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Steven Kitshoff keeps top spot in latest URC Top 100 player list

Springboks and Ulster prop Steven Kitshoff (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

Steven Kitshoff continues to lead the way at the top of the URC’s Top 100. It was more than four months ago when the chart was last published and having since won his second Rugby World Cup with the Springboks and completed his move from the Stormers to Ulster, the loosehead has retained the No1 spot in a list where forwards occupy the top five places.

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A statement read: “Steven Kitshoff’s arrival at Ulster has grabbed the headlines and the World Cup-winning Springbok is certainly making his mark.

“The new Ulster prop remains at No1 in the updated URC Top 100, the ranking system that reflects performances across the BKT URC, EPCR competitions, Rugby World Cup and international rugby.

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“He was top of the pile back in September when the table was last published and he has held on to that position on the back of his contribution to South Africa retaining the Rugby World Cup and his performances for Ulster.

“The top five positions are once again all occupied by forwards, as was the case in September. Young Benetton flanker Manuel Zuliani is in second spot, with Wales World Cup captain Jac Morgan having shot up from 39th to third.

“The ever-consistent Dan Sheehan lies fourth, with prop Ox Nche fifth, closely followed by his Hollywoodbets Sharks pack pal Eben Etzebeth. Vodacom Bulls winger Canan Moodie is the highest-placed back in seventh, while the leading Scottish performer is new Six Nations co-captain Rory Darge.

“The top 20 features seven South Africans, six Irish, three Scots, three Italians and one Welshman in Ospreys flanker Morgan. There are 16 forwards and just four backs.

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“Powered by the StatMaster xP algorithm, the Top 100 identifies the most valuable performers across the 16 BKT URC teams by analysing every match they have appeared in during the last 12 months. StatMaster then applies an ‘expected points’ (xP) algorithm to each event in those games.

“Like ‘expected points added’ (EPA) in the NFL and ‘expected goals’ (xG) in football, this revolutionary new stat measures the impact each player has on his side’s chance of scoring. It is based on the idea that rugby is a team game and while the player who slots the ball through the posts or touches it down deserves plenty of credit, so do the 14 others who helped create that opportunity.

“For example, a player can gain points by doing things that increase his team’s probability of claiming the next score, such as crashing past defenders, nailing a 50/22 kick, earning a scrum penalty or even winning a crucial turnover on his own try line.

“On the other hand, if he makes a costly error, he can lose points. Crucially, the algorithm adjusts for lots of match factors, including a player’s position, his location on the field, the phase type, the time on the clock and the quality of his teammates and opponents. All this allows URC StatMaster to give the most accurate data-driven estimates of how much players are currently contributing to their teams.”

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URC Top 100 Top Ten
1. Steven Kitshoff (Ulster)
2. Manuel Zuliani (Benetton)
3. Jac Morgan (Ospreys)
4. Dan Sheehan (Leinster)
5. Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
6. Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
7. Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls)
8. Gary Ringrose (Leinster)
9. Finlay Bealham (Connacht)
10. Jack Conan (Leinster)

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Tom 37 minutes ago
English rugby pundits and fans really need to get a grip

However I think the “if their opponents had scored more points then England would have lost” retrospective is pointless at best and silly at worst.

I completely understand your view on this but England were the worst team in both games and if we're letting the result detract from the evaluation of the performance then we're doing ourselves a disservice. England fans should not get excited because we scraped two fortunate wins, it was a swing in variance and long term that variance will come crashing down on England because they did not play well. Ifs and buts aside I don't think anyone thinks England are better than either France or Scotland. The performance is what matters, results follow performances in the long run.


You could for sure argue that the games they lost they could have won if the bounce of a ball went differently. In none of those narrow loses did England feel considerably the better team and there weren't moments you'd chalk up to massive amounts of fortune. In the two narrow loses they very much felt like the worst team and there were many moments where the rub of the green went England's way. Ultimately, they've had an uptick in variance which will average itself out to more losses because they're not good. These two results don't mean anything has been fixed. As I say, performances are what I'm looking for, not results, the results come if the performances are good and right now the performance in every game has more or less been dire.

4 Go to comments
R
RedWarriors 59 minutes ago
France change two for Ireland but stick with 7-1 bench tactic

I saw Ben Kayser saying the French players would be livid and motivated due to the Ringrose ban etc. Galthie and Ntamack know the exact reason why the bans differ and one must assume the French squad does also. Galthie is playing silly buggers.


As the red card for Ringrose fell right before a fallow week, he WAS released by Leinster who provided accompanying substantiation. Precedent shows club matches are included in bans in such cases. For Galthie/France alone precedents are Atonio (2023), Haouas (2023), and Danty (2024). Club matches counted for bans.


Ntamack was different because France were due to play a match the following week (versus England). Therefore Galthie COULD NOT release Ntamack. In the written decision, Galthie tried to argue that Ntamack would be released after England but had to admit that a lot depended on outcome of England match which was unknowable. On top of that Ntamack was the starting outhalf for France.

The precedents for the Ntamack situation are O’Mahony (2021) where club games did not count, and Willemse (2024) where Willemse had a 10 match ban reduced to 4 and club matches DID count for the suspension.


So Galthie has had three cases like Ringrose (Atonio, Haouas, Danty) with same outcome as Ringrose. He had one previous case like Ntamack where he succeeded, but he was aware of and even mentioned the O’Mahony case where all the ban was for International matches.


In a nutshell. Why were those players allowed club matches to count? Because they WERE released for the club games.

Why did club matches not count for O’Mahony and Ntamack? Because they WERE NOT released for the club games which meant they could not reach the evidential threshold required.


Why is he demanding a World Rugby inquiry when he knows the reasons for such decisions, has known for years, has benefitted for years? France know this and Ireland knows this.

Dupont and the French team are honorable. This wont sit well with them. I would argue this is a bigger motivator for Ireland than for France.


Conclusion: Galthie is under serious pressure to win this match

32 Go to comments
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