The Super Rugby Player of the Year is done and dusted. The John Eales Medal was handed out before the Wallabies even flew out for Europe and the IRB have thrown around a bit of tin in their recent awards.
But we here at Green and Gold Rugby like to leave our player of the year awards until as close as possible to the actual end of the year. And here we are. Christmas is upon us and we are set to announce our fourth annual G&GR Wallaby Player of the Year. But first some background.
Methodology:
After each Test match the Wallabies played, members of our thriving forum gave their traditional 3-2-1s for the three best Wallaby performances of that match. These points are then accumulated with an overall 3-2-1 determined from the top three point scorers. Extrapolated through the season, it gives us a pretty good understanding of who has been the best performer, in the eyes of our astute community, across the season.
Honour Board:
2009 – George Smith
2010 – David Pocock
2011 – Will Genia
2012 – ????
Round by Round scores:
DOMESTIC TEST SERIES
Test 3 pnts 2 pnts 1 pnt
v Scotland (Newcastle) Stephen Moore Digby Ioane Dan Palmer
v Wales (Brisbane) Will Genia David Pocock Berrick Barnes
v Wales (Melbourne) Berrick Barnes David Pocock Digby Ioane
v Wales (Sydney) David Pocock Berrick Barnes Nathan Sharpe
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP + 1
Test 3 pnts 2 pnts 1 pnt
v New Zealand (Sydney) Nathan Sharpe Digby Ioane Berrick Barnes
v New Zealand (Auckland) Sitaleki Timani Michael Hooper Adam Ashley-Cooper
v South Africa (Perth) Michael Hooper Adam Ashley-Cooper Radike Samo
v Argentina (Gold Coast) Kane Douglas Digby Ioane Michael Hooper
v South Africa (Pretoria) Michael Hooper Kurtley Beale Pat McCabe
v Argentina (Rosario) Michael Hooper Scott Higginbotham Kurtley Beale
v New Zealand (Brisbane) Mike Harris Nathan Sharpe Kane Douglas
END OF YEAR TOUR
Test 3 pnts 2 pnts 1 pnt
v France (Paris) Kane Douglas Michael Hooper Nick Cummins
v England (London) Michael Hooper Nick Cummins Ben Alexander
v Italy (Florence) Michael Hooper Adam Ashley-Cooper Brett Sheehan
v Wales (Cardiff) Nathan Sharpe David Pocock Wycliff Palu
And the winner is:
Michael Hooper. He burst onto the international stage in 2012 and Wallabies fans lapped him up. Never before in the history of G&GR has the margin of victory for the Player of the Year been as substantial as Hooper’s was this year. He continues a long line of openside flankers with a huge fanclub and long may it continue.
In presenting the glorious 2012 Player of the Year trophy I had a quick chat with Hoops about this award, his performances this year and a few other things inbetween. Think of it as a mini podcast Christmas present!
Final Points Table:
Player TOTAL
Michael Hooper 20
David Pocock 9
Nathan Sharpe 9
Berrick Barnes 7
Digby Ioane 7
Kane Douglas 7
Adam Ashley-Cooper 5
Stephen Moore 3
Will Genia 3
Sitaleki Timani 3
Kurtley Beale 3
Mike Harris 3
Nick Cummins 3
Scott Higginbotham 2
Dan Palmer 1
Radike Samo 1
Pat McCabe 1
Ben Alexander 1
Brett Sheehan 1
Wycliff Palu 1
