No 14: Andrew Kellaway

The Waratah represents the typical, multi-skilled Australian back and looks to be the perfect replacement for Adam Ashley-Cooper. Capable of playing outside centre, wing and full-back, Kellaway has, much like Ashley-Cooper, an innate understanding of when and where to be on the pitch and is a prolific try-scorer. He broke try-scoring records at the U20 World Championship in 2014 and was rewarded with a Super Rugby contract for the 2015 season. With Israel Folau keen to move up to the midfield following AAC’s departure, look for Kellaway to feature initially on the wing, but possibly also at full-back

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No 13: Garry Ringrose

Despite being tagged with the burdensome moniker of Brian O’Driscoll’s heir apparent at provincial and national level, Ringrose has continued his rugby development apace and forced his way into Leinster’s first team. The centre has adapted well to a role on Leinster’s wing, but it’s at outside centre where his future lies. He has an eye for a gap, a subtle step and whilst not the archetypal midfield thumper, also relishes the physical aspect of centre play. At the very least, Ringrose should continue to prosper for Leinster this season but don’t rule him out of international reckoning just yet

No 12: Johnny Williams

Coming into the 2015/16 season, the expectations for Williams were to build on an impressive England U18 campaign from the prior season, feature prominently for the England U20 side and perhaps push for a handful of appearances with the London Irish senior side. Fast-forward four months and the Wales-qualified Williams is now the centrepiece of the Irish back line. His importance to Irish will likely see him miss out on representing England at the U20 Six Nations, but with the inside centre getting plenty of Aviva Premiership and European Rugby Challenge Cup experience, England coach Eddie Jones won’t mind at all

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No 11: Rieko Ioane

If you were to thumb through a dictionary for the word ‘electric’, you’d likely find a picture of this man right next to it. The brother of Akira, Rieko has already set the HSBC Sevens World Series alight, starring for New Zealand as a 17-year-old, and now has his eyes fixed firmly on Super Rugby and higher honours with the All Blacks. Elusive and powerful, Ioane is a nightmare to try and tackle one-on-one and should rack up clean breaks and defenders beaten for fun. A natural centre, he will likely get his first taste of rugby for the Blues on the wing, especially as Frank Halai and Charles Piutau both left the franchise during the off-season. Don’t rule out Ioane featuring against Wales in the summer

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No 10: Harumichi Tatekawa

Tatekawa is an established player in Japan but to many outside of the country, especially those who didn’t tune into Japan’s games at the RWC, he is largely an unknown quantity. A graceful and balanced runner, Tatekawa was key to the smooth operating of Japan’s backline at the tournament, albeit from inside centre rather than fly-half. With the Sunwolves having brought in Samoan fly-half Tusi Pisi as one of their marquee players, it’s likely Tatekawa will also play at inside-centre for the franchise, but look for him to play as a second distributor and use his playmaking skills to try and get the most out of a squad which is struggling for game-breakers

No 9: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne

Like Ioane, Hidalgo-Clyne has already had his breakout year, but with Edinburgh going well in the Guinness PRO12 this season, the young 9 will be keen to capitalise and push forward his claims to be among Scotland’s starting half-backs. Greig Laidlaw was one of the standouts of the Rugby World Cup, but 2016 marks the first year of the new cycle and identifying which players will be peaking and which will be diminishing come the next RWC is paramount. Laidlaw, 34 in 2019, is unfortunately in the latter category, while Hidalgo-Clyne, 23, is becoming one of the most exciting scrum-halves in the world

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No 1: Lucas Noguera Paz

Lucas Noguera Paz already has 23 caps to his name, despite being just 22 years of age. The talented loosehead has signed up with the Jaguares for this season and, if the Argentinean Rugby Union is true to their word of only picking players from their new Super Rugby side, Noguera Paz should inherit Marcos Ayerza’s jersey for the foreseeable future. He will be tested by formidable tightheads in the Africa 2 conference of Super Rugby and it should prove the perfect training ground for him to develop into one of the most feared loosehead props in world rugby

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No 2: Camille Chat

The 20-year-old hooker has been one of Racing’s most consistent performers this season and has helped propel the club to its place level with Toulouse and Clermont at the summit of the Top 14 table. He has bypassed the once highly-touted Christopher Tolofua in terms of international prospects, and faces a salivating battle with Tolofua’s teammate, Julien Marchand, to be France’s next great hope at hooker. Guy Novès has named Guilhem Guirado as his France captain, but Chat has been included in France’s latest 30-man squad for the Six Nations and could well be charged with understudy duties. Chat is spearheading France’s new generation after their RWC campaign ended in embarrassing fashion

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No 3: Paul Hill

Kieran Brookes’ injury may have come at the worst possible time for England and Northampton, but the silver lining is that it has thrust Hill from bench duties to starting tighthead. The Junior World Championship-winner is a rare breed among modern athletic props, not only excelling at the set-piece but also showing hunger for the set-piece. The former Yorkshire Carnegie player is no slouch in the loose, either, possessing formidable ball-carrying ability and strength over the ball at the breakdown. The Six Nations may be coming a month or two too early for him, but Hill has the raw materials of a prop who could go on to win 80+ international caps

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No 4: Paul Jedrasiak

Jedrasiak’s transition from highly-touted prospect to first team stalwart over the last nine months has been seamless. The former France U20 star has been one of the highlights of Clermont’s season to date and it’s likely his impact is one of the main reasons behind the club’s willingness to allow veteran Canadian lock Jamie Cudmore to leave Stade Marcel-Michelin at the end of the season. His work rate is phenomenal and well-suited to his relentless style in the engine room. A first test cap beckons, while he is quickly making himself invaluable to Clermont. He could cement himself into a lock pairing with Yoann Maestri for Les Bleus, a duo which may be the nation’s best since Fabien Pelous and Jérôme Thion packed down

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No 5: Maro Itoje

Is there a more hyped young player in world rugby right now? The answer, probably not. That said, every plaudit has been hard-earned by Itoje, who continues to pass every challenge in his lengthy stride and his development has showed no signs of abating. His inclusion in England’s Six Nations squad seems is expected and he’s been touted in some quarters as the most talented English rugby player since Mr J Wilkinson. A plethora of international caps beckon for Itoje, many of which could be as England captain

No 6: Akira Ioane

Okay, 2015 was Ioane’s breakout year, but given how well he played as a 19-year-old, who knows what he can achieve with an extra year of experience under his belt. He was excellent for the Blues in 2015 before spearheading New Zealand’s successful U20 World Championship campaign. Ioane’s new coach at the Blues, Tana Umaga, was also his U20 coach for New Zealand and it’s likely that Umaga will look to build the side around Ioane as he sets out to turnaround the Blues’ fortunes. Devastating with ball in hand, the powerful back rower also gets through a great amount of unseen work, influencing the breakdown significantly with both his rucking and his fetching

No 7: Ollie Griffiths

While many other areas of British industry have struggled during the recession, Wales have continued to do a roaring trade in openside flankers and the latest prospect to come off that conveyor belt, Griffiths, may just be the best of the bunch. Already featuring prominently for the Dragons, Griffiths must overtake the vaunted pairing of Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric ahead of him, with Ellis Jenkins and James Davies also highly rated. Once he gets over the ball, Griffiths latches on like a vice and is all but impossible to clear out. In the future Warren Gatland could be tempted into going down the Australian route and fielding two in his starting back row

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