2016 ARN Breakthrough Player of the Year

The Breakthrough Player of the Year is somewhat of a loosely defined category. It doesn’t necessitate that a player has achieved international stardom, nor does it require a player to necessarily have achieved international recognition at all. Any player who has demonstrated a significant rise in their standards over the course of the year, or the previous year, is able to be nominated. Those who made our shortlist below all made significant steps forward in their careers during the 2016 calendar year.

HONOURABLE MENTION

No player rose as quickly from obscurity to stardom in 2016 as San Mateo native Langilangi Haupeakui. A football convert who was described by Sacramento Express manager Ben Parker as a ‘human highlight reel’ prior to the season certainly lived up to that billing and then some. At 27 years of age Haupeakui is a latecomer to elite level rugby of any kind but his indomitable presence marked him as one of the success stories of the 2016 PRO Rugby season. His bone-crunching style earned him a shot on the Eagles practice roster, and so impressed was John Mitchell that he was catapulted straight into the test side to face Russia. He then signed with Glasgow Warriors and traveled with the Eagles on their November tour to cap a remarkable season. He’s had a worrying start to 2017 but one hopes he finds his feet again quickly.

Another to explode seemingly out of nowhere was Ohio Aviators winger Spike Davis. Brought into camp to train with the Eagles during the 2016 Americas Rugby Championship, he is also an American football convert whose explosive power makes him an intriguing prospect. Initially projected as a loose forward, Davis was instead employed on the wing by Aviators coach Paule Barford and it proved a canny decision, with his combination of size and surprising speed making him near unstoppable in one-on-one situations. After his unanimous selection to our PRO Rugby Dream Team he drifted somewhat out of sight but is now set to wreak havoc on the 2017 ARC with his Eagles debut likely just days away.

While already a respected player in the highly successful Canadian sevens lineup, Kayla Moleschi took it one step further in 2016 as she emerged as a bona fide star. Capable of playing hooker or halfback, she firmly established her place in the starting lineup as Canada claimed their first ever Cup Final win at Clermont-Ferrand in May. The team entered the Olympics with high expectations and while they came through the first day unscathed, their form began to waver but Moleschi’s standards never dropped. Her try led the way against France in the Quarter Final and when the team rallied from a poor Semi Final to redeem themselves in the Bronze Medal match against Great Britain, it was Moleschi in the middle who kept things ticking. Of those overlooked for the official Olympic Dream Team selection, none was more conspicuous than the whirldwind from Williams Lake.

Evan Olmstead‘s credentials can likely be attributed to the bizarre selection methods of the previous Canadian coaching regime. He he been given more game time – as many had called for – in 2015 he might well have been in contention for last year’s award. As it is, Olmstead finally got his dues in 2016. A contract with London Scottish came early in the year and Newcastle Falcons came calling soon after. After excelling in each of Canada’s three June tests he carried his form over into the start of his Aviva Premiership career, and was named Player of the Month by Falcons for September. By the end of November he had established himself as Canada’s best forward and one of the first names on the team sheet for Falcons, for whom he has undoubtedly been the signing of the season. Not bad for a player who didn’t even see half-an-hour’s worth of time at the World Cup.

THE WINNER

After making his test debut as a 21-year-old in 2014, big things have always been expected of Facundo Isa. His progress has been steady but in 2016 he slid up the scale dramatically. Employed as a reserve for Los Jaguares at the outset of their inaugural Super Rugby season, Isa got his chance when regular no8 Leonardo Senatore was suspended. To say he took his chances would be a grave understatement. His blockbusting attacking style thrust him immediately into the Pumas starting role and from then there was no turning back. Isa was the leading carrier in the Rugby Championship and turned heads such that by the time November came around he was in the conversation of the very best at his position in the world. For his rise from promising player to world class competitor, Facundo Isa is our 2016 ARN Breakthrough Player of the Year.