IRB announce 2005 Player of Year Award nominees

September 28, 2005

The International Rugby Board has announced it's short-list of nominees for Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Player of the Year.

The nominees for Team of the Year are New Zealand and Wales.

Wales had a great year carrying the Six Nations championship, but their schedule was not as tough or convincing as the All Blacks. The honor deservedly belongs with New Zealand.

Coach of the Year nominees are New Zealand's Graham Henry and Wales' Mike Ruddock.

Henry's year was a personal triumph of redemption and a middle-finger to critics in the northern hemisphere. His All Blacks stomped the Lions 3-0, vindication after years of copping stick from British journos and players laying the blame for the Lions failures in Australia in 2001 squarely on his shoulders. Ruddock took a team of overachievers and returned Welsh rugby pride to glory. Given the make-up of the selection jury (see below) and the consolation of Wales losing Team of the Year honorifics, one presumes Ruddock will take the title in a close vote.

New Zealand has three of the five nominees for player of the year; the remaining two nominees are Springboks. All Black captain Tana Umaga, fly-half Dan Carter and flanker Richie McCaw go up against South Africa wing Bryan Habana and lock Victor Matfield for the prestigious prize which will be presented at the IRB's annual ceremony in Paris on November 27.

Carter eliminates himself through injury. He missed the third Lions test and most of the Tri-Nations. Richie McCaw is a worthy winner, but my vote goes to Tana Umaga. No player was under more pressure this season and delivered when it mattered. Hard to tell if he will gather enough votes given the recriminations from the Brian O'Driscoll saga where the Brits painted him as a villian, but Umaga would be a worthy winner and gets my imaginary vote.

The real jury panel is comprised of former internationals François Pienaar (South Africa), Michael Jones (New Zealand), Fabien Galthie (France), Keith Wood (Ireland), Gavin Hastings (Scotland), Jonathan Davies (Wales), Dan Lyle (Canada) and Federico Mendez (Argentina) and chairman John Eales (Australia).

In other news: Jonah Lomu is supposedly in talks with English clubs about a return to rugby (rumours flying across the web suggest it might -- repeat: might -- be London Irish). In that same article, Lomu tells the South China Morning Post that he's backing Japan in its bid for the 2011 RWC against his native New Zealand. But not so fast -- Lomu is now refuting those comments in the New Zealand Herald.