ESTABLISHED STARS WHO NAILED IT
BRODIE RETALLICK
The big man didn’t play as much rugby as he would have liked in 2018, missing the June series and then the last four Rugby Championship games with injury.
But he didn’t need a lot of game time to remind everyone of his insane ability. He was quite sensationally good in the first two Bledisloe encounters and then man of the match against England at Twickenham.
It was his ability to run through defenders that made the dierence, that and his sheer physical presence where he was always on hand to do something to get his team going forward.
As Hansen said of Retallick before the match against Ireland where he and Sam Whitelock became the most capped locking combination in All Blacks history: “When they are both on form, they are pretty special players. Retallick is one from outer space and Sammy is not far behind him.”
BEAUDEN BARRETT
There is something nearly miraculous about the way Beauden Barrett never lets his standards slip.
He finds a way to make himself an integral part of every test even if it is not doing what everyone expects. His defence became such a big feature of his game this year, as did his game management.
So too did his goal-kicking and what impressed most was that he responded to weakness.
When he missed a few kicks against South Africa he bounced back with much improved figures.
When his game management was questioned, he came back with much improved performances. And then of course there was the way he played at Eden Park against the Wallabies – a performance every bit as commanding as the one produced by Daniel Carter against the British and Irish Lions in 2005.
RIEKO IOANE
His try scoring is showing no signs of letting up and the reason it probably won’t is that he continues to work so hard to make something out of nothing.
He’s not a stand around and wait for the ball sort of wing and he gets o the flank to go looking for action. He’s also become brilliant at using his strength and footwork to beat defenders in a confined space and maintain the momentum of the attack.
A second straight World Rugby player of the year nomination probably says it all.
PORTIA WOODMAN
Every year there is the unspoken vibe that Portia Woodman’s tries will dry up, or at least slow down, and she will start to look mortal.
Every year we keep waiting and the longer we do, the more it becomes apparent that she is a special talent whose ability to keep scoring may never dry up.
There was certainly no sign of it happening in 2018 and she was once again the most deadly finisher on the world sevens circuit and no one was able to shut her down.
The pressure gets more intense on her each year and she just shrugs it o and dots down.