2016 Ballers Blog Rugby Awards

Welcome to the 2016 Ballers Blog Rugby awards. Throughout the night we will be handing out awards to those who have put their stamp on 2016. This year saw England go unbeaten throughout the year and equaled their record win streak and Ireland beats the All Blacks in Chicago.

Most Overrated player of year

The winner of this ward also wins other awards such as dick of the year and Thug of the year. I am of course talking about Dylan Hartley. The newly named England captain started his role with a dominant Six nations win where they were never properly challenged. Hartley was never going to be a captain who led by example as he is inconsistent and known for his violent nature. Throughout the year his place has been in question after the ever improving Jamie George pushed him close to a starting place. His captaincy was also questioned throughout the year as many players around him such as Itoje have been tipped as future captain. I would say that the only reason he's in the squad is that Eddie Jones named him captain before playing a proper game and that he shows a little fire in big games.

Most under rated player of the year

On the opposite side of the England captaincy story is a certain Chris Robshaw. He has had a year of resurgence this year as he thrived without the pressures of captaincy. He was switched to the 6 shirt for England by Eddie Jones which allowed him to go around grafting for the team but constantly being an unsung hero as most of his work went unnoticed to the untrained rugby watching eye. He offered his captaincy know how when Dylan Hartley was in difficult positions and led young players around him such as Tiemana Harrison into the England team and set the standard for the forwards. He will be missed a lot by England in the six nations and may struggle to regain his spot if young players such as Jack Clifford can capitalize on the injury of Robshaw and Haskell. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery and is back turning over ball for Quins and England as soon as possible.

Club Breakthrough Player of the Year

This has been one of the best calendar years for London Wasps in recent years as they have managed to get back to where they belong after a few years of being of the pace in the Premiership. One of the decisive factors in their rise back to the top is their strength and depth in the squad. During England's summer to down under James Haskell suffered a major foot injury meaning the 7 shirt was up for grabs at Wasps. Step up 24-year-old Thomas Young to fill the void. He fought off tough competition from Guy Thompson to secure his place and put in a series of consistent performances with making outstanding contributions in attack and defense scoring 10 tries and making many tackles and turnovers in 2016. As James Haskell has decided that he is going to make being injured a habit, Young has a great chance to secure a place in the back row and push for the Wales six nations squad.

International Breakthrough Player of the Year

This one maybe quite predictable but it is another English player who goes by the name Maro Itoje. Do I really need to say why. He has been giving consistently great performances for Saracens to help them to a Premiership title and continuing his form in an England shirt starting 5 out of 6 six nations game and securing his spot as England's first choice second row. Hopefully we will see him continue his meteoric rise in an England shirt over the next few seasons.

Player of the Year

After Dan Carter retired from international rugby in 2015 the whole of the rugby world was wondering if a kiwi fly half could step up to carry on the legacy of great All Black fly halves. I am of coarse talking about Beauden Barrett. Barrett brought flare and pace to the number 10 shirt as he scored 10 tries for the All Blacks and was the danger man for all teams facing him and it was only the Irish who could crack the All black code. Many people considered the Kiwi back division the weakest in years but a year on they have all been proved wrong as players such as Barrett have really excelled themselves and still remain favorites looking forward to the 2019 World Cup.

Thank you for joining us and hopefully there will be more of the same in 2017.