Boards.ie 2008 Rugby Awards

wixfjord

Havent seen a thread like this yet so thought Id start one. The categories are...

Try of the year
Mine is dricos against wasps, sure a bit of luck involved but for the enormity of that game to get his career back on track it deserves. There have been many more though.


Player of the year
Lee Byrne. Bit controversial, but this guy has had a great year, and is surely a shoe in for the Lions fb. Great under high ball, good kick and very good going forward.

Surprise of the year
Andy Powell. This guy came from nowhere to take both the HC and Wales autumn Internationals by storm. Good runner and i believe he has applied for a patent on that hand of and spin move:p!

Team of the year
Munster. They just keep getting better. Nuff said.

Game of the year
Couple of honourable mentions in Wales v. NZ and Munster Clermont. But has to go to Munster v NZ. Dont think Ive ever seen a spectacle like it

Dissapointment of the year
Leinster performance away to Castres. Enough said on this already, hopfully the lads can put it right in the New Year. CJ Van Der Linde's performances so far in the Leinster jersey come a close second.

My hope for 2009
Darren Cave. Been watching this guy a fair bit and hes a very exciting centre. Along with the likes of earls and fitz this guy could be the future of Irish rugby.

Over to you oh wise posters of the rugby forum!

Stev_o

Great idea.

Try of the year
Cant really think of one:(

Player of the year
Sergio Parrise. Dont think there's a better player around at the moment

Surprise of the year
Id also go with with Powell but to be slightly different ill go with Danny Care, i remember seeing his first match with Quins against Sale and the first three things he did where awful, threw one pass over head, another nowhere near the OH and made a terrible box kick, then Quins got a free kick from a scrum and he made 50 meters even the commentators had to stop and say maybe this kid is good.

Team of the year
New Zealand. Couldnt be anyone else, after loosing so many first choice players to Europe and to then go and rebuild the squad winning the 3N and then winning the Grand Slam in Europe without conceding a try is just amazing.

Game of the year
The decider match of the Tri Nations, New Zealand vs Australia, yes the ELV's marred the match but what a contest it was right to the end.

Disappointment of the year
Irelands general performance, two of our provinces won titles this year yet it couldnt be converted into International success, a waste of the talent present or just the ugly truth that we arent as good as we all thought, who knows.

My hope for 2009
Lions 3-Boks 0

[Jackass]

Try of the year
Tough one, I'd have to say BOD's 2nd v Wasps. They didn't know how to handle him at all. Also BOD v Australia with the Kearney, Bowe, BO'D interlinking...very good try. (IRB Try of the year too!)


Player of the year
Shane Williams

Surprise of the year
Wales Grand Slam

Team of the year
Wales & Munster

Game of the year
Leinster v Wasps for me. On a personal level, I haven't enjoyed a game like that in a long time!

Dissapointment of the year
Leinster in both games v Castres & Irish 6 Nations performance. (although not unexpected).

My hope for 2009
Leinster somehow getting back on track and winning the HEC. Ireland to win the 6 nations. But I'd take a good performance and need players blooded.

kensutz

Try of the year
O'Discoll vs Wasps and Keith Earls vs Newport Gwent Dragons where at the end he kicked it up into his hand to score the try.

Player of the year
Shane Williams - little dynamo.

Surprise of the year
Might have to agree with Andy Powell.

Team of the year
Obviously Munster and Wales too.

Game of the year
Munster vs New Zealand without a doubt.

Dissapointment of the year
Ireland's performances and Leinster in the Heineken Cup.

My hope for 2009
A double for Munster.

Try of the year
O'Driscoll v Wasps

Player of the year
Shane Williams

Surprise of the year
Andy Powell

Team of the year
All Blacks

Game of the year
Munster v NZ

Dissapointment of the year
Declan kidneys appointment as Ireland manager

My hope for 2009
O'Driscoll to keep up the form he has started to show

Wixfjord's post was very good and so I would agree with alot of things eg Powell

RugbyFanatic

Try of the year
O'Driscoll vs Wasps (2nd try)


Player of the year
Sergio Parisse, Amazing player in 6Nations and considering he is in such a weak team it really goes to show how class this guy is.

Surprise of the year
Andy Powell. Pretty easy choice for me.

Team of the year
New Zealand, simply awesome.

Game of the year
Munster vs New Zealand - truly an amazing game.

Dissapointment of the year
Ronan O'Gara for me.

