My “International Rugby Review and Awards” Post

Leigh Halfpenny lines up another kick during his successful 2013 

Yes folks, I, along with pretty much every blog, magazine, newspaper in circulation, will look back over the events of this past year and decide which moments stand out, which we would rather forget and name the best of the best.

We’ll start with International Match of the Year, 2013 had a few doozies, from a biased point of view its hard to look past Wales’ utter destruction of England 30-3  to win the second consecutive Six Nations titles. I liked writing that so much I’ll write it again; Wales’ utter destruction of England. Lovely. Its also tough to not name the Lions vs Australia 3rd Test Match not just because of the fantastic result but the context of it being a series decider and the history-making nature of the Lions victory. However the winner of this category goes to the thriller that was the decider of the Rugby Championship, South Africa vs New Zealand in October. It was everything that we want from a Rugby match, tries, tackles, end to end passages played by the 2 best teams in the world. Go and watch it somewhere, even if its just highlights.

Speaking of the Kiwis, they take the Team of the Year crown too. C’mon, it wasn’t going to be anyone other than the only team to go undefeated in the calender year in the pro era. South Africa and Ireland ran them very close but no cigar. The cherry to top their undefeated cake was that in the course of the year they won back the highly coveted therugbyforum.com International Shield from Japan who in turn had won it from Wales on a tour that many in Wales want stricken from the record (although we were winning the Lions series at the time). Just a joke, keep your hair on. Special mention to Italy and Argentina who share the “award” for Worst International Team of the Year

In another smooth segue we move on to Coach of the Year and despite coaching the aforementioned All Blacks to their undefeated year it’s not Steve Hansen that wins this but the Wales and Lions coach Warren Gatland. To secure the Lions first series win since 1997 is reason enough but to match that to the sheer gravity and what the Lions mean to British and Irish, let alone World, rugby and the fact he did it his way and selected who he thought would do the job despite how those selections and tactics would annoy a heck of a lot of people who thought they knew better (Keith Wood in particular,  we’re still waiting on that “I was wrong” from you Keith)

The winner of Monumental Moron of the Year, something Rugby World Magazine won’t do that you can be sure of, is a personal choice and the winner is the little English goblin who, in what can also win Failed Troll Moment of the Year, bet every reader of the Western Mail £1 that England would win in the 6 Nations decider. As mentioned earlier that didn’t happen with, and I have no shame in writing this a third time, Wales’ utter destruction of England. So step up Austin Healey, you are a monumental moron.

The IRB will name just one player of the year but I’m more diplomatic and will name a Northern Hemisphere Player of the Year and Southern Hemisphere Player of the Year. Both are no-brainers for anyone who has watched any International rugby over the last 12 months. So for the Northern Hemisphere the winner is Wales and Lions fullback and “place-kicker-extrordianaire-but-he-can-play-a-bit-as-well” Leigh Halfpenny. Both Lions tour and the 6 Nations could have been very different without him. Continuing the New Zealand domination of rugby the Southern Hemisphere POTY is All Black Number 8, Keiran Read. Read has been an impressive player in the Kiwi pack for a few seasons now but 2013 he just took everything to the next level in their successful year.

Now the one that I think will cause the most arguing. The XV of the year;

1. Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
2. Bismark Du Plessis (South Africa
3. Adam Jones (Wales)
4. Eben Eztebeth (South Africa)
5. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
6. Liam Messam (New Zealand)
7. Willem Alberts (South Africa)
8. Keiran Read (New Zealand)
9. Aaron Smith (New Zealand)
10. Aaron Cruden (New Zeland)
11. George North (Wales)
12. Jean De Villiers (South Africa)
13. Jonathan Davies (Wales)
14. Isreal Folau (Australia)
15. Leigh Halfpenny(Wales)

Making the bench are Alex Corbisiero (England), Richard Hibbard (Wales), Owen Franks (New Zealand), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), Sam Warburton (Wales), Will Genia (Australia), Quade Cooper (Australia), Ben Smith (New Zealand)

There we have it, maybe you agree with me on those selections, maybe you don’t, what I think we can agree on was that 2013 was a great year of rugby on the International stage. Let’s hope 2014 can match it.

(Follow me on Twitter – @IainMiles)

(header image by Simone Ramella)

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