Eben Etzebeth BEATEN to end-of-year Player of the Series award!

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has missed out on being crowned the Autumn Nations Player of the Series.

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The South African second-row bruiser was one of six players nominated for the award with rugby fans given the chance to vote for their favourite during the recent-concluded November Tests.

Little-known Ireland loose forward Caelan Doris took top spot with 26% of the votes, followed by Etzebeth with 22%.

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The rest of the positions were filled by England fullback Freddie Steward (20%), France scrumhalf Antoine Dupont (14%), England flyhalf Marcus Smith (10%) and France pivot Romain Ntamack (8%).

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Eben Etzebeth put in three mega shifts for the Springboks in their wins over Wales (23-18) and Scotland (30-15), as well as in their narrow 27-26 defeat to England.

Against Scotland, Etzebeth made the most runs with ball in hand (12) and was also the joint-highest for most tackles (7), while against Wales he made the second-most tackles in the side (9) and the second-most carries (7).

He kept his best for last, though, as he made a team-high seven carries for 46 metres against England, while he also made 13 tackles.

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However, despite those impressive stats, voters opted for 23-year-old Doris.

The official Autumn Nations Series website described Doris’ performances as follows: “His pièce de resistance was the performance in the historic 29-20 victory over the All Blacks as he popped up everywhere to complete 12 tackles, carry for 84 metres and beat two defenders.

“He also scored Ireland’s all-important third try after the break, stepping inside and racing through a gap in the wall of black shirts to run the ball in from just outside the New Zealand 22.

“In fact, so good was his display at the Aviva Stadium that evening, it earned him the Player of the Match award in what was only Ireland’s third-ever win over New Zealand.

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“Even switching to No 8 in the absence of injured Jack Conan for Ireland’s final Autumn Nations Series game did not slow him down, rising to the occasion again against Argentina.

“Doris scored his second try in as many games as Ireland prevailed 53-7 in Dublin, covering another 58 metres with ball in hand and finishing the game with 11 carries.

“All in all, Doris made 36 carries across the Autumn Nations Series – more than any other player – while he also hit a joint-high 99 rucks as his relentless engine drove Ireland forward.”

Eben Etzebeth has been sidelined for 3 months

Meanwhile, Eben Etzebeth has been ruled out of rugby for his French Top 14 club Toulon until at least February 2022 due to concussion.

READ | EBEN ETZEBETH SET FOR THREE-MONTH INJURY LAYOFF

Earlier this month there was worldwide shock and disbelief at Etzebeth’s omission from World Rugby’s four-man Player of the Year nominations for this year’s award.

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FINAL POSITIONS IN THE VOTING:

Caelan Doris (Ireland) – 26%
Eben Etzebeth (South Africa) – 22%
Freddie Steward (England) – 20%
Antoine Dupont (France) – 14%
Marcus Smith (England) – 10%
Romain Ntamack (France) – 8%