Nine Northern Hemisphere Players to Watch Out For in 2017

James Harrington’s list includes the other Welsh winger you should look out for, another success story from the Leinster Academy production line, a Scottish fullback who isn’t Stuart Hogg, the return of a legendary name, and a pint-sized French winger who is scoring tries for fun.

AVIVA PREMIERSHIP

Zach Mercer
Scotland may live to rue the day that 19-year-old Zach Mercer, the Leeds-born son of former New Zealand rugby league international Gary, moved south to Bath in 2015. He had won caps for Scotland at U16 and U17 level during a four-year spell in the lowlands, before – after heading below Hadrian’s Wall – he was included in the England U18 squad and made his debut against his old team-mates at Newcastle in March 2015. Now, he’s a U20 World Cup winner and impressing in the Premiership. Last week alone had the stats gods at Opta purring with 16 carries and three clean breaks: the same number as Alofa Alofa and Tom Varndell.

Adam Hastings
Another Bath Academy product and another son of a famous father, Adam Hastings (dad is Scottish and Lions legend Gavin, by the way) started carving his own name into rugby history when he made his Under 20 debut for Scotland in last season’s Six Nations. He was a commanding, swaggering figure at 10 as the Scots U20s recorded their first ever win over the Auld Enemy. But his first Six Nations competition was cut short after three games as – with regular playmaker position incumbents George Ford and Rhys Priestland also on international duty – club Bath needed him to make his Premiership bow against Worcester. In fact, choosing to start his career in England – out of the shadow of his illustrious father – has allowed the young Hastings to follow his own path. Expect to see the Hastings family name back on the Scotland teamsheet in the next few years.

Thomas Young
It is, arguably, a bit of a cheat to include Wasps 24-year-old Thomas Young in a list of young rugby upstarts, given that he already boasts 60-odd top-flight appearances. And the fact, that at 24, he’s clearly an grizzled old hand. But – and continuing the famous dad theme – the son of the club’s director of rugby and ex-Wales and British Lions prop Dai, deserves an honourable mention. A combination of a limit on the number of players plying their trade outside Wales who can play for the country and his relatively diminutive frame (he is less than 6ft tall) have meant Young has been overlooked for the Wales squad to date. But he has more than a touch of Martyn Williams about him, with sublime ball-carrying skills and an offload to die for. What’s more, he has been in rare form the the Premiership high-fliers this season, scoring five times in 15 appearances so far. Time for a rethink, Wales selectors?

[rugbypass-ad-banner id=”1473723660″]

PRO12

Ashton Hewitt
It is a shame that the Dragons’ 22-year-old jet-propelled blink-and-you’ll-miss-him winger is currently being widely ignored amid all the – admittedly understandable – clamour over the Ospreys’ 19-year-old wunderkind Keelan Giles. It doesn’t help Hewitt’s cause that the ‘other’ Welsh side are enduring a dreadful season, and are currently languishing in 10th place in the Pro 12, with just three wins in 12 games. But Hewitt, a product of the Dragons’ academy who has played for Wales U20s, has been a rare highlight for the club, with five tries to his name in 12 matches, to add to his eight touchdowns in 23 appearances last season. And he’s quick. Really quick. Quicker, some say, than Giles – who’s pretty nippy around the park.

Adam Byrne
He’s now reached the ripe old age of 22, but when he was 18, winger Adam Byrne was the youngest ever player to pull on the Leinster shirt. He made his Champions Cup debut against Northampton Saints in November following an impressive run in the Pro 12, which included a hat-trick against Zebre. He’s an alumnus of the Leinster academy that has also in recent seasons developed rising stars Josh van der Flier, Peter Dooley, and Tom Daly – but while ven der Flier is already an established name in the Ireland squad, despite being only 23, Byrne has suffered from a series of untimely injuries that halted his career just as it seemed it was about to kick off. But, so far this term, he has remained fit and healthy – and is taking advantage of the chances he’s getting

Blair Kinghorn
Last month, the 19-year-old put pen to paper on a new two-year deal that will keep him at Edinburgh until 2019. The full-back – who is also no mug at fly-half – has scored 46 points in 28 appearances in black and red since joining the Pro 12 side after a series of impressive shifts in a Scotland shirt at the World Rugby Under 20 Championships in 2015. He has already caught the eye of outgoing Scotland head coach Vern Cotter – and is sure to be on Gregor Townsend’s radar when he takes over running the national side. He’ll be the first to admit that he is some distance from the finished article – but he’s learning fast and impressing many, and Scotland need a natural-born successor to Stuart Hogg. They may have found one in the young Kinghorn, who is sure to be challenging for Hogg’s 15 jersey sooner rather than later.

TOP 14

Antoine Dupont
Castres Olympique have known about Antoine Dupont’s insane talent for several years, as have those who pay attention to age-grade international rugby. Europe and the rest of the Top 14 were formally introduced to it last season – and, in November, the rest of the rugby world was put on official notice when he came on as a second-half replacement during the match between the French Barbarians and a Wallabies XV in Bordeaux. Dupont is barely 20, but has the rugby brain of a player with nearly a decade’s more experience. He’s brave, tackles like a lion and accelerates like a Bugatti Veyron with nitrous oxide boosters. There’s no wonder Toulouse have grabbed him for next season.

Gabriel Lacroix
Both Lacroix and his club, La Rochelle, are riding high this season. While his team are second in the Top 14, level on points with leaders Clermont, the diminutive winger, who stops troubling the tape measure at 5ft 7in, has already crossed the whitewash 10 times – including four in a 12-minute blitz against Bayonne on December 23. Word on the wind is Lacroix was at the forefront of the minds of the France selectors for the autumn internationals, before Guy Novès finally opted for the more experienced – and bigger – Virimi Vakatawa and Noa Nakaitaci. But with the Six Nations fast approaching, and the scent of a tryline strong in his nostrils, Lacroix must again be on the radar of the national side

Charles Ollivon
The Toulon flanker may be better known than some of the other names on this list – having picked up five full international caps – but the terrifying fact for every other nation is he is still only 23. We probably should know more about him alread but, like Pro 12 one-to-watch Byrne, the former Bayonne Academy player’s breakout has been slower than it would otherwise have been due to untimely injuries – and he is a doubt for France’s Six Nations opener against England after suffering an ankle injury in the victory over Racing 92 on New Year’s Day. That said, the 6ft 7in blindside has formed a potent partnership with Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe at club level – and he’s added some devil to France’s back row alongside Kevin Gourdon and Louis Picamoles. A future France captain? Possibly. One to watch? Definitely.