The All Black captain Richie McCaw has been named as one of seven nominees on the IRb shortlist for the Player of the Year Award.
The other finalists are Ireland's Jamie Heaslip and Brian O'Driscoll, Australia's Matt Giteau, Tom Croft of England and South Africans Francois Steyn and Fourie du Preez.
The winner will be announced, together with the IRB Coach of the Year and IRB Team of the Year, during the final weekend of November Tests.
The list of past winners includes the iconic names of the decade - Jonny Wilkinson, Schalk Burger, Richie McCaw, Fabien Galthié, Dan Carter, Bryan Habana and Keith Wood.
The nominees were selected by the IRB Awards independent panel of judges, comprising former internationals with over 500 Test caps between them. Will Greenwood, Gavin Hastings, Raphaël Ibanez, Francois Pienaar, Agustin Pichot, Scott Quinnell, Tana Umaga, Paul Wallace and convenor John Eales watched over 60 hours of action from 46 matches, awarding points to the three players they thought stood out in each match.
