Jones & Laidlaw on World Rugby Player of the Year shortlist

New Zealand will play Australia in Saturday's Rugby World Cup final

Wales' Alun Wyn Jones and Scotland's Greig Laidlaw are among the six players to have been shortlisted for the World Rugby Player of the Year award.

The others are New Zealand duo Dan Carter and Julian Savea and Australia's David Pocock and Michael Hooper.

The winner will be announced on 1 November, the day after Saturday's Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham.

Lock Jones and scrum-half Laidlaw were instrumental in their teams' progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

The 30-year-old Jones won his 100th Test cap in the quarter-final defeat by South Africa and has started all 10 of his Tests in 2015.

Scotland captain Laidlaw scored 79 points at the World Cup before his participation ended with a controversial quarter-final defeat by Australia.

Outside-half Carter, 33, has twice won the award, in 2005 and 2012, and will bring a glorious international career to an end in Saturday's World Cup final against Australia.

Dan Carter is the highest Test scorer in international rugby with 1579 points

Carter's team-mate Savea, 25, has already scored a record-equalling eight tries at the 2015 World Cup and has a chance to break the record, jointly held by himself, Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana, on Saturday.

Pocock, 27, and Hooper, 24, have been the dominant back-rowers at the World Cup and their supremacy at the breakdown helped the Wallabies progress from the so-called Pool of Death and subsequently beat Scotland and Argentina in the knockout stages.

The World Rugby Player of the Year 2015 is one of 13 categories of awards, including the World Rugby Team of the Year, World Rugby Coach of the Year, World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year, World Rugby Women's Player of the Year and World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.