Josh van der Flier named Autumn Nations Player of the Series

PLAYER OF THE AUTUMN SERIES: Ireland's openside flanker Josh van der Flier has been named Player of the Series for this year's Autumn Nations Series. Picture: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile

Ireland's openside flanker Josh van der Flier has been named Player of the Series for this year's Autumn Nations Series.

Van der Flier edged the fan vote narrowly beating South Africa's winger Cheslin Kolbe 37% to 34% highlighting the impact of both players throughout the Autumn series.

2022 World Player of the Year van der Flier was consistently high performing and the campaign reinforeced the flankers standing.

Van der Flier was one of Ireland's best players in their loss to New Zealand in their opening game with his routhe-one breakdown work, disrupting the opposition's flow with powerful ruck entries and scoring Ireland's only try. 

He was instrumental in Ireland's win 37-23 Argentina making 24 tackles and beating three defenders whilst making 14 carries.

Against Fiji, the Leinster flanker showed his versatility when he stepped into a more attacking role in an open game paving the way for his teammates to score while crossing the whitewash himself.

Van der Flier stats across the four games underline his influence with three tries, 27 carries, 45 tackles, 101 rucks hit. The Opta stats show the 31-year-old combined an average 68 carries, tackles and rucks per 80 minutes which is more than any player across any nation who featured for 100 minutes or more.