My hope for 2009
Leinster to win HC or Ireland to win 6N

louthandproud

Try of the year
O'Driscoll vs Wasps (2nd try) Great to see him coming back into form at start of the season, I hope the form stays (and injury free) for 6N.


Player of the year
Shane Williams

Surprise of the year
Wales beating the Wallabies

Team of the year
Best team: AB's
Team of year: Munster - An incredible team effort to win HEC again.
Wales 2nd

Game of the year
Munster vs New Zealand - Awesome.

Disapointment of the year
Irelands continued woes

My hope for 2009
Ireland to start playing like a team again.

corny

Try of the year
Gonna be very original and go for BOD's try against Australia in the summer.

Player of the year
Ali Williams. Think he's improved to be the best lock in the world. Deserves credit.

Surprise of the year
Andy Powell.

Team of the year
New Zealand and their continuing dominance.

Game of the year
Munster vs New Zealand has to be.

Dissapointment of the year
Realising the WC wasn't just a blip for Ireland.

My hope for 2009
BOD scoring the match winning try (while captain) in the 79th minute of the third test against SA which makes it 2-1 to the Lions in the series! He deserves it for the disappointment in NZ.

Serenity Now!

Try of the year
Was actually a rugby league try. Greg Inglis mid-airing the ball backwards from the dead ball area for Mark Gasnier to touch down instantly during the ANZAC test this year will be hard to beat in either code.

Player of the year
Know what? I agree with the choice of Ali Williams. The player opposition supporters love to hate while being undeniably the form pack player in any team.

Surprise of the year
Rich Brown for the Wallabies. Going to be in their backrow for a long while.

Team of the year
All Blacks by a country mile.

Game of the year
Bledisloe Cup opener.

Disappointment of the year
Ireland v Wales at Croke Pk.

My hope for 2009
Championship win for Ireland

Timothy Bryce

Try of the year
Ricky Janourie for the Boks against the AB's in Carisbrook

Player of the year
Ali Williams

Surprise of the year
Andy Powell

Team of the year
All Blacks.

Game of the year
Munster v AB's

Disappointment of the year
Leinster v Castres

My hope for 2009
To see new Irish players blooded in the 6N

barnesd

Try of the year
Going for Shane Williams vs South Africa when he completely fooled about 4 defenders with his step.

Player of the year
Ma'a Nonu. Pace, power and skill, best 12 in the world at the moment imo and he's improved hugely.

Surprise of the year
Andy Powell

Team of the year
New Zealand. 3N, Bledisloe and clean sweep of the NH.

Game of the year
It was the end of 2007 so I'm cheating but Wasps v Clermont in the HEC. Otherwise I'll go for Leinster v Wasps, 80 minutes of bliss.

Dissapointment of the year
As a Leinster fan it's just the general level of performance from Leinster, and also the lack of improvement seen from Ireland.

My hope for 2009
Sean O'Brien, looks the business.

phog

Try of the year
Keith Earl's 2nd try against NGD - great bit of skill involved.

Player of the year
Probably go with Ali Williams as well though Lee Byrne runs close

Surprise of the year
For me it has to be Keith Earls - a ML bencher last year to a HC starter.

Team of the year
Munster, if it had to be a national team then I'd go for the ABs.

Game of the year
No doubt here - Munster V All Blacks, the occasion of the opening of the stadium, the 30 year anniversary and the quality of the game itself - best by far.

Dissapointment of the year
Irelands poor performance

My hope for 2009
Ireland to win the Grand Slam and if I can have a 2nd hope then Munster to do the double with winning the ML and the HC.

sr. kila

Try of the year
driscoll's vs wasps

Player of the year
Paul O Connell

Surprise of the year
Kieth Earls (good debut for the lad)

Team of the year
Munster

Game of the year
Munster V All Blacks

Dissapointment of the year
Kidney leaving munster

My hope for 2009
A new manager for munster

RugbyFanatic

sr. kila wrote: »

Try of the year
driscoll's vs wasps

Player of the year
Paul O Connell

Surprise of the year
Kieth Earls (good debut for the lad)

Team of the year
Munster

Game of the year
Munster V All Blacks

Dissapointment of the year
Kidney leaving munster

My hope for 2009
A new manager for munster

Do you support Munster?

sr. kila

sr. kila wrote: »

Try of the year
driscoll's vs wasps

Player of the year
Paul O Connell

Surprise of the year
Kieth Earls (good debut for the lad)

Team of the year
Munster

Game of the year
Munster V All Blacks

Dissapointment of the year
Kidney leaving munster

My hope for 2009
A new manager for munster

ahahaahaaha

barnesd

I wouldn't consider Earls a surprise to be honest, the dogs on the street knew last season how talented he was but for one reason or another Kidney decided to leave him out, possibly down to physical development.

