Here are our top 10 scrum-halves.
Top 10 scrum-halves
10 Naoto Saito (Tokyo Sungoliath, Japan): It can't be easy playing back-up to the great Antoine Dupont, but Saito has been truly excellent when he's afforded game time at Toulouse. Arriving in the south of France from Tokyo Sungoliath in 2024, the 28-year-old quickly became a fan favourite, as despite his limited game time, his impact was clear. Having gained experience in France, Saito has established himself as Japan's first-choice number nine, and is expected to be a key player in their 2027 World Cup campaign. After only two years in France, he heads back to Japan ahead of the 2026/27 season, having received a standing ovation from fans in his final Top 14 game.
9 Nolann Le Garrec (La Rochelle, France): Like Saito, he plays back-up to Dupont, but this time for France. And not only does he have to wait behind one of the greatest to have ever played the game, but he also falls behind the most in-form nine in the game, Maxime Lucu. With this in mind, his international appearances are sporadic and often coincide with injuries to the other two. He may be third choice, but he's still a world-class operator, and his box of tricks, including his trademark out-the-back passes, make him one of the most exciting and threatening nines in the game, and key to the way La Rochelle play rugby.
8 Tomos Williams (Saracens, Wales): Although Wales are going through a torrid time of late, they do still have a handful of world-class operators within their system, and Williams is up there with the very best. Sadly, having arrived at Gloucester from Cardiff in 2024, the 31-year-old has not seen success in many years, with his results table looking like a sea of red with only glimmers of green. Individually, however, he stood apart as a leader within the squad, notably taking on captaincy duties ahead of the 2025/26 season. Joining Saracens for the 2026/27 campaign, Williams will be looking to apply his high-quality skills to an already successful side, one looking to return to the world-beating levels they reached almost a decade ago.
7 Ben White (Toulon, Scotland): One of Scotland's key men, he forms a wonderful partnership with Finn Russell, in which the Toulon man controls proceedings, allowing the Bath pivot to open up the opposition defence. Although he once played for England in an uncapped match against the Barbarians, he's now fully committed to his grandfather's home nation of Scotland. For Toulon, he's established himself as an important member of the side, adapting to Top 14 rugby and becoming one of the league's most highly regarded number nines.
6 Grant Williams (Sharks, South Africa): Arguably the fastest scrum-half in the game. He is pure gas, providing a different attacking threat to almost any other nine in the world. The opposition has to remain alert in case he darts through a gap around the ruck, but they also have to be aware of his cheat lines through the middle as he looks to latch onto line breaks, because if he's given an inch of space, he'll outpace most wingers. He was part of the 2023 World Cup-winning Springbok side, and six months later won the Challenge Cup with the Sharks, so he's not short on success.
5 Cobus Reinach (Stormers, South Africa): He may be 36 years old, but he's playing some of the best rugby of his career. Despite struggling with injury for much of 2026, the veteran scrum-half has been excellent for both the Stormers and the Springboks in his limited appearances. He works particularly well alongside young fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for both teams, controlling the game from nine and allowing the 24-year-old to pull the strings at 10. Reinach spent many years as back-up to Faf de Klerk in the Springbok jersey, but has shown greater longevity, regularly fighting with Williams for control of the shirt.
4 Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster, Ireland): The fact that the New Zealand-born star isn't in the top three tells you all you need to know about the current crop of world number nines. Gibson-Park is quite possibly the greatest scrum-half that Ireland have ever had, and certainly the most successful. He's won countless trophies with Leinster and dominated the Six Nations with Ireland, but still falls short of making the top three. He's electric from the base of the ruck, and is possibly the best in the world with front-foot possession, yet still excellent behind a weaker pack. When he was selected as the British and Irish Lions number nine, he was certainly the second-best scrum-half in the world at that time, but the standards have once again risen. The World Cup is on the horizon, however, so expect him to push the boundaries of gainline success once again.
Top 3 scrum-halves
3 Antoine Dupont (Toulouse, France): How is Dupont not at number one? It's incredibly hard to justify this selection, but the two players above him are simply in better form. Domestically, Dupont and Toulouse achieved great success, beating Montpellier in the Top 14 final, but they fell to Bordeaux-Bègles in the Champions Cup quarter-finals. He was again excellent in the 2026 Six Nations, starting all five of France's matches, losing only to Scotland in a thrilling game at Murrayfield, but he was rested for France's Nations Championship Southern Hemisphere legs, which opened up space for Lucu.
2 Cameron Roigard (Hurricanes, New Zealand): The 25-year-old is coming of age. He's been steadily evolving from a hot prospect into a genuine world-class operator and is now undoubtedly New Zealand's premier scrum-half. He was utterly excellent in the All Blacks' Nations Championship victories over France, Italy and Ireland. These performances followed a particularly impressive Super Rugby campaign, in which Roigard helped the Hurricanes to victory over the Chiefs in the final. The gap between Roigard and the second choice nine is so wide that he has become a poster boy for the national side.
1 Maxime Lucu (Bordeaux-Bègles, France): What a rise for the 33-year-old. Champions Cup success with Bordeaux-Bègles and excellent displays for France in the 2025/26 season have solidified him as the most in-form scrum-half in the game. It took the former Biarritz man a long time to establish himself as a genuine world-class number nine, but in the autumn of his career, he's become just that. While he's likely to be replaced by Dupont when the Toulouse man returns to the national side, Lucu, for the time being, demands the title of world's best nine. There's so much to be said about his partnership with Matthieu Jalibert, but the fact is, Lucu is elite even when not playing alongside his club and international teammate. France possess three truly world-class nines, but Lucu is the one in the most terrific form.