Black Ferns dominate ABs at awards
THE All Blacks and their coach, Steve Hansen, have been overlooked for the big prizes at next week’s New Zealand Rugby awards.
There was also no place for Beauden Barrett among the player of the year contenders, despite him taking home the men’s player of the year award at World Rugby’s awards earlier this week.
The Black Ferns lead the way in the team of the year nominations, after beating England 41-32 to win their World Cup in August, and they are joined by the under-20 men, who won their world championship in June in emphatic fashion with a 64-17 thrashing of England in the final.
The Crusaders round out the nominees, after beating the Lions in Johannesburg in August in the Super Rugby final to claim their eighth title.
The coaches of those teams – Glenn Moore, Craig Philpott, and Scott Robertson – are up for the coach of the year award. Moore was in his second year with the Black Ferns, while Philpott and Robertson were in their first years with the under-20s and the Crusaders.
The nominations reflect the All Blacks’ mixed year.
They may have won the Rugby Championship in a canter, but their big challenge for 2017 was the series against the British and Irish Lions in June and July, which ended in a draw.
They also dropped a test to the Wallabies – albeit in a dead rubber – but did finish with three test wins on their end-of-year tour of Europe.
Black Ferns and sevens standout Sarah Goss is one of the three nominees for player of the year, alongside All Blacks lock GETTY IMAGES Sam Whitelock and wing Rieko Ioane – the World Rugby breakthrough player of the year.
Goss is also up for women’s player of the year, where she will face competition from prolific tryscorer Portia Woodman and Aldora Itunu.
Whitelock is up for Super Rugby player of the year and he is joined by team-mate Richie Mo’unga and Hurricanes midfielder Ngani Laumape.
DJ Forbes is up for the Richard Crawshaw Memorial Award for men’s sevens player of the year, as are Vilimoni Koroi and Regan Ware, while Woodman, Ruby Tui and Tyla Nathan-Wong will vie for the women’s sevens player of the year gong.
Rieko Ioane, Charlie Ngatai and Liam Squire are the nominees for the Tom French Memorial Ma¯ori player of the year award.
The ASB Rugby Awards will be handed out on Thursday night at a ceremony at the SKY City Convention Centre in Auckland.