Crash

Well, you could comment all day as to whether the boy was physically developed enough. I'd like to see this thread coming back to nominations as opposed to criticism of others nominations.

(I'll post up mine during the week - do we want an actual decision made on this btw? as in, am more than happy to compile the posts, decide the winner, and put up a thread compiling whatever vids we can find under each topic, if thats what people want.)

barnesd

Anything other than this wrote: »

Well, you could comment all day as to whether the boy was physically developed enough. I'd like to see this thread coming back to nominations as opposed to criticism of others nominations.

(I'll post up mine during the week - do we want an actual decision made on this btw? as in, am more than happy to compile the posts, decide the winner, and put up a thread compiling whatever vids we can find under each topic, if thats what people want.)

Ok, I do apologise for having an opinion. I won't do it again.

spoon

Try of the year

Earls's try against Newport.

Player of the year

Shane Williams

Surprise of the year

Probably Connacht beating both Munster and Leinster. It's great for them, really wouldn't have expected it at all.

Team of the year

The All Blacks. They dominated this year.

Game of the year

Munster Vs All Blacks. The game actually lived up to all the hype!

Dissapointment of the year

Ireland's performances. They don't seem to have recovered from the world cup at all.

My hope for 2009

I am praying for a good performance by Ireland in the 6N. A triple crown would do! Now that our ranking has been secured for the world cup i hope to see some of the youger players being used more also.

bamboozle

Try of the year

As a Leinster fan i'll unfortunately go for Marcus Horan v Clermont in the recent game, they should have been dead and buried but responded as i wish Leinster could...

Player of the year


Mike Blair- brillaint player

Surprise of the year

Tony Buckley turning into a decent rugby player

Team of the year

Clontarf....once again head down to Thomand Park and beat Shannon,4 seasons since we've lost there!

Game of the year

Munster v AB's

Dissapointment of the year

Marcus Horan still on the irish squad



My hope for 2009
Ian Keatley/Sean O'Brien/Cian Healy to make the break through

jam_on_toast

Try of the year

BOD vs Wasps

Player of the year

Irish - Rob Kearney when at 15 for IRL

World - Parisse

Surprise of the year

O'learys performances over past year in green and red. Wasnt expecting that at all.

Team of the year

Club - Munster

International - New Zealand

Game of the year

Munster v All Blacks

Disappointment of the year

Ireland's bad performances and poor team selections under Eddie and Dec.

Coach of the Year

Gatland

My hope's for 2009

O'Connel to captain IRL.

O'Gara to be replaced in Irish team.

New blood in the irish front 5.

an amazing lions tour.

dreamer_ire

Try of the year
BOD vs Wasps

Player of the year
Sergio Parisse

Surprise of the year
Andy Powell - seemed to come from nowhere and has been very impressive.

Team of the year
World - ABs
European - Munster

Game of the year
Munster vs AB - sensational, every man on the pitch stood up and was counted.

Dissapointment of the year
Ireland unfortunately

My hope for 2009
A Munster double
An Irish replacement/reliable back up for ROG
A good 6N finish for Ireland

Diom

Try of the year
Connacht v Leinster, superb team effort

Player of the year
Muldoon

Surprise of the year
Sean Cronin being uber super.

Team of the year
London Irish

Game of the year
Munster v ABs (followed closely by Connacht v Munster)

Dissapointment of the year
Connachts away form

My hope for 2009
That the IRFU stop approaching Irish rugby bent over and in reverse... (i.e. Connachts funding)

(yes...obviously I support Connacht)

Sangre

Planet Rugby's Awards for 2008. Some great moments that were forgotten by some of us.

The Planet Rugby Awards 2008
Tuesday 30th December 2008
Our Player of the Year: Sergio Parisse


It's that time of year again when we reward all those kind enough to have provided entertainment over the past 12 months, wittingly or not!

We hand out the prestigious gongs, a couple of bouquets for a couple of memorable plays, and also a few booby prizes for those who added some of the colour to the year on and off the pitch. So sit back, enjoy, applaud, and if you reckon we missed anybody out, do let us know!

