Warriors’ hooker Joe Taufete’e has been shortlisted for the prestigious World Rugby Awards Men’s 15s Player of the Year award.
Taufete’e has enjoyed a successful and record-breaking year with USA having smashed the record for most tries by a front row forward in international rugby.
Taufete’e surpassed the previous record held by former Ireland Keith Wood 15 – which had stood for 14 years when he crossed for a hat-trick against Uruguay in March. Taufete’e broke the record in just 21 Tests, almost a third of the number of Tests that Wood played.
Taufete’e ended the Americas Rugby Championship as the top try scorer with six and was a key member of the Eagles’ squad in the Rugby World Cup where he started all four matches in Japan.
“To be on that shortlist means a lot to me,” said Taufete’e who returned to action with Warriors as a replacement against Northampton Saints last Saturday.
“I’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices – whether that’s leaving the club or my family – and this justifies the sacrifices I made.
“It’s amazing just to be talked about with the other guys on the shortlist, that’s an accomplishment in itself as well as being at the World Cup and playing against the top guys. That was very special.
“I heard about the award last week but I had to keep it confidential until the shortlist was announced. Today I’ve been getting lots of messages from family in the States and friends back home. They are all just buzzing about the news.”
The shortlist for the Men’s 15s award, which will be presented at the World Rugby Awards in Tokyo on Sunday also includes Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa), Tom Curry (England), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa) and Ardie Savea (New Zealand).
The nominees for World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year in association with Mastercard are: Sarah Bern (England), Pauline Bourdon (France), Kendra Cocksedge (New Zealand), Katy Daley-Mclean (England) and Emily Scarratt (England).
The Men’s 15 shortlist was selected by a star-studded World Rugby Awards panel comprised of former Rugby World Cup winners Richie McCaw, John Smit, George Gregan, Maggie Alphonsi and Melodie Robinson, alongside Fiona Coghlan, Brian O’Driscoll, Fabien Galthié, Agustín Pichot and Seilala Mapusua.
“The World Rugby Men’s and Women’s 15s Player of the Year awards are the ultimate accolade for Test players and this year there have been an exceptional number of outstanding candidates,” said World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont.
“I would like to congratulate all 11 players who, deservingly, have been nominated for this year’s award.”
Previous winners of the Men’s 15s award include Wood (2001), Galthie (2002), Jonny Wilkinson (2003), Dan Carter (2005 and 2015), Bryan Habana (2007), McCaw (209 and 2010) and Johnny Sexton (2018).