What a year it has been for rugby union. Despite the calendar being bereft of any particularly special events like a World Cup, there have still been so many highs, lows and talking points; from New Zealand’s dominance to Wales’ surprising capitulation, 2012 has had it all.
Sport360’s rugby expert Martyn Thomas takes a look back over the last 12 months and selects his highlights – and lowlights – from another stunning year of rugby union, before looking ahead to what is to come in 2013.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Richie McCaw
What more can be written about the great All Black open side flanker? Already his country’s most-capped player McCaw became the first man to rack up a century of Test wins and has also captained New Zealand to the most victories ever.
In 2012 the man who powered his country to a World Cup win on home soil was at his imperious best again, leading the All Blacks to within a game of an invincible year and playing all-but 22 minutes in his 13 Test appearances. Defeat to England in the final match of the year may well go down as the one black spot for McCaw as he embarks on a six-month sabbatical. But fly-halves beware, with a World Cup to defend he will be back.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Aaron Smith
With little more than a season of Super Rugby and a few games for the New Zealand Maori under his belt, Smith came from virtually nowhere this year to cement his place as the All Blacks scrum-half. Smith played in all 13 of the All Blacks’ Tests in 2012 – starting 12 of them – as he kept the vastly more experienced Piri Weepu sitting on the replacements’ bench.
The Highlanders No9 finished his first year in international rugby with four tries, including a vital touchdown against the Springboks in Johannesburg that helped kick-start a New Zealand comeback, and a win percentage of 88.46. Not bad for a rookie. France’s Wesley Fofana and England’s Owen Farrell ran him close.
FLOP OF THE YEAR – Rhys Priestland (Wales)
Arguably the find of 2011 alongside captain Sam Warburton, Priestland has endured an extremely difficult second season in Wales’ No10 shirt. The fly-half’s form has epitomised his country’s post-Six Nations hangover as a Welsh side that arrived in Australia in June with genuine hopes of a series win slumped to seven defeats in a row to end the year ranked ninth.
Of course Priestland is not completely to blame for this loss of form but the Scarlets man has had his confidence knocked at the highest level. Bar a hat-trick of tries and penalty against Italy in March, he did not score a single point for Wales in 2012.
COACH OF THE YEAR – Conor O’Shea (Harlequins)
What a year the former Ireland international has enjoyed with the west London club. O’Shea oversaw Harlequins’ first ever Aviva Premiership triumph with a pulsating 30-23 final defeat of Leicester Tigers and there has been no letup this season as Quins find themselves top of the table both at home and in Europe. All of which has been achieved while losing an increasing number of his squad to international duty. O’Shea is not one to let his players get ahead of themselves but there is genuine belief that they can cap a remarkable few years by getting their hands on the Heineken Cup come May.
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR – Bryan Habana (South Africa)
At the start of the year there were genuine doubts in South Africa as to whether the once-flying winger still had it in him to do it at the top level for the Springboks. Habana had scored just two tries in his previous 14 Tests heading into 2012 and with the rise of the likes of Lwazi Mvovo and Bjorn Basson the pressure was on.
However a run of seven tries in his last six games in the Green and Gold – including a hat-trick against Australia in Pretoria and a score against the All Blacks that won the IRB ’s try of the year – has helped silence those critics. It also saw him win the Springboks’ Player of the Year award for the first time since 2007.
LOWPOINT OF THE YEAR – Quade Cooper (ARU stand-off)
A worrying by-product of the professional era has been the rise of the prima donna in rugby. Fans in England and Wales have long become accustomed to reading more about the likes of Danny Cipriani and Gavin Henson in the gossip pages as they have in the sport section.
It looked as though Cooper’s promising career could have been heading the same way following the ‘toxic’ comments he made about life in the Australia squad under Robbie Deans. Luckily for Wallaby fans a compromise has been reached and new deal signed but that doesn’t take away from the distasteful nature of the initial row.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
Samoa stun Wales (Wales 19-26 Samoa)
2012 may well go down as the year that so-called tier-three nations finally began to assert themselves. Argentina will only get better having joined the Rugby Championship but nowhere was the diminishing gap more in evidence than in Cardiff in November. From the moment Fa’atoina Autagavaia scored in the first minute the home side struggled to deal with their more physical opponents. The win helped Samoa nick their hosts top eight spot.
Quins take title (Aviva Premiership final)
Harlequins put a stuttering second half of the season firmly behind them as they got the better of perennial finalists Leicester to lift their first ever Premiership title. Tries from Tom Williams and Chris Robshaw plus a supreme kicking display from fly-half Nick Evans put the west Londoners in control and despite a late Tigers fight back they held firm. Boss Conor O’Shea credited a camp in Abu Dhabi for focusing minds.
Red Rose pricks NZ (England 38-21 New Zealand)
England turned in by far their most comprehensive performance under Stuart Lancaster to leave the All Blacks’ hopes of finishing the year unbeaten in tatters. The Red Rose clicked into gear at Twickenham with Manu Tuilagi putting in the sort of bruising display that will have the home fans purring for years to come. It was though a true team performance as England put recent criticism well and truly behind them.
ONE TO WATCH IN 2013 – Joe Launchbury (England & London Wasps)
Part of the England side that reached the final of the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship, alongside Owen Farrell and Christian Wade his form for Wasps in the Aviva Premiership saw him called up to the full squad ahead of the Six Nations.
Launchbury did not see any action last spring but took that form into the new season and was rewarded with a first England cap against Fiji in November as a replacement. Further appearances against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand followed. His performance in his country’s famous win over the All Blacks hinted he could yet have a vital role to play for the Lions this summer.
FORECAST FOR 2013 – Lions to roar in Australia (2-1 series win)
In a Lions year it is hard to look beyond the British and Irish all-star squad’s summer tour. The battle between the Lions and Wallabies will be intriguing for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a chance for northern hemisphere rugby to reassert itself following a year that has seen their southern counterparts streak further into the distance (England’s win over New Zealand notwithstanding).
For the hosts it is crunch time for the reign of Robbie Deans. The 2009 tour of South Africa restored some pride in the famous red jersey, this time they should claim a series win, 2-1.
Elsewhere, the All Blacks will take another Rugby Championship while Ireland could profit from playing both England and France at home in the Six Nations.
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