The serious awards:

Team of the year: Tempting to say New Zealand for their rebirth after the loss of so many players, tempting also to say Wales for their Grand Slam, but the team that really wowed us here in 2008 is the New Zealand Sevens team. Records tumbled in their wake as they strolled to the IRB World Series victory last year, the reaction of the other Sevens teams this year is proof of how Gordon Tietjens' squad has raised the bar.

Player of the Year: It's so hard to single one out. Richie McCaw, who has once again led so inspiringly? Shane Williams, who re-wrote the Welsh record books? Mike Blair, who has led Scotland through the thinnest of times? All were IRB nominees - Williams was the IRB winner - but we've gone for another IRB nominee: Sergio Parisse. The Azzurri skipper has been scintillating for country, also in thin times, but backs that up by being the leading light at Stade Français as well. So much asked of him, so much delivered, a truly unique talent and work-rate combo.

Newbie of the Year: England's new tyro Danny Care. At only 21 years old, he already looks to be ironing out the flaws at a rate of knots - playing inside Nick Evans probably helps. A decade of greatness beckons.

Try of the Year: You'll remember some of the French tries against Ireland early in the year. You'll remember Tonderai Chavhanga's efforts in the Super 14. Perhaps you'll remember one or two of Bath's late-season efforts as they hammered Saracens last April. But none were so sudden, so desperate, so important and so individually brilliant as Enrico Januarie's try that won South Africa their first-ever game in Dunedin. A dart, a swerve, a deft chip and chase, and a stunning swan-dive, to win the match two minutes from time. Sensational.

Match of the Year: The Top 14 Final. As this is an English-speaking website, perhaps many did not see it. But those who did will never forget the emotion, speed and attacking prowess served up by Toulouse and Clermont in Paris.

Occasion of the year: Munster are never far away from this one and scoop it once again with the internal tour match against the All Blacks. Bernard Lapasset advocated a return to internal tours shortly before it, and Thomond Park showed us why.

The lighter side:

Teflon Award for having slung mud simply fall off: An England player - whoever he was - whose team-mates stood accused of sexual assault but was himself exonerated of any allegation with the endorsement "My England man put rampant rabbits to shame" in a national newspaper.

'Dubya' award for peculiar soundbites: Peter de Villiers has kept us agog with his wisdom all year, including a hypothetical match on the moon. At times, lunacy.

The UK Home Office Award for leaking controversial news at inconvenient moments: The RFU have not run the tightest of ships, but the manner in which they tried to keep a lid on their obvious pursuit of Martin Johnson while Brian Ashton was still in office would have Gordon Brown's civil servants briefly glowing with pride at merely losing the occasional memory stick.

Hollywood award for producing consistent twists in the tales - Nick Evans: At the last count, he has been responsible for five last-minute winners/equalising scores this year.

The Jonafan Woss award for a career-damaging mistimed outburst - Tom James, for his tirade to a local cub reporter about the Welsh coaching staff after only getting a couple of minutes' game-time on tour in SA. Not been seen since (although he has been injured as well).

The Jonny Wilkinson award for bad luck with persistent, peculiar and varied injury issues - Gavin Henson. Jonny Wilkinson ran the Welshman close though.

The Mike Tyson award for lapses into psychosis - Clermont lock Jamie Cudmore. The James Haskell incident could have been left behind as an isolated six punches or so, but after the whistle, once the others had stopped the handbags, looking into Paul O'Connell's eyes... and then watch the red mist come down and the fists go flying.

The Sarah Palin award for a distinctly vacuous lack of a coherent forward strategy - The IRB, or more specifically, the codgers tasked with giving us a new set of laws that we can all play, all at the same time.

The Lawrence Dallaglio award for prattling to the media too much - John O'Neill. On and on and on and on and...

The Vinny Jones 'I don't care what you earn, you're going down' award - Harry Ellis, who welcomed Dan Carter to European rugby with a particularly agricultural tackle.

The Carlsberg award for having probably the best draw in the world - New Zealand, who can now lose to France, yet still progress to the next round of the World Cup after being drawn in a pool together. Clever, clever.

The Eric Cartman Tantrum award - Biarritz coach Jack Isaac, shaking with rage on Sky Sports after his team failed to cope with Peter Allan's refereeing in Gloucester.

The RFU fartiness award for self-righteousness and reliance upon higher committees - Perpignan, whose appeal against Marius Tincu's 18-week ban for gouging went to an Olympic appeal court in France.

http://planet-rugby.com/Story/0,18259,3551_4720417,00.html