cup packed with high class performances, has caught the eye sufficiently to be on the three man shortlist for the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year award.
RWC 1999 winner and panel member George Gregan said: "All three nominees have been outstanding in their own individual performance and shown consistency which has seen them contribute in a huge way to how their teams have performed this year.
The 22-year-old from Cumnock has been tipped for great things since first catching the eye as a teenager when helping Ayr to the Scottish title and putting in a string of outstanding performances for the Scotland under-21 side.
He was consequently signed by Clermont Auvergne but suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that set him back badly. However since returning home to Glasgow Warriors he has increasingly justified the expectation that surrounded him when he first emerged and he played a huge part in Scotland’s encouraging performance at this World Cup, scoring two tries in what proved to be the crucial win over Japan in the pool stages and the intercept try that brought them within minutes of shocking Australia in the quarter-finals.
He faces fierce competition for the award, however. Vasil Lobzhanidze, the 18-year-old Georgian scrum-half, having made history by becoming the youngest player ever to take part in a World Cup match, offering the latest evidence of the stellar work being done by Richie Dixon, the former Scotland coach, in his development role in that part of the world since Lobzhanidze has emerged from their domestic game. The third contender Nehe Milner-Skudder, the All Black winger will meanwhile, if he shakes off the calf injury that ended his involvement in Saturday’s semi-final against the Springboks, get one more chance to press his case in next weekend’s final.
The winner will be announced at the post-tournament awards ceremony on Sunday, but in the meantime the trio can bask in the praise of George Gregan, the former Wallaby scrum-half who is on the judging panel.
"They are all worthy candidates for this award but unfortunately there can only be one winner. I'm sure all three players have a bright future not only for their teams and the countries they play for but for world rugby in general. I really look forward to watching their careers,” said Gregan who won the equivalent award in 1999 when he was part of the team that won the World Cup, going on to one of the greatest careers in the history of the sport.
Bad Day
For bad news it is a pleasure to surmise. With no citings or major injury concerns following the semi-finals it seems that all is set fair for another Southern Hemisphere dominated week of build-up to the last two matches at what has been a superb tournament.
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