Despite their Test series victory over the British and Irish Lions this summer, when Itoje was arguably the Lions' stand-out performer, world champions South Africa have no nominations. Rhinos' inaugural season has seen them overcome many challenges already. They lost three of their starting players to significant injuries during the opening round, and yet continued to pick up victory after victory without them. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder - the youngster-ever player to represent England at a major tournament - will still only be 19 when the World Cup comes around, but he has already gained a lot of big-match experience and shown he has the technical skills to help his country use the ball better. The 21-year-old claimed the next leg to force a decider and he missed a dart at bullseye to cause a shock before Price, with his sixth match dart, pinned double five for two points.Price beatGary Anderson