On the field, the All Blacks remain the cream of the crop and New Zealand the country to beat as they came and conquered all. They remain the perennial favourites as the young guns continue to develop under the guidance of the old head of Richie McCaw who became world rugby's most capped captain.
the gap between the top tier nations and the rest appears to be closing with the likes of Ireland and Scotland benefiting from the Kiwi influence thanks to Jo Schmidt and Vern Cotter, and Argentina also making big progress against the established SANZAR nations.
On the other hand, some of the established Southern powers took a step back - Australia after a promising start under Ewen McKenzie, ended the season in total disarray and an inexperienced coach at the helm; Michael Cheika has found out that international rugby is a big step up from Super Rugby. South Africa also seemed to go backwards a bit although they were the only side to beat the mighty ABs this season - defeats against Ireland and Wales soured the end to the season and Heynecke Meyer has a big job to do to make the Boks contenders at the World Cup next year.
England also seemed to stagnate a bit after all the buildup over the last couple of seasons. There is no doubting their depth of talent and that they will be a force at next year's World Cup but they still seem to lack the consistency and final killer edge to beat the likes of the All Blacks and Boks when it matters or at least beat their neighbours to win the Six Nations having been billed as favourites.
Ireland made the biggest progress of the season and could emerge as surprise contenders at next year's World Cup at this rate - they're in the same pool as France, Italy, Canada and Romania so must surely back themselves to at least, make the quarterfinals. Winning the Six Nations championship was a big milestone for Jo Schmidt's side who look very well organized and play a good brand of rugby.
Japan and the Pacific Islands also made some strides but remain comparative minnows at best. The gap is clearly going down which is a good sign ahead of next year's rugby extravaganza.
So here's a look back at 2014, the year that was in rugby.
Team of the year -
1.Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand
2.Agustin Creevy, Argentina
3.Mike Ross, Ireland
4.Victor Matfield, South Africa
5.Brodie Retallick, New Zealand
6.Peter O'Mahony, Ireland
7.Michael Hooper, Australia
8.Duane Vermeulen, South Africa
9.Aaron Smith, New Zealand
10.Johnny Sexton, Ireland
11.Julian Savea, New Zealand
12.Jamie Roberts, Wales
13.Malakai Fekitoa, New Zealand
14.Ben Smith, New Zealand
15.Willie le Roux, South Africa
Rookie of the year - Malakai Fekitoa. Out of nowhere, the Auckland born Highlanders centre burst into the black jersey and pretty much made it his own once Ma'a Nonu was ruled out of the season due to injury. Able to play 12 and 13 with consumate ease, Fekitoa is likely to be the future of New Zealand rugby once the Wellington combo of Nonu and Smith eventually bow out. Handre Pollard and Condral Hendricks also get honourable mention.
Game of the year - South Africa 27-25 New Zealand, Johannesburg - another thriller at Ellis Park, but this time it was the hosts who would come out on top, albeit in controversial circumstances with Liam Messam penalised in retrospect after the referee caught his late high tackle on the replay screen - the TV producers and not the refs would be every rugby coach's nemesis this year with the timing of their replays seeming to prove key in some big game-changing decisions.
Moment of the year - Argentina winning their first Rugby Championship game, a 21-17 win over Australia. It may have been ugly but it was deserved in a season where Los Pumas made great strides against their more experienced Southern Hemisphere rivals. Moment of the season for New Zealand rugby was Taranaki winning the NPC title for the first time in their history in front of a sell-out Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth, beating Tasman who along with the Naki, brought back the feelgood factor to New Zealand provincial rugby as they upset the big cities to make the Final of the Premiership.
Try of the year -
No comments:
Post a Comment