When England meet New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday, a clash between the teams ranked fifth and third in the world, there will be no nominees for the World Rugby men’s player of the year award from either nation for the first time since 2004.
Ireland, the top-ranked team, have two nominees on the shortlist for an award that will be presented in Monaco on Sunday, Josh van der Flier and Jonathan Sexton, and they are joined by Antoine Dupont, the France scrum half, and Lukhanyo Am, the South Africa centre. Dupont, whose side are on a 12-match unbeaten run, won the award last year, while Sexton, the Leinster fly half, was player of the year in 2018, the equivalent stage of the previous World
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