New Brumbies cult hero Ben O’Donnell has catapulted up the leaderboard in Stan Sport’s Australian Super Rugby Pacific player of the year race after the winger’s hat-trick performance against the Drua in round eight.
After each round the Between Two Posts team are handing out their 3-2-1 votes towards their ’Posty’ awards.
The stakes are high in 2023 as Wallabies coach Eddie Jones runs the rule over the Test contenders with the ultimate carrot of a place in the Rugby World Cup squad.
Watch the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific and Super W seasons on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand
New rugby cult hero announces himself
STEPHEN HOILES, Former Wallabies, Waratahs and Brumbies forward
3 points: Ben O’Donnell
“He almost scored four tries, one of them was a forward pass. The try that was disallowed was five defenders beaten in the space of seven metres.
“He had an outstanding game. Yeah, he might have got gifted that last one, through the legs of Nic White, but he had an excellent game. I thought the Brumbies’ early dominance, BOD had a lot to do with that.
“The thing with BOD is he grew up playing 10, 12, 13, 15 and then he went to sevens.
READ MORE: AFL legend sues league, two clubs
READ MORE: ‘Scary’ protest stops snooker world champs
READ MORE: Late Cleary hit could’ve sparked 41-year first
“We asked him after the game and he just casually says ‘I don’t really care to be honest, I’ll play whatever’ and that’s his attitude, that’s what makes him a good team man.
“He trained in that Australian sevens program, five minutes from the Waratahs for a long period of time. He never really got much interest from the Waratahs.
“And I think it’s because he’s one of those guys that you don’t know if his best position is 12, 13, 14, 15.”
Waratahs star scores his first try of the season
2: Izaia Perese
“By far the best game he’s played this season.”
1: James O’Connor
SEAN MALONEY, Nine and Stan Sport commentator
3: Fraser McReight
“Honestly the stuff that bloke does, his pressure at the breakdown, his cross-field coverage, he finds a way to score more often than not as well. He’s just killing it.”
NEW PODCAST: Sean Maloney and Stephen Hoiles revel in Ben O’Donnell’s breakout game for the Brumbies and Force flyer Zach Kibirige’s try of the year contender
2: Ben O’Donnell
“He’s come rocketing up the Posty’s leaderboard. The arrival of the BOD squad, the celebrations, the scenes early on when his teammates from Randwick and schoolmates from Waverley. Clearly someone’s had five bucks on him to score the first try.
“I think he’s got real cult hero potential because he wears the tape on his head, he’ll often don the moustache.
“He’s a real knockabout bloke. He’s a tremendous footballer.
“He’s got some real go about him. And I’ve noticed online a lot of people likening him to Nick Cummins who had a similar approach, became a cult hero. He’s going so well.”
1: Jake Gordon
“The try right on half time, the pace of play, he was just everywhere the other night.”
Waratahs captain runs in 40-metre try
MT
3: Ben O’Donnell
2: Izaia Perese
1: James O’Connor
LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND EIGHT
13: Carter Gordon
8: James Slipper, Ben O’Donnell
7: Langi Gleeson, Tom Wright, Rob Valetini
6: Cadeyrn Neville, Ryan Lonergan, Fraser McReight
5: Nick Frost, Brad Wilkin, Noah Lolesio
4: Pete Samu, Jordan Petaia, Andy Muirhead, Izaia Perese
3: Lachlan Lonergan, Stacey Ili, Richard Hardwick, Vaiolini Ekuasi, Jed Holloway, Harry Wilson, Tate McDermott
2: Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, John Ulugia, Joe Pincus, Tim Anstee, Len Ikitau, James O’Connor
1: Max Jorgensen, Dave Porecki, Tom Lambert, Josh Flook, Lalakai Foketi, Gareth Simpson, Liam Wright, David Feliuai, Taleni Seu, Michael Hooper, Jordan Petaia, Jake Gordon
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here
Eddie Jones’ remarkable career in pictures: Hooker, teacher and master coach improbably leads Wallabies again
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
