Rugby World Cup: Each Test team’s most irreplaceable player

The top-ranked team in rugby as the big year starts is also the most dependent of all teams on one player. A 37-year old rickety flyhalf who broke his cheekbone last weekend. Ireland will go as far as Jonny Sexton takes them.

He is more than a pinpoint kicker. He is the vortex of the complex Irish whirlpool attack. He is the best on-field coach in Test rugby. He pushes his teammates harder than any other leader.

His will and his skill probably translate to his team being a converted try better with than without him. Maybe even ten points.

It is no stretch to postulate that if Sexton had been there for Ireland’s match in Paris in 2022 the Six Nations trophy would reside in Dublin.

If he keeps getting knocked the problem will be recovery and if he is not fit to lead Ireland in a quarterfinal, Irish eyes will not be smiling.

Yes, there are other stars in Andy Farrell’s side. Prop-playmaker Tadgh Furlong, master thief Taidgh Beirne, backline glue Robbie Henshaw, workaholic Josh van der Flier, rejuvenated James Ryan, and notably super hooker Dan Sheehan are not easy to replace, and there is a step down from Furlong, Henshaw, and Sheehan in particular.

But understudies exist. Shifts can be made.

Sexton’s heir is not apparent. The atheling is not yet groomed.

The irony is Ireland’s rise is built on the ideas of academy, steeped system, sure doctrine, and the ready replacement of parts.

Yet the Tom Brady of rugby is felled for a while and may miss the match versus France this year. It gets harder every time, to come back.

I began to think of which player, playing well, for each other top team is the most difficult for their side to replace.

New Zealand

Jordie Barrett offers you several positions, a massive and accurate boot, and the kind of repetitive “luck” which is not chance. The pack is a different beast when Brodie Retallick is gone or working his way back (see 2019 semifinal).

Aaron Smith still has the best pass from the base. But it feels like Ardie Savea is the one the All Blacks can least afford to lose: his mongrel, his mana, his maniacal work rate and absolute never-say-die or even never-say-no attitude make him indispensable.

Australia

The Wallabies are a completely different team without Samu Kerevi, the midfield wrecking ball with good hands and eyes. Yes, fiery Quade Cooper is a big step up from icy Bernard Foley; Michael Hooper is still miles ahead of Fraser McReight; and Nic White is the only Aussie scrumhalf who has it all.

But Kerevi moves the whole game several metres to the good side.

He is a constant menace on both sides of the ball and cannot be knocked back over the gainline. He falls for good metres. He is a colossus.

South Africa

The coaching staff of the Springboks have built redundancies in nearly every position except for number four: Eben Etzebeth is as close as it gets to indispensable in this team, which probably is less dependent on any one player than the rest of the sides.

The props are three deep, hooker is a double-headed monster, there are loose forwards and wings aplenty, Damian Willemse and Willie le Roux can fill in all over the park, and from being a weakness, the No. 9 shirt is now a strength with Jaden Hendrickse, Faf de Klerk, and Cobus Reinach a triad of skill and attitude.

But take Etzebeth out of this pack and it is just not quite as fearsome. Franco Mostert, Marvin Orie, Salmaan Moerat and Pieter-Steph du Toit work their socks off but Etzebeth changes the flow of games.

France

Greg Alldritt has a hand in almost every facet of the French renaissance, and Gael Fickou can create a try for himself or his mates out of nothing, but Antoine Dupont is the rock the team is built on and around with his big boot from the base, dangerous support play, and coxswain-like rhythm set.

A halfback’s life is fraught with peril and can be game-planned for, but Dupont has survived being the focal point of every opponent and seems unflappable.

If Dupont and Sexton were to go down, the ‘tough’ side of the draw would instantly become substantially weaker.

Wales

No matter how poor the Welsh are, and Warren Gatland may find a way for a 10-Lion 1,000 cap team to remember how to win, they have oodles of hard loosies who tackle their bums off. They have big wings, clever halves, and a cadre of big hard-working locks.

But they have one key man.

Dan Biggar is a tough son of a gun. He will tell you about it, too.

But without him, I do not know how far down Wales would have fallen in recent years.

His goal percentage seems to rise with the importance of kicks. He chases like a wing. He sees the game like a future coach.

He is the Welsh Sexton.

Scotland

Scotland sits in a set piece pool with big boys Ireland and South Africa. They cannot equal those teams this year in the fixed facets.

At best, they can hold on and pray at scrum and maul.

So, it will need to be magic at the ten.

Finn Russell looked better each time he was not in the team.

He is the third flyhalf from the Six Nations who is the most crucial for his team.

Argentina

Pablo Matera is the heart and soul of the loose forward trio. Emiliano Boffelli is worth 6 to 9 points extra. In form, Guido Petti can take down a lineout on his own.

But Julian Montoya is the man the Pumas cannot lose.

He does all of his core duties with aplomb, but more than that, he has shown the kind of leadership this often loose team needs.

England

The most difficult team for me. I am not sure anyone in the current squad is that vital to the cause, by himself, but that may be due to the team losing its identity.

Freddie Steward defuses bombs. Maro Itoje is the key big defensive player in the pack. Owen Farrell is the Biggar of England, but bigger.

Marcus Smith seems destined to be replaced by Farrell and George Ford.

It is not clear who is England’s rock. It may be Courtney Lawes, who had a horrific recovery from concussion.

He was the best forward in the finals loss in 2019, which is a big benchmark, when a pack is bested.

None of these teams can afford to lose these players, but who do you think should be listed?

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