Rugby World Cup: Slow start leads to accolade

Carter's controlling performances guided the All Blacks into the tournament showpiece. Photo / Getty Images

This morning's final featured four of the nominees for World Rugby Player of the Year but the identity of the All Blacks honoured raised some eyebrows.

Dan Carter and Julian Savea earned nods for the sport's highest individual prize, having shrugged off indifferent form earlier in the season to excel at the latter stages of the World Cup.

The All Blacks pair were joined by presumptive favourite David Pocock and Australian team-mate Michael Hooper, with Welsh lock Alun Wyn Jones and Scottish halfback Greig Laidlaw rounding out the nominees.

All six men enjoyed stand-out World Cups for their respective nations, perhaps sealing their places ahead of players some would view as more deserving.

Carter's controlling performances guided the All Blacks into the tournament showpiece, while Savea ran roughshod over France to equal Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana with a tournament-record eight tries.

But both players were short of their best earlier in the year, particularly Savea.

While Carter showed his undoubted class in the All Blacks' Bledisloe Cup-clinching win over the Wallabies, Savea was kept quiet through the campaign.

Much of that was the wing's own doing, having been omitted from the All Blacks squad to play the Springboks after showing up to camp overweight, finding top form only after arriving in Great Britain.

He might have taken a few sheepish glances at the men around him this morning, given the seasons enjoyed by Ma'a Nonu and especially Ben Smith.

After nailing down his spot at fullback, Smith was at his spectacular best throughout the year, reaching a level of consistency unmatched among the rest.

While World Rugby's awards panel chairman John Eales emphasised the weighting given to performances at the World Cup, Smith remained supreme as the All Blacks marched into the final, while Nonu turned on his best to withstand the challenge of Sonny Bill Williams.

The annual awards function is in London tomorrow morning (NZT). Kris Shannon